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Turn-of-the-Century Toughs is a cycle of historical fantasy novels by Dusk Peterson about disreputable men on the margins of society, and the men and women who love them.
The novels are set in a world based on the late Victorian and Edwardian Eras. A later series in the cycle, Prison City, combines elements of the 1910s with retrofuturistic imagery from the 1960s.
This series is part of Dusk Peterson's High Bookshelf | More fiction by Dusk Peterson | About the author | Contact information | Parental supervision is strongly suggested for this site. See the site content labels of the individual series.
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Currently the cycle consists of the following series:
In a cool, dark cavern, guarded by men and by vows, lies a dungeon where prisoners fearfully await the inevitable. The inevitable will be replaced by the unexpected.
The Eternal Dungeon, a historical fantasy series set in a land where the psychologists wield whips.
They are imprisoned until death, and their lives cannot get worse . . . or so they think. But when an unlikely alliance forms against their captors, the reformers risk losing what little comforts they possess.
Life Prison, a historical fantasy series about male desire and determination in Victorian prisons.
In a world where temples are dying and sacred theaters have been replaced by brothels, what will happen when a hard-headed businessman joins forces with an idealist?
Michael's House, a historical fantasy series set in an Edwardian slum.
How can a youth from a bay island boarding school survive when he is sent to a futuristic prison?
Prison City, a historical fantasy and retrofuture series based on the Chesapeake Bay oyster wars, homoeroticism in British public schools in the 1910s, and 1960s visions of things to come.
The societies in Turn-of-the-Century Toughs combine English and American features, along with features from other English-speaking countries, mixed in with a goodly dose of the author's own imagination.
The stories are set in four neighboring countries:
Yclau. Technologically advanced, the Queendom of Yclau espouses ideals of egalitarianism and encourages humane treatment of commoners and criminals. It is the birthplace of various reform movements. However, Yclau struggles with class divisions that are reflected in its punitive justice system. Yclau folk are believers in eternal rebirth, a concept that foreigners find puzzling.
Vovim. Considered the epitome of barbaric violence and ignorance by its neighbors, the Kingdom of Vovim is a multiracial home for various cultures who are united by their love of the gods and their devotion to the arts, especially theater. Vovim is located to the west of Yclau. Its ancient system of government finds itself under strain at the beginning of the cycle, leading to social upheavals.
The Dozen Landsteads: Originally the most politically advanced of the eastern nations, the Dozen Landsteads finds itself being overshadowed by Vovim and Yclau. Religiously and ethnically, the Landsteaders are identical to the Yclau, but the Landsteaders remain stubbornly traditional, holding to a centuries-old system of ranking masters and servants. The official name of the bay-oriented nation is "The Alliance of the Dozen Landsteads," for the individual Landsteads refuse to centralize their political power, other than through a high law that tries to settle differences between the leaders of the Landsteads. As a result, the Dozen Landsteads' greatest conflicts are usually internal . . . but that will change as pressure builds at the nation's southern border.
Mip. This tiny nation – northwest of Yclau, northeast of Vovim, and south of the Dozen Landsteads – has long been the battleground for Vovimian and Yclau troops who try to control it. As a result, Vovimian and Yclau culture play a strong role in this land. Virtually ignored is Mip's own native tribe, which is on the verge of extinction. However, the poor people of the Magisterial Republic of Mip take heart from the tales of the tribe's struggle to free itself from its oppressors.
In Turn-of-the-Century Toughs, the period in our world between 1880 and 1912 is spread out to cover just under a century. A later series in the cycle, Prison City, combines elements of the 1910s with retrofuturistic imagery from the 1960s.
In the United States of America, the first two decades of the twentieth century are referred to as the Progressive Era. In England, the same period is called the Edwardian Era. In both countries and in other English-speaking countries, this period and the two decades preceding it was a time of intense interest in social reform. The social reformers sometimes looked to the past for inspiration and sometimes strove to depart from the past through new technologies and through changes in social structure. This era of social reform would climax in World War One, when traditional values eroded in trench warfare.
Turn-of-the-Century Toughs takes the social concerns and outward appearance of the late Victorian and Edwardian Eras and applies them to events in a different world.
A timeline is available for the series. It includes spoilers for political events but not for events in the lives of individual characters.
The Boer War and Turn-of-the-Century Firearms. Bibliography for Life Prison and the upcoming Triad series.
Islanders and Watermen of the Chesapeake Bay. Bibliography for Prison City and the upcoming Triad series.
Masculinity, Crime, and Everyday Life in Victorian and Edwardian Times. Bibliography for all of the series in the Turn-of-the-Century Toughs cycle.
Retrofuture: Visions of the Future, 1945-1975. Bibliography for Prison City.
Index page for all the bibliographies.
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