In this analysis, we will revisit the true essence of our retrofuturist genre, much like a delicate clockwork mechanism that must be taken apart piece by piece to understand how it works. How did Jules Verne manage to influence steampunk even before the term was invented and the genre officially created? We will discover that its emergence, while undeniably linked to literature and the works of the famous writer, stems from a cultural machine far more complex... than it appears at first glance.
Jules Verne: Visionary of Science Fiction, Not the Father of Steampunk
The Nantes Genius in His Historical Context
Allow me to place our illustrious author back into the context of his own era, like a clockwork piece set within its temporal case. Jules Verne was a French writer who flourished at the heart of the 19th century, that pivotal period when steam engines were transforming the world. He wrote remarkable works that earned unanimous approval from the literary community, specialising in what were then called "anticipation novels" — true literary machines for exploring the future!
Among the scholars of his day, Verne's writings were described as "scientific novels" by specialists. The man from Nantes was the first to seize upon the technological advances of his time, which were numerous, and weave them into extraordinary stories — like an engineer of the imagination! Thus, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and From the Earth to the Moon seemed almost credible at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.
Born in February 1828 in Nantes in the Loire-Atlantique, this fascinating figure took a keen interest in steam technology as it was the cutting-edge innovation of his era. He seized upon countless contemporary discoveries and gave them an extraordinary flair, using his heroes as narrative gears within his mechanical adventures. Jules Verne simply stayed one step ahead of his time to surprise his 19th-century contemporaries — a true mechanism of literary anticipation!
The Extraordinary Journeys: 54 Novels of a Literary Machine
Jules Verne created a monumental series of 54 novels titled the "Extraordinary Journeys." Including his other novels, short stories, plays, and texts, it is estimated that he produced around 70 works in total — a true mechanical library of the imagination! These creations reflect a certain paradox, dear readers: our author pursued literary studies but developed a technological passion that seemed to spring from nowhere, like a secret gear in the machinery of his genius.
Definition of the Vernian Scientific Novel
Jules Verne's scientific novel is characterised by the rigorous integration of contemporary scientific discoveries into extraordinary adventure narratives. This approach, revolutionary for its time, transformed science into narrative poetry, creating a literary genre in which technology becomes the driving force of the plot — like a perfectly oiled narrative mechanism.
The Literary Ascent: A Mechanical Collaboration
Our man from Nantes followed a trajectory with perfect logic, like the gears of a well-regulated clock. After his literary baccalaureate, Jules Verne moved to Paris to study law, then became a stockbroker. His legendary curiosity drew him to the theatre, supported by both the elder and younger Dumas. He held the position of secretary at the Lyric Theatre until 1854, collaborating with Michel Carré like a stage mechanic!
However, Jules Verne's literary career did not take off immediately. Several publishers rejected his manuscripts, apparently unconvinced of their merit. Fortunately, his writings eventually ended up in the hands of Pierre-Jules Hetzel, that visionary publisher who agreed to publish the manuscript, convinced that a new young readership was emerging — an intuition that worked like a perfect prediction mechanism!
From this collaboration was born the prestigious collection "Les Voyages Extraordinaires," dedicated exclusively to the writer's works. The collection stood out for its unique binding and clear editorial direction: "an invitation to travel and adventure." Together, they published 63 novels over 40 years, creating an editorial machine that revolutionised the French literary landscape!
The Ten Vernian Masterworks That Resonate in the Steampunk Imagination
- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870): The adventures of Captain Nemo and his Nautilus, that revolutionary submarine exploring the ocean depths like a prodigious aquatic mechanism.
- Around the World in Eighty Days (1873): The epic journey of Phileas Fogg, a gentleman who wagers he can travel around the world in 80 days, accompanied by Passepartout in a mechanical race against the clock!
- Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864): Professor Lidenbrock's expedition into the Earth's interior — a true machine for exploring the geological unknown.
- From the Earth to the Moon (1865): The audacious project of firing a manned projectile toward our satellite, using a giant cannon as the propulsion mechanism!
- The Mysterious Island (1874): The adventures of five castaways on a deserted island, creating an autonomous society through technical ingenuity.
- Michael Strogoff (1876): The epic journey of a Tsar's courier crossing Siberia — like a human mechanism for transmitting information.
- The Children of Captain Grant (1868): Mary and Robert Grant's quest to find their missing father, following the clues from a message in a bottle.
- Five Weeks in a Balloon (1863): Dr. Ferguson's aerial crossing of Africa, a pioneer of airship-based aeronautics.
- Robur the Conqueror (1886): The story of this mysterious engineer and his revolutionary aircraft, the Albatross — a true flying machine of domination.
- The Carpathian Castle (1892): A blend of mystery and science fiction in the Transylvanian mountains, foreshadowing certain Gothic themes close to our aesthetic.
Uchronia Within Uchronia: When Disney Transforms Verne into Steampunk
Here, dear steamers, lies the heart of our mechanical mystery! The steampunk aesthetic seems fundamentally tied to Jules Verne, and yet... Important revelation: if you have read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, you know that the original description of the Nautilus differs considerably from our current collective imagination. And for good reason — Disney's film adaptation had no small part to play!
In Verne's works, the submarine's advanced technology, the marine creatures, and many other elements became symbols of retrofuturism. We have lost count of the steampunk Nautilus versions and mechanical octopuses — a beloved animal in our movement! But here is the fascinating irony: the Disney Nautilus features a Victorian interior and an engine room entirely inspired by the Industrial Revolution, with materials such as rivets and bolts that Verne neither described nor imagined.
We might therefore say that the decades separating us from the original work have been shaped by a multitude of other works that transformed the collective imagination. The Disney Nautilus has such a steampunk appearance that one could argue it was the visual sensibility of the 1950s–60s applied to Victorian aesthetics that ultimately prevailed, replacing Verne's original description and defining, even before the word "steampunk" existed, the Victorian retrofuturist genre!
The True Roots of Steampunk: A Complex Genealogy
Even today, steampunk remains a sub-genre of science fiction, but its genealogy proves to be far more complex than a simple Vernian lineage! This inventive aesthetic appeals to all generations, working like a universal time machine. To understand its true origins, one must wind back the gears of history all the way to the roots of the Industrial Revolution.
Steampunk draws its references from 19th-century plots, coinciding with the first Industrial Revolution when steam technology and coal reigned supreme. This era saw a particular interest emerge in noble materials: wood, leather, and precious metals such as bronze, copper, brass, and silver — the very components of our contemporary aesthetic palette!
The True Fathers of Steampunk: A Creative Trinity
Pay attention, dear readers: Jules Verne is not the only figure who can be considered an ancestor of steampunk! This multiple paternity also includes equally essential figures:
- H.G. Wells: The father of modern science fiction, creator of The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds
- Albert Robida: A visionary French illustrator and writer — a true prophet of our mechanical aesthetic
- Contemporary authors: Who defined the term "steampunk" in the 1980s, retroactively creating our movement
It was in France that Douglas Fetherling refined the definition of steampunk in the preface to Futurs antérieurs in 1999, titled "The Past Is the Future of Man" — a phrase that perfectly sums up our temporal philosophy! This approach reveals that steampunk is a collective creation, a complex cultural mechanism forged by multiple influences.
The Three Founding Periods of Our Aesthetic
The steampunk concept draws inspiration from three symbolic eras that function as essential temporal gears:
- From 1760 onwards: The English Industrial Revolution, the matrix of our mechanical imagination
- From 1861 to 1865: The American Civil War, a laboratory of technological innovation
- From 1871 to 1914: The Belle Époque, the pinnacle of French industrial elegance
Modern Steampunk: Far More Than a Vernian Legacy
Exploring contemporary steampunk fashion, we discover mechanical components — cogs and gears — serving as ornaments on costumes and accessories. These modern touches lend a remarkable elegance to the creations, but they reflect an aesthetic developed well after Verne!
Modern steampunk functions like a machine for revisiting the past, creating a uchronia in which technological evolution took a different course. This mechanism leads to the emergence of a parallel reality where our contemporary era would be the result of a technological development based on steam rather than electricity.
The Aesthetic Evolution: From Book to Subculture
The modern steampunk movement has far transcended the Vernian legacy to become a genuine creative subculture. For a long time, it seemed to compete with the Gothic movement, with obvious points of convergence between these two aesthetics of dark elegance.
The birth of contemporary steampunk brought together an expanding community of creators: automaton parades, exhibitions of decorative objects, elaborate cosplay... These initiatives allowed steampunk to enter popular culture, spawning numerous subcultures and themed conventions.
The Steampunk Style: Renaissance of Mechanical Elegance
Contemporary steampunk style subtly combines its playful and intriguing aspects, giving women the opportunity to create extraordinary outfits blending punk, Gothic, and Victorian influences. This aesthetic allows for looks that are both trendy and timeless, with no age, gender, or budget restrictions — a true democratisation of mechanical elegance!
Contemporary creators certainly draw on the legacy of Vernian inventors, but above all they create their own visual language. They evoke the Belle Époque by incorporating elements such as Henri Giffard's steam-powered airship or the machines of John Cockerill's steelworks — the heartland of Belgian industrialisation.
For lovers of vintage fashion, wearing costumes adorned with metallic décor remains essential. Period timepieces and decorative arts adorned with gears and cogs create that very special atmosphere which transcends mere literary references.
Why Jules Verne Did Not Create Steampunk
Dear steamers, the answer to our question is revealed through this meticulous mechanical analysis! Jules Verne did not create steampunk for several fundamental reasons:
The Reasons for This Non-Paternity
1. Temporal gap: The term "steampunk" was born in the 1980s, a full century after Verne's works
2. Aesthetic evolution: Our modern steampunk imagination results from multiple influences, notably cinematic ones
3. Collective transformation: Steampunk is a contemporary reinterpretation of multiple Victorian sources
4. Creative anachronism: We retroactively project our aesthetic onto the works of the past
The retrofuturist genre requires a deep understanding of both the current AND past world in order to subtly merge the two eras. The modern steampunk movement envisions what our contemporary world would have looked like had Victorian inventors triumphed over technological evolution — an abstract approach that far exceeds Verne's own work!
Jules Verne's influence on steampunk resembles that of a grandfather on his grandchildren: undeniable and foundational, yet transformed by the intervening generations. Our movement is a collective creative synthesis, a complex cultural mechanism in which Verne occupies an important — but not exclusive — place.
Discover our complete steampunk universe and explore the watches, jewellery, hats, and other mechanical wonders that make up our contemporary aesthetic. For remember, in the steampunk universe, we do not simply reproduce the past — we reinvent history one gear and one puff of steam at a time!
Sources and References
- Complete works of Jules Verne — Hetzel Collection
- Fetherling, Douglas. "Futurs antérieurs" (1999)
- Historical archives of the Industrial Revolution
- Documentation on the evolution of contemporary steampunk
- Comparative analyses of Victorian science fiction
Eugénie Vaporette
Curator and consultant in steampunk aesthetics
Graduate in the history of Victorian technologies