Timekeeper (Timekeeper #1)(101)

Timekeeper takes place in 1875, so naturally, these inventors would have had made major breakthroughs several years earlier in the book’s timeline. Telephones aren’t common in the Timekeeper world, nor do they work particularly well, but mechanics are required to have one in their homes so they can be contacted in the event of emergencies (as we see with Danny and the Lead).


Cars

The first steam-powered vehicle was designed in 1672 by Ferdinand Verbiest, but it was Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot who built the first model in 1769: a steam-powered tricycle. He designed and built other steam-powered vehicles, but they had problems with water supply and steam pressure. Since then, various types of vehicles and engines were tested and tried, but the first motor car in central Europe wasn’t constructed until 1897 by a Czech company called Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau.

Steam-powered vehicles did, in fact, exist during 1875, but they wouldn’t have been the same models that are depicted in Timekeeper. The higher demand for technology launched factories sooner, and in larger numbers. With more resources than the Victorians in our world had, automobiles—or simply “autos”—quickly became a must-have commodity.


Women in Society

Technology and society are intrinsically linked. If one alters, so must the other. In this case, the Victorian society in Timekeeper differs from the typical Victorian culture we’re so used to in many ways, the most obvious being how women are regarded in large cities. During the Victorian era, the issue of women’s employment was fought by tireless feminists, including Millicent Fawcett and Frances Buss. The Society for Promoting the Employment of Women was founded in 1859, led by the Queen herself.

The demand for more technology required more workers. In Timekeeper’s timeline, this prompted women, regardless of class or marital status, to leave the home and seek jobs in industries typically dominated by men.

We see this prevalently in the Mechanics Union. The ability to sense time is one both men and women are born with, which means that, as a matter of course, women should be allowed to become mechanics as well. Although faced with frequent criticism—even from other women in common society—and the stress of needing to prove their worth when their male counterparts do not, the female clock mechanics serve as a positive example for younger women who wish to break out in male-centric fields, such as auto repair. These young women are eager to deviate from their parents’ conventions of dress, speech, and appearance.


Homosexuality

Before 1861, homosexuality was considered a crime punishable by death in England. Though the death penalty was eventually abolished in connection with this “crime,” one could still be sentenced to prison if caught or suspected of homosexual behavior. The most notable example is Oscar Wilde’s 1895 trial and subsequent two-year imprisonment for his relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas.

In Timekeeper, I wanted Danny to be part of a society that was more indifferent than punishing. With the number of secrets he keeps close to his chest, I didn’t want this important, fundamental part of him to be a secret as well. Therefore, just as women’s roles have changed in a shifting society ruled by technology, so too have the laws regarding homosexuality.


There are quite a few differences between the real Victorian England and the one we see through Danny’s eyes, all stemming from the creation of the clock towers and their impact on technology and society. I wanted to blend the traditional with the unconventional to create a strange era of contradictions: advanced technology combined with an old-fashioned aesthetic, evolving gender roles battling stubborn classism. Old and new coexisting in the constant stream of time.





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I cannot believe that three years ago, this book was only a small, strange document on my computer. Now it is a physical thing you can pick up and read. How weird is that?

(Very. But also very cool).

Of course, I have to thank the many people who helped me in those three years:

First and foremost, to my amazing editor, Alison Weiss. Alison, you understood this book in a way I thought no one could. Maybe even better than I did. You pushed and challenged me (I might have also done the same to you—sorry), and your unwavering faith in me and this book is what kept me going. Thank you, thank you, a million times thank you. I’m still working on getting you a clock spirit.

To the Sky Pony team: Cheryl Lew, Bethany Buck, Jenn Chan, Georgia Morrisey for the lovely cover, Joshua Barnaby for the kickass interior design, and all the rest: thank you so much for your dedication. And William McAusland for that awesome map!

To my agent, Laura Crockett, who read this and somehow thought, Yup, this is something I want. I will forever be grateful for your support and enthusiasm. Thanks also to the rest of the Triada US crew: Uwe Stender, Brent Taylor, and Mallory Brown.

Liz Briggs, Pitch Wars mentor extraordinaire: I would never have gotten this far without you. You picked this dusty stone from the ground and made it shine. #TeamBriggs 4ever.

Emily Skrutskie, the Cap to my Iron Man, the Burr to my Hamilton, the Hux to my Kylo Ren (yeah, I said it): thank you for putting up with this gestures to self and reading everything I shove under your nose, and overall just being a super cool person. Our crossovers will always be things of beauty. P.S. - Please don’t blackmail me.

To Traci Chee, my favorite eighty-year-old woman, and Jessica Cluess, my favorite grumpy driver: you are my pillars. Your advice and wisdom and humor and friendship have meant so much to me. We’ll always have the Circle of Ten. (Also: shout-out to Cole Benton, who got me that one ARC that one time and who sometimes carries my bags. You are one of the Good Ones).