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Rated: 13+ · Book · Steampunk · #2097997
My folder for October prep.
#893862 added October 7, 2016 at 9:48am
Restrictions: None
October 7th Required Assignment
Describe the cultural, political and/or religious setting in your novel. What do your societies believe? In what practices do they engage? What kind of government rules your world? What laws or rules of society are in place? Who enforces them? How successful is enforcement of laws and rules? How does this setting impact your protagonist?

The cultural setting is the late 1890s to early 1900s when the industrial revolution is taking place. There are many advances being made in science, engineering, technology, and medicine. All these factors play a key role as I've tweaked some of the advances to be more advanced. In the novel, many technological advances have taken place earlier than they did in this reality. It's a steampunk novel, so there is a lot of tinkering, clockwork, and steam involved in the cultural setting. There is an element of the Irish background as Isabella is one of the characters who works in the mansion of Drakkon. Her role is important to the story so further development of the Irish beliefs and suffering will be researched.

The political setting is that of the post-Civil War era and the suffrage of women. There are many advances being made in what women can do and this is a disruption between Leigh and her stepmother Violet. Leigh is more forward thinking, she wants to be a doctor and attend Penn U, which has just started enrolling women, while her stepmother wants her to be traditional and marry into a good family and be a homemaker/run the household. Cornelius encourages his daughter Leigh to the dismay of Violet as well.

Religion doesn't yet play a role in this novel.

There is big conflict in what the society believes right now. Post-Civil War era was a time of adjustment and political and suffrage advancement. There are many who stick to the traditional beliefs but with the young people lots of forward thinking is being approached. Women are getting jobs outside the traditional fields, attending college or university and making ground breaking discoveries. Leigh wants to be a part of that world, but her stepmother is a traditionalist and wants her to marry off into a good family, run the household, and have kids. She's not big into Leigh helping in her father's lab and is really not happy when Leigh gets accepted to Penn U.

The government in this world is of course the United States of America with President as the head of the White House. Politics is a side note in this novel so some research will be needed into the government setting of Philadelphia is 1899 and 1900. The enforcement of laws is strict, but people get away with things all the time, especially the upper class society. Unless caught, they enjoy a freedom unknown to the downtrodden in the city.

This setting affects my protagonist greatly because she is caught in the middle of the two beliefs. Her stepmother is traditional while her father is more forward thinking and allows Leigh freedoms that her stepmother disapproves of. Leigh learns to think of her place in the world in a different light than others her age and leans toward going into bigger and better things. She wants a family, but she also wants a career. She wants to make a difference in the medical and mechanical field, especially after finding out about her own clockwork heart. This drives her to want to use that type of technology to save others, without realizing that some, like Drakkon will want to use it for ulterior motives. Leigh will learn the hard way that not everything is as she hoped, but she learns to get along in the society that she does live in. A side note to this is Leigh's best friend Isabella, who as an Irish-American, has much suffering and struggle, which Leigh is unaware of until they become friends.

Serenity to you and yours!
Piratess Dawniebelle

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