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A Study in Steam by Stephanie Clemens
The first novel in the Ladies of WACK series is titled A Study in Steam by Stephanie Clemens. You might be wondering what the heck WACK stands for. The Women Adventurers’ Consortium of Knowledge is a new academic organisation, and this novel depicts the beginning of a friendship between four bright young women in that organisation.
Pippa Stanhope, a creative and tenacious young woman who aspires to attend university to advance her understanding of steam engineering, is introduced to us in A Study in Steam. In the Victorian era, it was easier said than done. Her mother is sure that no respectable woman in Brythion in the 1870s would carry out such a deed. No suitable Duke will want to marry such a bluestocking since she will ruin their family’s reputation.
Pippa is determined to learn everything she can about creating the ideal steam-powered bike, and with the help of financial assistance from her independently wealthy aunt, she leaves for Grantabridge University with that goal in mind. There, she soon befriends the other young women in the first female cohort, including Willa, Georgi, and Mads (who study math and coding) (herbology).
They rapidly learn, though, that their fellow male students do not want them in their sacred academic spaces (except for maybe one brilliant professor and one handsome Duke). Even worse, someone is going to great lengths to terrify them, even going so far as to kill someone and blame Pippa in the process.
This book was perfect for me. I enjoy historical fiction with strong female leads, a healthy amount of mystery, humour, and swoon-worthy dialogue. The fact that each of the young women had a unique academic focus and personality that could add to the investigation and get authorities closer to identifying the murderer and learning how to prevent them from killing again made me happy.
The mystery takes some time to get rolling, but the first half of the book does a good job of setting the scene and introducing the reader to Pippa, the WACK members, and their new allies. With some clever one-liners and wordplay to make you smile along the way, it is an entertaining Steampunk mystery. I would recommend this book to those who also enjoy Deanna Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell series, Kady Cross’s Steampunk Chronicles or Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series.
About The Book
A revolutionary opportunity. A murder most foul. Can a wrongly accused young lady prove her innocence before her future goes up in smoke? Pippa Stanhope envisions a world teeming with her mechanical creations. So after a lifetime of hiding her love for inventing steam-powered gadgets, she’s thrilled when her local university finally opens its doors to women. And the determined novice fearlessly sets out to pursue a higher education despite her family’s threat to disown her.
Refusing to be intimidated by resentful male students and professors, she quickly befriends the three other ladies attending the school. But when she discovers the body of the lone teacher willing to take her under his wing, she’s horrified when she’s named as the prime suspect. Can Pippa and her new friends find the real killer before she takes the fall for a crime she didn’t commit?
A Study in Steam is the fun-filled first book in the Ladies of WACK steampunk mystery series. If you like fiery heroines, female bonding, and a splash of romance, then you’ll adore Stephanie K. Clemens’ rip-roaring tale.
The Review
A Study in Steam
9 Score
What a delightful and insightful reminder of what women before us endured to obtain the rights to higher education. The fictional characters Stephanie Clemens gave us are a delicious melding of four personalities, Pippa, Georgi, Mads, and Willa, who are the first four women to attend the fictional Grantabridge University. Pippa’s developing romantic interest, a hint of other romance to come, stubborn men opposed to women being at the University, several murders to be solved, along with two supportive males, Kaiden and Colin, add up to quite the enjoyable read.
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