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Burton & Swinburne
Strange Affairs and Curious Cases: A Burton and Swinburne Companion
The first of three projected companions to the acclaimed Burton & Swinburne series of steampunk novels, this contains six brand new short stories featuring Burton and Swinburne and their various companions, plus short essays, two screenplays fragments, and other related material.
Contents:
INTRODUCTION
THE VISITATION—In which an author at work is interrupted by an unexpected guest.
THE AFFAIR OF THE WHISPERING CAB DRIVER—In which Algernon Swinburne's insistence that every cab ride costs a shilling comes back to haunt him.
BURTON’S FIRST FORGOTTEN DREAM—In which worlds and schemes beyond even Burton's experience are unveiled.
THEATRICAL TRAILER: THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF SPRING HEELED JACK—Probably not coming soon to a cinema anywhere near you.
BURTON’S SECOND FORGOTTEN DREAM—In which the requirement for suitable puppets is recognised.
DETECTIVE INSPECTOR TROUNCE SETTLES THE SCORE—In which the Scotland Yard detective encounters a familiar face.
STEAMPUNK: THE SPIRIT OF TIME—In which the author details his theory concerning the popularity of steampunk.
BURTON’S THIRD FORGOTTEN DREAM—In which the players are selected.
SCREENPLAY (FRAGMENT)—If it *was* coming to a cinema near you, it might be something like this.
CREATING BURTON & SWINBURNE—In which the author’s thought processes are revealed.
COUNTESS SABINA TRAINS A GHOST—In which Charles Doyle learns how to be useful even though he's dead.
BURTON’S FOURTH FORGOTTEN DREAM—In which a project is approved.
THE CASE OF THE WAYWARD WENDIGO—In which Burton encounters the uncanny while travelling in Chile.
BUILDING A WORLD FOR BURTON & SWINBURNE—In which the author reveals how he got away with it (if he did).
THE CLOCKWORK MAN OF TRAFALGAR SQUARE—The first ever—previously unpublished—Burton & Swinburne tale (later adapted as the first three chapters of The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man).
BURTON’S FIFTH FORGOTTEN DREAM—In which destinies are decided.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PLUS QUOTES, ADVERTISEMENTS AND PROPAGANDA
(51,000 words.)
Contents:
INTRODUCTION
THE VISITATION—In which an author at work is interrupted by an unexpected guest.
THE AFFAIR OF THE WHISPERING CAB DRIVER—In which Algernon Swinburne's insistence that every cab ride costs a shilling comes back to haunt him.
BURTON’S FIRST FORGOTTEN DREAM—In which worlds and schemes beyond even Burton's experience are unveiled.
THEATRICAL TRAILER: THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF SPRING HEELED JACK—Probably not coming soon to a cinema anywhere near you.
BURTON’S SECOND FORGOTTEN DREAM—In which the requirement for suitable puppets is recognised.
DETECTIVE INSPECTOR TROUNCE SETTLES THE SCORE—In which the Scotland Yard detective encounters a familiar face.
STEAMPUNK: THE SPIRIT OF TIME—In which the author details his theory concerning the popularity of steampunk.
BURTON’S THIRD FORGOTTEN DREAM—In which the players are selected.
SCREENPLAY (FRAGMENT)—If it *was* coming to a cinema near you, it might be something like this.
CREATING BURTON & SWINBURNE—In which the author’s thought processes are revealed.
COUNTESS SABINA TRAINS A GHOST—In which Charles Doyle learns how to be useful even though he's dead.
BURTON’S FOURTH FORGOTTEN DREAM—In which a project is approved.
THE CASE OF THE WAYWARD WENDIGO—In which Burton encounters the uncanny while travelling in Chile.
BUILDING A WORLD FOR BURTON & SWINBURNE—In which the author reveals how he got away with it (if he did).
THE CLOCKWORK MAN OF TRAFALGAR SQUARE—The first ever—previously unpublished—Burton & Swinburne tale (later adapted as the first three chapters of The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man).
BURTON’S FIFTH FORGOTTEN DREAM—In which destinies are decided.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PLUS QUOTES, ADVERTISEMENTS AND PROPAGANDA
(51,000 words.)
- GenresSteampunk
227 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 17, 2016
About the author
Mark Hodder
76 books533 followersBritish author living in Valencia, Spain.
Burton & Swinburne Novels:
THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF SPRING-HEELED JACK (Winner of the Philip K. Dick Award 2010)
THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE CLOCKWORK MAN
EXPEDITION TO THE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON
THE SECRET OF ABDU EL YEZDI
THE RETURN OF THE DISCONTINUED MAN
THE RISE OF THE AUTOMATED ARISTOCRATS
Other Novels:
A RED SUN ALSO RISES
THE SILENT THUNDER CAPER
A DARK AND SUBTLE LIGHT
Novels in Collaboration with Michael Moorcock:
CARIBBEAN CRISIS/VOODOO ISLAND
THE ALBINO'S SECRET (forthcoming)
THE ALBINO'S HONOUR (forthcoming)
THE ALBINO'S EYE (forthcoming)
As Editor:
SEXTON BLAKE AND THE GREAT WAR
SEXTON BLAKE VERSUS THE MASTER CROOKS
SEXTON BLAKE'S ALLIES
SEXTON BLAKE ON THE HOME FRONT
SEXTON BLAKE'S NEW ORDER
Burton & Swinburne Novels:
THE STRANGE AFFAIR OF SPRING-HEELED JACK (Winner of the Philip K. Dick Award 2010)
THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE CLOCKWORK MAN
EXPEDITION TO THE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON
THE SECRET OF ABDU EL YEZDI
THE RETURN OF THE DISCONTINUED MAN
THE RISE OF THE AUTOMATED ARISTOCRATS
Other Novels:
A RED SUN ALSO RISES
THE SILENT THUNDER CAPER
A DARK AND SUBTLE LIGHT
Novels in Collaboration with Michael Moorcock:
CARIBBEAN CRISIS/VOODOO ISLAND
THE ALBINO'S SECRET (forthcoming)
THE ALBINO'S HONOUR (forthcoming)
THE ALBINO'S EYE (forthcoming)
As Editor:
SEXTON BLAKE AND THE GREAT WAR
SEXTON BLAKE VERSUS THE MASTER CROOKS
SEXTON BLAKE'S ALLIES
SEXTON BLAKE ON THE HOME FRONT
SEXTON BLAKE'S NEW ORDER
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 18, 2025
This is straight up fan service from Mark Hodder, author of The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack and the rest of the rollicking alt-history timey-wimey steampunk sci-fi smart pulp Burton & Swinburne series, which I strongly encourage all to read.
It's good fan service. I'm not a fan of fan service generally, though. Give me the thing, the novel(s). I don't need side short stories. (If the short stories are essential to the main thing, which they're not in this case, than just write them into the thing.) Still, there is good material here, and some stuff I had to shrug off.
The good:
-the original story submitted to the eventual UK publisher, i.e. the thing that led to this series that I love so much becoming a thing.
-the story of how that story and opportunity came to be, including how that story was conceived and written in under 24 hours.
-the other stories that intermingle with the events of the first two books. One shows a consequence of Swinburne's shrill insistence that any hansom cab ride in London costs exactly one shilling. Another gives gruff Inspector Trounce some unnecessary but well-deserved closure. The third sends Burton on a side adventure across the Americas, with some extreme gore. Consider it the series' Hallowe'en season contribution.
The less good:
-the multi-part story involving Burton's dream of pan-dimensional cosmic dragons.
-the ghost story; for one thing, in a volume that is supposedly supposed to supplement material for only the first two books in the main series, this story includes spoilers for the entire series.
-the screenplay treatments. I suppose Hodder produced these for a potential pitch for film rights.
-the fact that Hodder has not had any new novels published since this series concluded. He's got talent and I want to see him succeed aplenty. He's not been idle, he has been active with other projects, including co-writing with Michael Moorcock recently. See my review on A Dark and Subtle Light for an unfortunate result of something I had been long anticipating.
It's good fan service. I'm not a fan of fan service generally, though. Give me the thing, the novel(s). I don't need side short stories. (If the short stories are essential to the main thing, which they're not in this case, than just write them into the thing.) Still, there is good material here, and some stuff I had to shrug off.
The good:
-the original story submitted to the eventual UK publisher, i.e. the thing that led to this series that I love so much becoming a thing.
-the story of how that story and opportunity came to be, including how that story was conceived and written in under 24 hours.
-the other stories that intermingle with the events of the first two books. One shows a consequence of Swinburne's shrill insistence that any hansom cab ride in London costs exactly one shilling. Another gives gruff Inspector Trounce some unnecessary but well-deserved closure. The third sends Burton on a side adventure across the Americas, with some extreme gore. Consider it the series' Hallowe'en season contribution.
The less good:
-the multi-part story involving Burton's dream of pan-dimensional cosmic dragons.
-the ghost story; for one thing, in a volume that is supposedly supposed to supplement material for only the first two books in the main series, this story includes spoilers for the entire series.
-the screenplay treatments. I suppose Hodder produced these for a potential pitch for film rights.
-the fact that Hodder has not had any new novels published since this series concluded. He's got talent and I want to see him succeed aplenty. He's not been idle, he has been active with other projects, including co-writing with Michael Moorcock recently. See my review on A Dark and Subtle Light for an unfortunate result of something I had been long anticipating.
July 28, 2021
Accompanies the six book adventure series of Burton and Swinburne. Some stories, some "how I did it" stuff by the author. Lots of fun.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews