At heart, the Steampunk ethos seems to be one of self-reliance and personal freedom. Steampunk bands take to the stage in homemade costumes, sporting heavily customised instruments; amateur jewellery designers produce their own ornate Steampunk finery; artists proudly display their paintings and sculptures at exhibitions and conventions; and fans swap modding and costume tips online.

Yet despite this apparent community spirit, some critics have attacked the genre for its empire worship and its focus on adventure and derring-do rather than the hard realities of life in the 19th century, such as slavery, child labour, lack of women’s suffrage, starvation and widespread disease.

Such criticisms, though, seem to be missing the point. While Steampunk’s roots are deeply sunk in history, it is not in and of itself an historical genre. It deals in ripping yarns rather than social commentary and, like much Victorian literature, it has more than a whiff of the fantastical about it.