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Victorian AU
| Tropes and genres | |
|---|---|
| Related tropes/genres | Historical AU, Alternate Universe |
| See also | Victorian, Edwardian AU, Steampunk Victorian AU (AO3) |
 Victorian au thingy by shatteredstarsart (2024), featuring characters from Monkie Kid in Victorian dress | |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
Victorian AU, short for Victorian alternative universe, is the most commonly used term for fanworks that take characters from a modern or future-set fandom and relocate them to a stereotypical Victorian romanticism era setting. It is a form of historical AU.
No fandom is safe from this trope, from The Sentinel to Harry Potter to some other, even more unlikely, fandoms. Unlike canonical Victorians, historical accuracy is not a necessity. Some fans will put in the research to make their fanworks as accurate as possible, while others will use the setting as merely a backdrop or aesthetic for their fanworks.
The Victorian period lasted for 63 years. There is some variation, but it seems that very few fanworks are set in the early Victorian period. Fanworks seem to be more generally set in either the middle Victorian period (also sometimes referred to as High Victorian), which is very Dickensesque in tone or feeling, or the late Victorian period which has a slightly more modern feel.
Common Elements in Victorian AUs
Fanworks focused on romance are very popular. These works can involve overt gestures like socializing (balls, parties, etc), courting, and flower symbolism, or they can be more illicit, involving secret relationships. Fanworks with slash or femslash pairings, are more likely to fall into the latter category, because of the taboo, and later illegal, nature of such relationships during this time period. This can be a potential source of angst in fanworks. However, some fans will write Victorian universes where same sex relationships are openly accepted.
Some fan creators will lean more into more Gothic elements in their fanworks, involving romance or not. These fanworks can include horror or supernatural elements. If romance is included, it may be more in the style of a forbidden or dark romance, but not always.
Mysteries can be found in a smaller sub-set of fanworks. These can be related to the gothic-style fics, or they can involve detectives and be more holmesian in nature.
A common element in some Victorian AUs is to have the characters meet well-known characters from Victorian era fiction, like Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson or Bram Stoker's Dracula, or real-life Victorian figures like Oscar Wilde or Queen Victoria herself.
It is also not unusual for some Victorian AUs to incorporate fantastical elements like vampires or steampunk like contraptions.
Fanwork Examples
Fanfiction
- The Horsemaster by Charlotte Frost (Starsky & Hutch) (2003)
- Bridlewood Manor by Mitsugi (Gundam Wing) (2004)
- Under the Radar (Assassin's Creed story) by Kit (Assassin's Creed) (2011)
- Golden Heart, Silver Tongue by moosewingz (MCU) (2012)
- This Dangerous Game by MissDisoriental (Hannibal) (2017)
- Ileenium Manor by WaterlilyRose (Star Wars) (2017)
- Victorian Boy by audreyhheart (One Direction) (2018)
- Sinning In Secrets by whenIseeUsmile (BTS) (2019)
Zines
- Transience by TM Alexander (The Sentinel) (1997)
- The Professionals zine series by Meg Lewtan:
Example Fanart Gallery
Cover art of 11 & 2 Holiday Special #2 by Paulie Gilmore (1989) (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)
from Transience, a Sentinel novel that is a timeslip fusion with The Fall of the House of Usher, the artist is KOZ (1997)
illustration for Drawn to Any Good (Or, The Education of Lord Arthur Pendragon) by thedeathchamber, created for Paperlegends 2010 (Merlin)
