The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack

The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack is the first novel in the Burton & Swinburne trilogy by award-winning steampunk author, Mark Hodder, winner of the 2010 Phillip K. Dick Award. The series follows the adventures of two Victorian-era protagonists based on two noted historical figures, Richard Francis Burton and Algernon Charles Swinburne in mid-late 19th Century London.

The series is framed as an alternate history, and takes place in actual locations such as the Cannibal Club and London's East End, involving many notable personalities of the era, such as Florence Nightingale, Charles Darwin, and explorer John Hanning Speke. It includes actual historical events, namely the Spring-heeled Jack case, the assassination attempt on Queen Victoria in 1840, the search for the source of the Nile and the development of Darwin's theory of Evolution.

Dirda Michael said "As fantasy, the novel doesn't really break new ground, given that the plot combines elements from notable works by Robert A. Heinlein, H.G. Wells and Aldous Huxley, among others." in The Washington Post.

A time-traveller from the distant future returns to 1840 to prevent an ancestor from attempting to commit an act of regicide. After failing in his mission, he returns to 1837 and recruits the 'Mad Marquess' to find his ancestor and correct the error. The result of his interference is an altered timeline in which technological advances have given rise to two scientific classes: 'Technologists' and 'Eugenicists' (See Technologies).

Sir Richard Francis Burton returns to find his reputation damaged and his second-in-command lionized as the discoverer of the source of the Nile. He is recruited by the Prime Minister, in the capacity of King's Agent, to investigate the Spring-heeled Jack affair and the strange manifestations plaguing London's East End.

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