Back in the Stacks

Even more than Victorian history, the world of BRASS is inspired by the fiction of the 19th and early 20th century. Literary creations like the Phantom of the Opera and Sherlock Holmes rub shoulders with Tesla and Oscar Wilde in our story, creating a mash-up of fiction, history and alternative history which samples from each. This period was the flowering … Read More

Is This The End of Our Heroes?

Season Two of BRASS, like Season One, ends on a cliffhanger, as despite the heroic efforts of the family and their allies Ponder Wright and Lord Whitestone, the Crime Minister’s plans are carried through to their cataclysmic conclusion. How could the Brass family possibly survive such destruction? One of the primary inspirations of BRASS were the classic radio adventure serials … Read More

Steampunk Primer: Why Dirigibles, Anyway?

One of the iconic images of Steampunk is the dirigible airship, either rigid (a zeppelin), rounded (a blimp) or some imaginative variant. Along with top hats and corsets, these inflatable aircraft are part of the basic vocabulary of alternative 19th centuries—and that includes in BRASS, where the family returns to London in Episode 1 aboard such a ship, and are … Read More

Costermongers or Costermob?

Is there a word more redolent of the bustle and hustle of a Victorian London street than “costermonger?” In the popular imagination, these barrow-sellers of fruits and vegetables (among other items) are “cheery chirpy Cockney chappie” figures, best known for singing and dancing about in colorful rags and scenic grime in films like Mary Poppins and Oliver. But the truth … Read More