9. The Burton & Swinburne Series By Mark Hodder
kapryfolium.plThis steampunk series set in an alternative Victorian London follows the unlikely pair of Sir Richard Francis Burton, an explorer and man of action and his sidekick Algernon Swinburne, poet and S&M enthusiast as they work as agents of the king. Without wanting to give too much of the first novel away, Victorian Britain isn't as we know it: Queen Victoria herself was assassinated at a young age and all this technology, both simultaneously advanced and retro, is present. Coal powered penny farthings, giant intelligent swans with gliders attached to them and Bioshock-style pneumatic tubes are all part of this alternative 19th century London. What makes things even more interesting is that Burton and Swinburne were real people: Swinburne was a contemporary of Oscar Wilde and his poetry is available in any bookstore today, whilst Burton once travelled to Mecca, published the Kama Sutra in English (thanks Dick) and even served in the Crimean War. On screen chemistry would be paramount in an adaptation of this series, we think Tom Hardy as Burton and Simon Pegg as Swinburne would be a great match for both their characters and as a duo.