That Inevitable Victorian Thing is a Young Adult novel written in 2017 by E.K. Johnston.
The main protagonist is Victoria-Margareth, a multiracial princess who is half English and half Jamaican. A direct descendant of Britain's Queen Victoria, she is chosen by the genetic selection computer of the English monarchy to become the next Queen of England through the imperial tradition of "Matchmaking." Before assuming the throne, Victoria-Margareth leaves for Canada, where she spends the summer vacationing in a lakeside villa. While there, she meets Helena Marcus, the daughter of a famous imperial geneticist and August Callaghan, a Sino-Irish boy and the son of a rich and powerful British merchant shipping company owner. A deep friendship is born between the trio that changes their lives.
This work contains examples of:
- Alternate History:
- Beginning in 1870, Britain's Queen Victoria has successors to the English throne chosen by princes and nobles of the Commonwealth. As a result, British colonialism becomes less racist and oppressive, thereby preventing the collapse and disintegration of the Empire. The Empire also undergoes great reforms and social transformations, becoming modernized and turning into a liberal and progressive society at the forefront of civil rights. As a result, the collapse of the British colonial empire is averted, and it remains active into the 21st Century.
- In 1850-1860, a successful rebellion of Caribbean slaves takes place, leading to the emancipation of Blacks in the region and the creation of independent Black-led republics in the Caribbean Antilles.
- In 1860, the southern United States is overwhelmed by a large-scale revolution of African-Americans. They defeat the Confederate army, resulting in the creation of an independent Black republic there.
- In 1870, the United States decides to honor its treaties with the various Native American tribes. They are thus not displaced or persecuted within their territories.
- India is a wealthy, developed nation in the 20th century.
- The United States never establishes itself as a world power and remains a second-rate country, becoming a center for piracy in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. American pirates target the naval routes of the British Empire.
- Alternate History Wank: In this book, the British Empire is a vast, rich, and powerful entity, one still standing as of the 21st century.
- Ambiguously Brown: Margareth, the main protagonist, is a multiracial girl. She's of mixed white and Caribbean Black ancestry, with light brown skin.
- Days of Future Past: The book is set in a society where the customs of 19th century Victorian England coexist with modern and advanced technologies such as computers, genetics, electronics, and advanced DNA knowledge. It's essentially a kind of "Techno-Victorianism" or "Victorian Futurism."
- Culture Chop Suey: The Neo-Victorian British Empire has become a multicultural, multiracial, and multi-ethnic liberal-progressive entity. It features a broad-based mixture of cultures and ethnicities including English, Hindi, Canadian, Native American, Irish, Scottish, Celtic-Gaelic, Han Chinese, African, and Jamaican influences.
- Fallen States of America: By the 21st century, the United States has become a pariah state, internationally and globally marginalized — a poor and backward nation governed by a conservative, xenophobic, and racist government. Its authoritarian regime makes extensive use of eugenics and scientific racism, and great social and racial inequalities and large gaps between rich and poor exist. The country is now a haunt for pirates, who strike and target ships and merchant routes of the British Empire.
- The Federation: This is what the British Empire becomes in this novel after the political and monarchical reforms launched by Queen Victoria of England. It ceases being a colonial or hegemonic empire, instead transforming into an alliance or coalition of independent states and nations. While these countries remain part of the British Empire, they enjoy broad autonomy and independence.
- Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke: In the novel's Neo-Victorian British Empire, genetic engineering is both accepted and popular. Genetics and bio-technologies have become highly advanced and are widely applied throughout society. Genetic diversity is encouraged, and the British Empire even employs "Imperial Geneticists."
- Oppressive States of America: By the 21st century, the United States has become a pariah state, internationally and globally marginalized — a poor and backward nation governed by a conservative, xenophobic, and racist government. Its authoritarian regime makes extensive use of eugenics and scientific racism, and great social and racial inequalities and large gaps between rich and poor exist. The country is now a haunt for pirates, who strike and target ships and merchant routes of the British Empire.
- Pirate: American pirates prowl the oceans, using airplanes and airships to target the merchant supply routes between England, Canada, and China.
- Space-Filling Empire: The British colonial empire has never collapsed, becoming both liberal and progressive. It is a multiracial, cosmopolitan, and multi-ethnic society where ethnic mixing is encouraged and racial, cultural, and religious syncretism is practiced.
- Schizo Tech: The latest advances of the 21st century coexist with 19th-century Steampunk technologies. Computers, electronics, genetic engineering, and modern cars are seen overlapping with the customs of Victorian England.
- Speculative Fiction LGBT: British society in the 21st century has become very open and progressive with regard to sexuality, sexual minorities, and LGBT groups. "Fluid sexuality" is by now a widely accepted practice.
- Helena is an openly pansexual "Intersex" girl.
- A polyamorous relationship forms between Margareth, August, and Helena.
