From New Babbage Department of Records and Archives

"A Victorian-influenced speculative fiction subgenre set in a world where steam power is still in common use; and the aesthetic derived thereof." - [Tor.com]

"Steampunk is a style (of books, clothes, video games, movies, etc.) that draws its inspiration from old science fiction stories. By “old” I mean Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Mary Shelley, and their ilk. Steampunk art is often (but not strictly always) indicative of a place and/or time wherein steam is the dominant form of high technology. Or at least it usually looks like it is." - [Cherie Priest ]