The Difference Engine

This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (May 2012)

The Difference Engine

Cover of first edition (hardcover)
Author	William Gibson and Bruce Sterling
Language	English
Genre	Alternate history, steampunk
Publisher	Victor Gollancz Ltd
Publication date	September 1990
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardback and paperback)
Pages	383 pp (Paperback – 429 pages)
ISBN	0-575-04762-3
OCLC	21299781

The Difference Engine (1990) is an alternative history novel by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. It is widely regarded as a book that helped establish the genre conventions of steampunk.

It posits a Victorian era Britain in which great technological and social change has occurred after entrepreneurial inventor Charles Babbage succeeded in his ambition to build a mechanical computer (actually his Analytical Engine rather than the difference engine).

The novel was nominated for the British Science Fiction Award in 1990, the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1991, and both the John W. Campbell Memorial Award and the Prix Aurora Award in 1992.