History Literature / AgathaHAndTheClockworkPrincess

* BerserkButton: Agatha accidentally hits one of Zeetha's, refusing to insist she learn how to wield one of Zeetha's swords since she knows she'd learn [[YouAreNotReady she wasn't prepared to do so]]. Zeetha goes into a rage, until the Boyz have a private word with her, but she does eventually explain her problem. Skifander tradition involves learning to wield the swords, specifically letting them try when they ask but before they are ready, to teach the "you are not ready" lesson. Her much more skilled cousin had a fatal accident trying.

* CoversAlwaysLie: The cover depicts Agatha wielding a sword against Anevka on an open lawn outside of Sturmhalten Castle, while Agatha's distress signal plays in the background and Krosp observes from an elevated perch. This does not happen, either in the book or comic.

** A song cited toward the end of the book sings on how the Heterodynes will return, bringing glory and wonders never seen with them. The second verse then adds they'll return and ask what the hell everyone has been doing while they were gone, because the monsters are on their tail.

* GentleGiant: Sergeant Nak, one of the many monsters in the Baron's employ is large, terrifying-looking... and actually something of a sweetie. The Baron encourages this, because it scares the hell out of people.

* YourCheatingHeart: Lord Rudolph Selnikoff is quite blatantly having an affair, or at least regular dalliances, while his wife is away in Paris. This is part of the reason he managed not to notice Prince Aaronev's death, since he ordered his staff to give him time alone. [[DirtyOldMan For several hours]].

* BerserkButton: Agatha accidentally hits one of Zeetha's, refusing to insist she learn how to wield one of Zeetha's swords since she knows she'd learn [[YouAreNotReady she wasn't prepared to do so]]. Zeetha goes into a rage, but she does eventually explain her problem. Skifander tradition involves learning to wield the swords, specifically letting them try when they ask but before they are ready, to teach the "you are not ready" lesson. Her much more skilled cousin had a fatal accident trying.

* LoveEpiphany: Tarvek has one, when he sees that Agatha is ready to give herself up to the Baron to keep the Other from taking over Europa.

** TheReveal [=/=] TheUnReveal: Vriin gives Agatha a lot of information about The Other, and the geisterdamen, but the way she phrases it means it's still not absolutely clear what happened with Lucrezia and The Other. Likewise, on one or two occasions the narration briefly goes to the Other / Lucrezia's point of view... but doesn't give anything away.

* TheUnReveal: Vriin gives Agatha a lot of information about The Other, and the geisterdamen, but the way she phrases it means it's still not absolutely clear what happened with Lucrezia and The Other. Likewise, on one or two occasions the narration briefly goes to the Other / Lucrezia's point of view... but doesn't give anything away.

* FootnoteFever: Footnotes expand on points and backstory.

* LiteraryAgentHypothesis: The footnotes -- and Phil's own appearance -- treat this as a history the authors have compiled.

** A song cited toward the end of the book sings on how the Heterodynes will return, bringing glory and wonders never seen with them. The second verse then adds they'll return and ask what the hell everyone has been doing while they were gone.

* BerserkButton: Agatha accidentally hits one of Zeetha's, refusing to insist she learn how to wield one of Zeetha's swords since she knows she'd learn [[YouAreNotReady she wasn't prepared to do so]]. Zeetha goes into a rage, but she does eventually explain her problem. Skifander tradition involves learning to wield the swords, and her much more skilled cousin had a fatal accident trying.

* DrunkenSong: One chapter opens with a drinking song about Castle Wulfenbach, which is laden with innuendo about how large and powerful the Baron's "great big thing" is.

A novelization of the second major StoryArc of the award-winning webcomic series ''Webcomic/GirlGenius''. It follows the webcomic ''very'' closely, often having a distinct 1:1 mapping between panel and paragraph, but it does have a few interesting departures, omissions, and expansions.

* IAteWhat: Tarvek is perturbed when he learns ''what'' the Geisterdamen make their cheese out of, since he'd eaten quite a lot of it.

* AmazonBrigade: Dupree's crew consists of pirates who were deemed dangerous by the Empire, but were smart enough to work for the Baron, are all completely loyal to Bang, and consists entirely of women.
* ArousedByTheirVoice: Agatha finds Lars' "madboy" voice rather appealing. Also part of her attraction to Tarvek seem to be connected with liking the sound of his voice.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: How the nobility became nobility. A footnote explains their ancestors were Sparks who went around making other people's lives miserable, until people started giving them things to make them stop.
* AuthorAvatar: Professor Phil Folgio appears in the book.

* FootnoteFever: Footnotes explain on points and backstory.

* HypocriticalHumour: When getting dressed for her first Heterodyne Show, Agatha compares the thought of people walking by while she's in a state of undress as similar to those of scandalous sociological experiments committed back in Beetleburg. Of course, she never got to attend those because there were so many volunteers.
* IAteWhat: Tarvek is perturbed when he learns ''what'' the Geisterdamen make their cheese out of, since he'd eaten quite a lot of it

* LiteraryAgentHypothesis: The footnotes -- and Folgio's own appearance -- treat this as a history the authors have compiled.
* MadeOfIron: The Jaegers, as one would expect as the creations of the Heterodynes. And yet the Slaver Wasps managed to kill three of them.

* OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope: One chapter begins with a song that is apparently unaccredited, with a following note stating that, no, really, the authors don't know who wrote it, just in case a Spark takes offense.
* TheReveal [=/=] TheUnReveal: Vriin gives Agatha a lot of information about The Other, and the geisterdamen, but the way she phrases it means it's still not absolutely clear what happened with Lucrezia and The Other. Likewise, on one or two occasions the narration briefly goes to the Other / Lucrezia's point of view... but doesn't give anything away.

** Mention is made of one of the Heterodyne Boy's allies retiring to the North Pole, to function as a living generator.

* TheReveal: Why do Slaver Wasps not effect Sparks? A conversation between Anevka and Lord Selnikov reveals it's ''not'' because of a lack of ability. The Other just made a promise to the Knights of Jove not to infect them.

** Instead of calmly accepting the news, the Jaeger generals go on a [[spoiler:fake]] rampage when the Baron presents the corpse of "Agatha".

** One of the chapter quotes is a snippet of dialogue from The Socket Wrench of Prague, and is a parody of a similar quote in ''Literature/TheKingInYellow''.

** Give the setting, it's not entirely unsurprising that this attitude exists. Bang has encounter people [[TooDumbToLive with these attitudes towards her]]. Consequently, the people who replace them do not share these opinions, and are exceedingly polite towards Bang for good measure. Klaus is well aware of this, and doesn't mind.

* TrueArtIsAngsty: In-universe, a music instructor back in Beetleburg thought that Agatha "lacked the raw emotion" to be a ''great'' musician.

* UnstoppableRage: The Jaeger Generals, when they are informed Agatha has died. It takes Klaus over half an hour of sustained fighting to subdue them. [[spoiler: Subverted in that while Jaegers never need an excuse to fight, it's ultimately all an act to throw off Klaus; the Jaegers can tell immediately by smell that it's not Agatha's burned body.]]
* UnusualEuphemism: "Working royalty", which here means royalty of a particularly piratical persuasion. A footnote states more than one party was dramatically livened up when some noble didn't understand what it meant.

* YouAreWhoYouEat: Brillat-Savarin fell victim to this when a not particularly bright construct took the saying literally, decided it wanted to be Brillat-Savarin, and ate him. Then it continued his work, though critical reviews took something of a hit.

* ExactWords: Dame Aedith's wagon has a sign on it proclaiming its owner can cure anaemia, sleepwalking and aversions to garlic. It just doesn't specify as to ''how''.

* DemBones: The upholstery in Dupree's private quarters consist near-entirely of bones. And that includes the lampshades. Klaus has made ''very sure'' they're not human bones.

* RetiredBadass: Mention is made of one of the Heterodyne Boy's allies retiring to the North Pole, to function as a living generator.

* TheReveal [=/=] TheUnReveal: Vriin gives Agatha a lot of information about The Other, and the geisterdamen, but the way she phrases it means it's still not absolutely clear what happened with Lucrezia and The Other.

** Give the setting, it's not entirely unsurprising that this attitude exists. Bang has encounter people [[TooDumbToLive with these attitudes towards her]]. Consequently, the people who replace them do not share these opinions, and are exceedingly polite towards Bang for good measure.

* DrinkingSong: One chapter opens with a drinking song about Castle Wulfenbach, which is laden with innuendo about how large and powerful the Baron's "great big thing" is.

** One of the tools in Circus-member Ratchet's vast collection is a [[Series/DoctorWho sonic screwdriver]].

* ShoutOut: One of the chapter quotes is a snippet of dialogue from The Socket Wrench of Prague, and is a parody of a similar quote in ''Literature/TheKingInYellow''.

* IJustWantToBeNormal: Jägers take up human hobbies to reconnect with their lost humanity. Oggie tries to set up his descendants on dates ([[StopHelpingMe which has led to Phil being the last of his line]]), while Dimo apparently knits multicolored socks. Agatha herself experiences shades of this while traveling with the circus but following her fight with the Baron and his forces, she accepts this was never a realistic possibility.