A Study in Ashes

As part of her devil's bargain with the industrial steam barons, Evelina Cooper is finally enrolled in the Ladies' College of London. She attends as the Gold King's pet magician, however — in handcuffs, and forbidden contact with even her closest relation, the detective Sherlock Holmes. Not even Niccolo, the dashing pirate captain, and his sentient airship can save her.

As the Baskerville Affair comes to light, larger conflicts break open: rebels move against the barons, heirs go missing, and a war for control of the steam-powered city begins in earnest.

Evelina must also contend with her own dark magic and the lingering influence of a dead sorcerer over her abilities. A Study in Ashes is the concluding volume of Emma Jane Holloway's steampunk trilogy, which began with A Study in Silks.