Victoria by Paul Di Filippo
This novella is available free online in MP3 format at:
Victoria is a steampunk / alternative history of the time just before Queen Victoria's coronation. Our main character, Cosmo, is an inventor ahead of his time. Among the results of his experiments is a human-sized salamander which was chemically-modified to resemble a woman - and looks a bit like Victoria. Cosmo is informed that Victoria has gotten the jitters about being queen and has disappeared. They want the salamander to be in the palace to give the impression to those seeing it at a safe distance that Victoria is still there preparing for the coronation. (Using the salamander rather than a human actress will preclude the possibility the actress would demand blackmail for her secrecy.) Meanwhile, a search will proceed to find the real Victoria.
Cosmo decides to search for Victoria himself. In the process, we see many of the uglier aspects of 19th century London. And although there are no "descriptions of sex", there are many references to it, not all of which are to the most innocent types. You may want to listen to it yourself before deciding whether to share it with young people, individuals who are sensitive to such material, or anglophiles.
We meet some interesting characters along the way. And we are told about some interesting previous inventions by Cosmo. However, I would say the story has more to offer as the journey rather than the destination.
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