Why does the time change every autumn? This fantastic story set in the Austro-Hungarian Empire weaves elements of detective fiction and steampunk together to create a riveting alternative history.

Children’s and Young Adult

The narrative unwinds in the fictional town of Makovin at the turn of the century, La Belle Epoque, the Jugendstil days of the Hapsburg Monarchy. An unusual family arrives at the train station — inventor Leoš Šína, his wife Ludovika, and their eight-year-old daughter Lenka. Mr Šína is there to show the mayor one of his inventions — a portable hotel room. But when Lenka notices that the hour hand of the train station clock is gone, replace by a tiny man, the trip turns into a dramatic quest for the stolen clock-hand. Vratislav Maňák, a young and critically acclaimed writer, tells one of the first Czech steampunk stories.