Grandville is set in a steampunk world, featuring steam-powered motor vehicles, air transport, robots (known as "Automatons") and televisions. In this world, Britain lost the Napoleonic War and was invaded by France, and the British Royal Family were guillotined. Britain was later given independence from the French Empire following "a prolonged campaign of civil disobedience and anarchist bombings."[4] Following independence, Britain became "The Socialist Republic of Britain". 23 years later, by which time the English is only spoken in rural communities, Britain is linked to the French Empire by the Channel railway bridge, and Paris is the biggest city in the world.