John Hackworth, a nanotechnology engineer, steals a copy of The Picture Primer for Noble Maidens for his daughter Fiona. The primer is actually a supercomputer built on nanotechnology, and intended for the education of Lord Finkel-McGraw's daughter in the Neo-Victorian society of the future. But Hackworth loses the Primer before he can give it to Fiona. And now the “book” falls into the hands of Nell, a girl from a poor family, whose life then changes irrevocably, like the fate of all humanity... (The novel received a Hugo Award in 1996)

The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer is a postcyberpunk novel by Neal Stephenson. It is to some extent a science fiction coming-of-age story, focused on a young girl named Nell, and set in a future world in which nanotechnology affects all aspects of life. The novel deals with themes of education, social class, ethnicity, and the nature of artificial intelligence.