Penny dreadfuls were cheap, popular serial fiction produced in the United Kingdom during the nineteenth century, a pejorative term roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful and penny blood. The term typically referred to a story published in weekly installments of eight to sixteen pages, each costing one penny, first appearing in the 1830s. Their subject matter was characteristically sensational, focused on the exploits of detectives, criminals and supernatural entities, and the format produced enduring characters including Sweeney Todd, Dick Turpin, Varney the Vampire and Spring-heeled Jack.
Facts
Place of OriginPenny dreadfuls were cheap popular serial literature produced in the United Kingdom during the nineteenth century, first published in the 1830s. 1 Notable ExampleVarney the Vampire was among the notable penny dreadful serials, alongside stories built around characters such as Sweeney Todd, Dick Turpin and Spring-heeled Jack. 1 Defining TraitPenny dreadfuls were cheap serial fiction issued in weekly installments of 8 to 16 pages costing one penny each, with sensational subject matter centered on detectives, criminals, or supernatural entities. 1 FAQs
Why were penny dreadfuls so much cheaper than other Victorian fiction?
They were priced for working-class readers and cost far less than a Dickens serial part.
The serials were priced to be affordable to working-class readers. A part of a serialised novel by an author such as Charles Dickens cost a shilling, which is twelve pennies, so the penny serials were considerably cheaper.
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Source Penny Dreadful (Wikipedia)Lead paragraphtier 2Quote, Lead paragraph
Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular serial literature produced during the 19th century in the United Kingdom.
Sources
1. Penny Dreadful (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundationlead section, paragraph 1, sentence 3
The term typically referred to a story published in weekly parts of 8 to 16 pages, each costing one penny.
lead section, paragraph 1, sentence 4
penny dreadfuls featured characters such as Sweeney Todd, Dick Turpin, Varney the Vampire, and Spring-heeled Jack.
lead section, paragraph 1, sentence 1
Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular serial literature produced during the 19th century in the United Kingdom.
In Group: Cheap Serial and Sensational Fiction, Lead paragraph
Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular serial literature
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