Penny Dreadfuls and the Gothic: Investigations of Pernicious Tales of Terror

(Hardback)

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Description

Uncovers neglected Gothic texts of the nineteenth century crucial to understanding working-class popular culture.

This collection of essays recovers a plethora of penny dreadful titles which have, until now, been largely neglected by literary studies and reveals the cultural, social, and literary significance of these working-class texts. It demonstrates the penny dreadfuls importance to our understanding of both working-class Victorian literature and the Gothic mode, providing new insights into the fields of Victorian literature, popular culture, and Gothic fiction more broadly. Through its analysis of penny dreadfuls, the collection offers an in-depth and intertextual exposition of Victorian society, literature, and gothic representations.

Reviews

"This is an important new volume of literary criticism that pays attention to the class dimension of the history of the Gothic. Dittmer and Raine have assembled and curated vital work on an under-researched aspect of Gothic literature that addresses misconceptions, stereotypes and literary snobbery, and provides fresh insights into the ways gothic tropes, narratives and techniques were developed through mass market periodicals and penny papers. The editors provide a deftly-written and rigorous introduction to this research, and the chapters taken together offer a lively conversation opening new avenues of enquiry for gothic scholars. This is a must-read for those interested in the history of the Gothic, especially in relation to social class, as well as anyone keen to learn about the publication contexts of nineteenth-century literature more broadly."-- "Chlo Germaine, Senior Lecturer in English, Manchester Metropolitan University"

Author Bio

Nicole C. Dittmer is a lecturer of horror and gender studies at the College of New Jersey. Sophie Raine is a PhD candidate at Lancaster University.