Penny Bloods
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€19.99
'Her cheeks were pale, and her eyes had the wild and stolid glare which Rodolph had observed when she awakened from the slumber of the grave; she quitted the castle, and after gazing around her, as if uncertain which way to go, she proceeded towards the village.'
In the mid 1800s, the inexpensive publications known as penny bloods were all the rage in Britain. Spinning tales of high Gothic drama, violence and monstrosity, this literary phenomenon was significant for its depictions of dangerous and transgressive women. These popular figures established archetypes like the beguiling vampiress and inspired such milestone Gothic works as Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla.
Collecting seven tales from classic penny publications including the story of Mrs. Lovett, the piemaking counterpart to Sweeney Todd, this volume features newly edited text and insights from Dr. Dittmer’s research to revive a wild company of witches, femme fatales, and deadly criminals for a new generation of readers.
Nicole C Dittmer is a Lecturer of Gothic Studies at The College of New Jersey, whose forthcoming books include the monograph Monstrous Women and Eco- feminism in the Victorian Gothic, 1837-1871 (2022) and the co- edited collection Penny Dreadfuls and the Gothic; or, Investigations of Pernicious Tales of Terror (2023).