penny dreadfuls | #victober

The penny dreadful was a popular form of fiction from the Victorian period. I thought I would make a video all about this fabulous format!

Books I Mentioned:
The Necromancer
Varney the Vampire
The String of Pearls

Ways to Support my Channel:
You can also give me a tip via the Super Thanks button, on the righthand side under the video.

Social Media:
booktube, booktuber, book recommendations, classics #victober

[notmyrealname]

I hope you'll continue spoiling us with semi educational content like that in the future, that was great, thanks!

[davidnovakreadspoetry]

Thanks for the education! And what a sales job on Varney! 😂😂😂

[AmalijaKomar]

Loved the series with Eva Green. It was made so smart. You have revealed aspects of the Victorian period that I have new just a little.

[GilbertHorn]

Most interesting. Very well done.
I’ve been reading “The Mysteries of London “ for a while. 2300 odd pages written by George W.M. Reynolds (also The Necromancer).
Just received Varney the Vampire. Can’t wait!

[katiejlumsden]

I feel like I need to read String of Pearls next year! I am a massive fan of the musical.

[shonnarobertson]

I have been planning on reading Varney the Vampire for at least ten years. I first heard about it around 2011 or so, but it wasn’t as easily available as it is now. Earlier this year, I finally got the unabridged Vol 1, and so far I am having a good time with it. I’ll probably buy Vol 2 as well! I have always enjoyed gothic novels, the melodrama, the general vibe and the fantastical plot twists - Mysteries of Udolfo is a favourite but I also like Castle of Otranto and even The Monk! It was fascinating learning more about the context of the Penny Dreadful as well. Thank you ✨✨

[jackiesliterarycorner]

That was a great "lecture" on Penny Dreadfuls. I watched show, but I need to rewatch it if I can get access to it.

[joyceredman]

On my Kindle, I got the Delphi Complete works of Ann Radcliffe (illustrated too); it's got what people mostly talk about-The Italian, The Romance of the Forest, Mysterious of Udolpho and it has her poetry, biography, some nonfiction too. What really strikes me about these types of books is that the "bad guy" is almost always a "foreigner" so that the British audience could hate the villain all the more for not being English. Although there is Sheridan Le Fanu's Uncle Silas who had British characters in movie adaptations. I love the creepy covers of Penny Dreadfuls which never really show you anything that happens in the books!

[nicholasjones]

The string of pearls is great. I got varney in my TBR pile

[laracroft]

This video was fantastic. Thanks for dedicating time to discuss the Penny Dreadfuls. You make me want to give Varney the Vampire a try.

[mtnshelby]

What an absolutely delightful chat! I love your honesty about reading motivation and your take on Varneys marriage proposal. 😂 I ordered Varney based on one of your previous videos. I think it's great to unabashedly enjoy the lighter reads. Thank you, glad i found your channel.

[lorimiller]

You convinced me last year that I need to try Varney, but I haven’t done it yet. 😢

[leornendeealdenglisc]

I learned something new here. Never heard of penny dreadfuls before.

Great video, Jennifer!

[josmith]

This was so interesting Jennifer! I’ve heard you speak about Penny dreadfuls before- especially Barney 😉 but had no idea of the history or how they were written.

[kurtfox]

This was a really interesting video! Very informative.

"Penny dreadful" reminds me of the Italian "giallo" (which is obviously newer) .... from wikipedia: "The term giallo ("yellow") derives from a series of crime-mystery pulp novels entitled Il Giallo Mondadori (Mondadori Yellow), published by Mondadori from 1929 and taking its name from the trademark yellow cover background. The series consisted almost exclusively of Italian translations of mystery novels by British and American writers. These included Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, Edgar Wallace, Ed McBain, Rex Stout, Edgar Allan Poe and Raymond Chandler."

These pulps evolved in cinema giallos... interesting subject if you are intrigued

[fiberartsyreads]

This was great! Varney has been on my list…I may tackle it some day.

[rickcroucher]

Thank you for this post. I like that you let us know that you love this genre and that the classics aren't quite your thing. I will be looking into the Penny Dreadfuls now. Please continue this as a series telling us what you have discovered along the way.

[ArtBookshelfOdyssey]

Wow! dropping some shocking truths about Varney the Vampire! I read it a few years ago for Victober, and I really enjoyed it.

[anjakuemski]

Varney is definitely on my list. I also want to read The Mysteries of London, which was inspired by a french novel that I read many years ago, probably as an abridged version, The Mysteries of Paris by Eugène Sue.

[LeaReads]

You’ve convinced me to put Varney the Vampire on my TBR! Any edition you recommend reading it from?