http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/penny-dreadfuls
Discovering Literature: Romantics and Victorians
British Library
Penny Dreadfuls by Judith Flanders
Key Points
- Penny Dreadfuls contributed to making print available to the working class - the masses.
- Contained stories for all classes of people, affordable and accessible for all and became part of the popular culture.
- - Penny-bloods weren't too bothered about intellectual content, it was very much about producing a story for the working classes.
- The illustrations were a huge part of making the reader intrigued as to what the story was about.
- - Certain stories were extremely popular due to the content being an expression of a working class life and the challenges they faced in contrast to the upper classes.
- Including true events made the stories more relatable to an audience.
- The development of media made it possible for these stories to be told to a wider audience of all classes (the masses). Re-telling of stories through film, stage production and television. Penny Dreadful - TV Drama. Sweeney Todd - Stage and Film.
Key Quotes
- '19th-century publishing phenomenon... cheap, sensational, highly illustrated stories... popular with the Victorian public'.
- 'literacy and improving technology saw a boom in cheap fiction for the working classes'.
- 'astonishingly successful, creating a vast new readership'.
- - 'without too much worry for historical accuracy or continuity'.
- 'The illustrations were an essential element, as much an advertising tool as art'.
- - 'most successful penny-blood...much closer to it's reader's own lives, contrasting the dreadful world of the slums with the decadent life of the careless rich'. - Mysteries of London 1844 by G.W.M. Reynolds.
- 'penny-bloods found even more success with stories of true crimes, especially murders... most successful of them was the story of Sweeney Todd... adapted for the stage... on the road to world fame'.
- 'broad readership'.
Summary
Following the theme of producing material for the working classes, penny dreadfuls didn't bother too much about intellectual content, it was very much orientated around the idea of story telling 'without too much worry for historical accuracy or continuity'. This made the books even more appealing to some audiences who were not interested in the academic sources of the subject matter, but in the representation of a narrative. Illustrations contained in the books and on the cover were a huge part of intriguing the reader to discover more about the story, Flanders describes illustration as 'an essential element, as much an advertising tool as art'.
Certain stories were extremely popular due to the content being an expression of a working class life in 'the dreadful world of the slums' and the challenges they faced in contrast to the 'decadent life of the careless rich'. In 1844 this was displayed when GWM Reynolds produced the 'Mysteries of London'. This became the 'most successful of penny-blood' and demonstrated this idea of social hierarchy between the classes. Including true events made the stories more relatable to an audience and even more success was found when including 'stories of true crimes, especially murders' in the content of the plot line. The most successful of this type of penny-blood was the story of 'Sweeney Todd', the demon barber of Fleet Street. The story was swiftly adapted for stage production that widened the reach to an audience yet again, including the upper classes.
The influences of these stories can still be seen around the world today. For example, Penny Dreadful is now an American-British television drama. Similarly, the story of Sweeney Todd has since been successfully told and greatly received through theatre productions and film all over the world. Hence, a cheap short story made initially for the working classes in the 19th century has become celebrated and acknowledged by a much wider audience.
Judith Flanders explores the ways in which 'Penny
Dreadfuls' contributed to making print available to the masses. In her article
for the British Library, 'discovering literature: Romantics and Victorians',
she describes the '19th century publishing phenomenon' as 'cheap fiction' which
was incredibly popular with the Victorian public. The stories contained in
these books were suitable for the readership of all classes of people and
became a part of popular culture at that time. The affordability and accessibility
of the 'Penny-blood', as they were originally titled, ensured that the reach of
an audience was much wider than it had been with previous literature, which was
very much directed at the upper classes. 'Literacy and improving technology' contributed to a demand in the production of cheap fiction for the working classes, which was 'astonishingly successful' and created a 'vast new readership'.
Following the theme of producing material for the working classes, penny dreadfuls didn't bother too much about intellectual content, it was very much orientated around the idea of story telling 'without too much worry for historical accuracy or continuity'. This made the books even more appealing to some audiences who were not interested in the academic sources of the subject matter, but in the representation of a narrative. Illustrations contained in the books and on the cover were a huge part of intriguing the reader to discover more about the story, Flanders describes illustration as 'an essential element, as much an advertising tool as art'.
Certain stories were extremely popular due to the content being an expression of a working class life in 'the dreadful world of the slums' and the challenges they faced in contrast to the 'decadent life of the careless rich'. In 1844 this was displayed when GWM Reynolds produced the 'Mysteries of London'. This became the 'most successful of penny-blood' and demonstrated this idea of social hierarchy between the classes. Including true events made the stories more relatable to an audience and even more success was found when including 'stories of true crimes, especially murders' in the content of the plot line. The most successful of this type of penny-blood was the story of 'Sweeney Todd', the demon barber of Fleet Street. The story was swiftly adapted for stage production that widened the reach to an audience yet again, including the upper classes.
The influences of these stories can still be seen around the world today. For example, Penny Dreadful is now an American-British television drama. Similarly, the story of Sweeney Todd has since been successfully told and greatly received through theatre productions and film all over the world. Hence, a cheap short story made initially for the working classes in the 19th century has become celebrated and acknowledged by a much wider audience.
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