Big Worlds On Small Screens: Rebecca Fisher Discusses “Penny Dreadful”

~ by Rebecca Fisher

Introduction:

First of all, what is a penny dreadful? During the 1800s growing literacy rates in Britain increased the demand for published material, particularly among lower classes whose wages could not readily be spent on expensive books. In response, a number of magazines and newspapers ran serialized stories over the course of several weeks. Due to their lurid and sensationalized subject matter, and the fact that they were sold for a penny, they soon became known as “pe...