Tuesday, April 28, 2015

A-Z: X is for eXtra Penny Dreadfuls

The letter for today for the A-Z Challenge is the letter X.  Well, this one as you can imagine is a difficult letter to source.  In order to make the most of this challenge for my readers, I decided to source more penny dreadfuls and post where everyone could find them free.  I'm using the letter X for eXtra penny dreadfuls.  Please enjoy these exceptional serials


George W. M. Reynolds' The Mysteries of London




Overview: George W. M. Reynolds' The Mysteries of London is a sprawling tableau, seeking to depict life as Reynolds saw it in mid-Victorian London and expose what he viewed as gross injustice toward the poor. He wide range of tales included a clergyman as the main character and hump-backed dwarves, harridans and grave-robbers [who] groped past against a background of workhouses, jails, execution yards, thieves' kitchens and cemeteries.


Get your Free copy here via Gutenberg.






William Harrison Ainsworth's The Lancashire Witches


The serial which was later published as a novel is based on the true story of the Pendle witches, who were executed in 1612 for causing harm by witchcraft. It is considered one of the major English novels on witchcraft.

Get your Free copy here via Manybooks.net.

William Harrison Ainsworth's Jack Sheppard




Overview: A celebrated thief is the un-worthy hero of this early dramatic romance.

Get your #Free copy of Jack Sheppard via ManyBooks.net.










William Harrison Ainsworth's Auriol: The Elixir of Life 


Overview:  On the night of the 1st of March, 1800, and at a late hour, a man, wrapped in a large horseman's cloak, and of strange and sinister appearance, entered an old deserted house in the neighbourhood of Stepney-green. He was tall, carried himself very erect, and seemed in the full vigour of early manhood; but his features had a worn and ghastly look, as if bearing the stamp of long-indulged and frightful excesses, while his dark gleaming eyes gave him an expression almost diabolical.

Get your #Free copy via Amazon.






Mary Elizabeth Braddon 's Lady Audley's Secret



Lady Audley's Secret was first published as a serial in the mid 1800's.  Here is an overview of the story.  Lady Audley's Secret (1862) was one of the most widely read novels in the Victorian period. It exemplifies "sensation fiction" in featuring a beautiful criminal heroine, an amateur detective, blackmail, arson, violence, and plenty of suspenseful action. To its contemporary readers, it also offered the thrill of uncovering blackmail and criminal violence within the homes of the upper class. The novel makes trenchant critiques of Victorian gender roles and social stereotypes, and it creates significant sympathy for the heroine, despite her criminal acts, as she suffers from the injustices of the "marriage market" and rebels against them. 

Get your #Free copy via Amazon here.





Have you had a change to read any of these?  I haven't, but I can promise there are a few here I'll be adding to my TBR pile.

Have a fantastic day!

Mina Burrows


6 comments:

S. L. Hennessy said...

Wow, I SERIOUSLY want a copy of the Lancaster Witches. I love witch Penny Dreadfuls!

djinnia said...

the cloud is in danger! it will inundated with books! MUHAHAHAHA!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

The Elixir of Life sounds cool.

Timothy S. Brannan said...

I really enjoyed the Lancashire Witches. But it hits all my favorite things too; Victorian Dreadfuls and Witches.

I will check the others out too!

--
Tim Brannan, The Other Side Blog
2015 A to Z of Vampires
http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/

J Lenni Dorner said...

J here, stopping by from the #atozchallenge - where I am part of Arlee's A to Z Ambassador Team.
Welcome to "Z-day"! (Time to watch the iZombie television series?)
Hope to see you at the after party. I'm looking forward to when the Reflections Linky List opens on Monday, May 4th.
I've followed your listed social media. I love your stalk me icons!
Thanks for the heads up on the free books. You rock!
-J @JLenniDorner

Nick Wilford said...

Thanks for the tips! I was thinking the guy in The Elixir of Life was a vampire, which would predate Bram Stoker's Dracula. Guess we would have to read to find out.