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