Half-Penny Dreadfuls
W
elcome to Mrs. Mooney's Half-Penny Dreadfuls - Half The Price, Twice As
Dreadful!
Penny Dreadful (or Penny Blood) was a term applied to 19th century British
fiction publications, usually lurid serial stories appearing in parts over a
number of weeks, each part costing a penny. The term, was soon applied to a variety of publications that featured cheap sensational fiction,
such as story papers and booklet “libraries.” The Penny Dreadfuls were printed
on cheap pulp paper and were aimed primarily at working class adolescents.
Half-Penny Dreadfuls came about in the mid-1890s when publisher Alfred
Harmsworth decided to do something about what was widely perceived as the
corrupting influence of the Penny Dreadfuls. He issued new story papers, The
Half-penny Marvel, The Union Jack and Pluck, all priced at one half-penny. At
first the stories were high-minded, moral tales, reportedly based on true
experiences, but it was not long before these papers started using the same kind
of material as the publications they competed against. A. A. Milne once said,
“Harmsworth killed the penny dreadful by the simple process of producing the
ha’penny dreadfuller.”
Mrs. Mooney
M
rs. Eugenia Mooney (aka Mrs. M), a widow, owned and operated a pie shop in The
Strand (London, UK) but due to slanderous rumours by her competitor, Mrs. Lovett
(something about “poppin’ pussy cats in pies”) her shop was unfortunately forced
to close by the authorities. After closing up shop she moved to London’s East
End, joining a popular Musical Revue – eventually becoming Manager/Promoter.
While touring in Manchester she met and married a somewhat roguish Irishman
(Michael Furey); shortly afterwards the couple decided on a new start and sailed
for Canada… making Hamilton their home. Mrs. Mooney’s talents and personality
made her a natural choice as a Ghost Guide for
Haunted Hamilton.
The Stories
H
ere are a selection of Half-Penny Dreadfuls. Clicking the title will allow you
to open or download the story (in PDF format). If you can't open PDF files, we
recommend the free
Foxit
Reader (available for MS Windows, desktop Linux, Mobile devices and
U3).
The
Accidental Murderess by Eugenia Mooney [2008]
The String Of Pearls/Sweeney Todd [pub. 1846-7 E. Lloyd]
"I Am" (A Poem
By John Clare)
Varney The Vampyre Or The Feast Of Blood [1847]
...more to come...
Cover Images Original
Penny Dreadful covers - click to enlarge
Varney The Vampyre
Spring Heeled Jack
(Jack The Ripper)
The String Of Pearls
(Sweeney Todd)
The Blue Dwarf
Submit StoriesI
f you would like to submit YOUR stories, there are a few
guidelines:
No more than 5000 words
Must be in the Penny Dreadful/Victorian genre/style
Must be original (no plagiarism!)
Original authors retain all copyright of their material (unless noted
otherwise); submissions become property of Mrs. Mooney's site. We suggest a
Creative
Commons
licence for any such works.
Stories selected for publication are at Mrs. Mooney's discretion. Certain
stories may be selected for public reading at an appropriate function.
To submit a story, contact Mrs. M.
Contact/Links
To contact Mrs. Mooney, or visit
Mrs. Mooney on Facebook.
This way you can find out about story readings, Ghost Walks and the like!
Some Of Mrs. Mooney's Favourite Sites:
eRWIN eVOL cOUTURE
Wardrobe Call
Edd Scorpio:
Photographer
Retro G Couture
Haunted Hamilton
Ghost Walks
Disappearing History
The Pyrates Unon
Casebook: Jack The Ripper
The Victorian
Dictionary
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