sprawling, nearly 1200-page work in this genre depicts characters such as the mysterious libertine George Montague and the "Resurrection Man" Anthony Tidkins.
sprawling, nearly 1200-page work in this genre depicts characters such as the mysterious libertine George Montague and the "Resurrection Man" Anthony Tidkins. Like Empedocles, the title character of another of these works throws himself into Mount Vesuvius because he is unable to handle the boredom of immortality after initially pursuing Flora Bannerworth. Many of them were published by Edward Lloyd and written by G. W. M. Reynolds. G. K. Chesterton wrote an essay in (*) defense of these works, which included The Mysteries of London and one which begins with Lieutenant Thornhill presenting the title jewels to Johanna Oakley. Mary Elizabeth Braddon started her literary career by writing them, and one of them, The String of Pearls, introduced the story of Sweeney Todd. For 10 points, identify these booklets, such as Varney the Vampire, that were wildly popular among young working-class British readers in the 19th century, and, as their name suggests, could be purchased for a very cheap price.
sprawling, nearly 1200-page work in this genre depicts characters such as the mysterious libertine George Montague and the "Resurrection Man" Anthony Tidkins.
penny dreadfuls [or penny bloods; or penny awfuls; or penny horribles; prompt on "serialized novels" or anything about literature published in serials]