Penny Bloods: Gothic Tales of Dangerous Women | 
pickPenny bloods were popular in the early 19th century and emerged as a response to the first-wave of gothic literature. Penny bloods were written by the Average Joe and went more for sensationalism over artistic expression but were popular and made good money. However, they still contained important social issues but were largely transgressive literature, particularly to do with transgressive women. (Cont. in comments 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻)
i.z.booknook (1) In this collection, Dittmer displays some of the most outlandish female characters created in this era, perhaps most famously, Mrs Lovett. Many of the stories also deal with the supernatural including vampires and a story inspired by the witches of Macbeth. This was a really interesting collection to read and made me think about the current debate around modern literature. 2mo
i.z.booknook (2) I see on things like BookTok debates around the quality of popular publications recently and there appears to be parallels with the penny bloods, things like simple construction, ‘fan-fiction‘, eroticism and less traditional authors, but these penny bloods were popular for a reason and were more accessible to the masses during a time when working-class literacy was on the rise. 2mo
i.z.booknook (3) Besides, there was still so much artistry and intrigue in these stories and it was great to read stories that weren‘t written by the great or privileged. I wonder how we will look back on this period of increased reading. 2mo
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