A complete, restored issue of Penny Dreadfuls from 1873 — all 20 pages of cheap serialized Victorian sensation fiction — crime, horror, and lurid melodrama, free to page through at ComicBooks.com.

← Back to Penny Dreadfuls All exhibitions

Home › Exhibition › Penny Dreadfuls › Read

A complete issue · 20 pages · 1873

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings

1873 · Free to read

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 2 of 20 — 2 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 3 of 20 — 3 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 4 of 20 — 4 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 5 of 20 — 5 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 6 of 20 — 6 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 7 of 20 — 7 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 8 of 20 — 8 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 9 of 20 — 9 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 10 of 20 — 10 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 11 of 20 — 11 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 12 of 20 — 12 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 13 of 20 — 13 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 14 of 20 — 14 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 15 of 20 — 15 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 16 of 20 — 16 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 17 of 20 — 17 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 18 of 20 — 18 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 19 of 20 — 19 / 20

The Duchess's Revenge or The Three Warnings — page 20 of 20 — 20 / 20

About this issue

This issue features "The Duchess's Revenge; or, The Three Warnings," an original Italian story. The narrative opens at the ducal palace of Vergellesi during wedding festivities. The young Duke, on his wedding night, confesses to his tutor Bentivoglio his despair: he abhors his bride Fiammetta Malatesta, forced upon him by his father, and yearns instead for a woman matching his idealized vision—golden-haired, gentle-eyed, delicate. Bentivoglio reveals knowledge of such a woman: Constantia Gernito, the duchess's companion, dwelling within the palace itself. The Duke then recounts a family legend: a century prior, his ancestor seduced and drove mad a girl named Blanche after she rejected his advances. Before her death, Blanche's sanity briefly returned thrice to warn successive dukes—twice of danger, once of death. The Duke believes he will receive these three warnings. The narrative establishes Gothic supernatural elements intertwined with romantic conflict.

Browse this issue page by page

Each page has its own page — the cartoon, who’s in it, and what the satire means.