A complete issue · 398 pages · 1848
The Mysteries of the Court of London by Pauline Clarendon
A complete, restored issue of Penny Dreadfuls from 1848 — all 398 pages of cheap serialized Victorian sensation fiction — crime, horror, and lurid melodrama, free to page through at ComicBooks.com.
A complete issue · 398 pages · 1848
This multi-chapter serial narrative, set in January 1795, opens with a sensational account delivered by traveling merchant Mr. Page at a London tavern. Page recounts shocking crimes allegedly perpetrated by the supposedly respectable Sir Richard Stamford of Aylesbury: fraud, forgery against the bank in which he is partner, the murder of his wife, and arson of his country estate. According to Page's account, banker Mr. Ramsey discovered Stamford's forgeries and confronted him at Stamford Manor; the baronet then killed his wife in fury and burned the house before fleeing. The narrative promises to unfold a tale encompassing both high society and criminal underworld, featuring characters including the Prince of Wales, various titled persons, criminal associates ("Kinchin-Ken," "Carrotty Poll"), and investigators including Bow Street officers, across fifty chapters spanning London settings from drawing rooms to taverns and prisons.
Each page has its own page — the cartoon, who’s in it, and what the satire means.