A complete issue · 321 pages · 1900
Between Snow and Fire
A complete, restored issue of Penny Dreadfuls from 1900 — all 321 pages of cheap serialized Victorian sensation fiction — crime, horror, and lurid melodrama, free to page through at ComicBooks.com.
A complete issue · 321 pages · 1900
"Tween Snow and Fire" by Bertram Mitford is an adventure novel set in South Africa. The narrative opens with a hunting scene in which a white settler, Tom Carhayes, witnesses Kafir workers illegally hunting a steinbok antelope using dogs and kerries. When Carhayes attempts to stop them and shoot the offending hound, the lead Kafir—identified as Hlangani, a man of Chief Sarili's house—defies him. After Carhayes kills the white dog, Hlangani attacks, sparking violent confrontation. The narrative, structured in forty-seven chapters, develops through themes of colonial conflict, romantic entanglement, and supernatural elements: chapters address love ("Love Setting Unawares"), warfare ("The War-Dance"), witchcraft ("The Witch-Doctress"), and military tension ("The Last Cartridge"), culminating in mysterious revelations and searches. The serial combines action, romantic drama, and period colonial setting conventions typical of Victorian adventure fiction.
Each page has its own page — the cartoon, who’s in it, and what the satire means.