The moment I discovered that the author of the heartwarming classic Little Women had also written dark Gothic tales, I was overcome with curiosity and had to read them.

Deliciously melodramatic and delightfully dark they offer a glimpse into the secret preoccupations and fears of Victorian society. These concerns and the slightly archaic language require a strange shift for modern readers, but as I accepted the former and became used to the latter, I found these short stories very well written and they deserve to find new readers.

What a delight! ( )

I was eager to read this book because apparently, before Ms. Alcott found fame with classics such as “Little Women” she wrote “Penny Dreadful” books in order to pay the bills. Penny dreadful books could be compared to what we now call “Pulp Fiction”, or Soap Opera type stories. Basically, they are tales of emotional trauma, horror, gripping suspense, and subjects that aren’t mentioned in “polite society “.

This book was a compilation of these sorts of tales. The stories were well written and interesting. I did struggle with some of the period language in the book that is no longer used today. I found it very enlightening that subject matter that was considered spectacularly titillating and horrifying in that era wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow in our time; hmm, very interesting how far we’ve come as a society.

I would definitely recommend this book to people who love a good book that you can pick up and put down because each story is separate. I also found it to be a rare and informative peek into the mind of a brilliant Victorian woman who had to use a pseudonym in order to write.

I was eager to read this book because apparently, before Ms. Alcott found fame with classics such as “Little Women” she wrote “Penny Dreadful” books in order to pay the bills. Penny dreadful books could be compared to what we now call “Pulp Fiction”, or Soap Opera type stories. Basically, they are tales of emotional trauma, horror, gripping suspense, and subjects that aren’t mentioned in “polite society “.

This book was a compilation of these sorts of tales. The stories were well written and interesting. I did struggle with some of the period language in the book that is no longer used today. I found it very enlightening that subject matter that was considered spectacularly titillating and horrifying in that era wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow in our time; hmm, very interesting how far we’ve come as a society.

I would definitely recommend this book to people who love a good book that you can pick up and put down because each story is separate. I also found it to be a rare and informative peek into the mind of a brilliant Victorian woman who had to use a pseudonym in order to write.

I was eager to read this book because apparently, before Ms. Alcott found fame with classics such as “Little Women” she wrote “Penny Dreadful” books in order to pay the bills. Penny dreadful books could be compared to what we now call “Pulp Fiction”, or Soap Opera type stories. Basically, they are tales of emotional trauma, horror, gripping suspense, and subjects that aren’t mentioned in “polite society “.

This book was a compilation of these sorts of tales. The stories were well written and interesting. I did struggle with some of the period language in the book that is no longer used today. I found it very enlightening that subject matter that was considered spectacularly titillating and horrifying in that era wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow in our time; hmm, very interesting how far we’ve come as a society.

I would definitely recommend this book to people who love a good book that you can pick up and put down because each story is separate. I also found it to be a rare and informative peek into the mind of a brilliant Victorian woman who had to use a pseudonym in order to write.

J ( )