THE DREAD PENNY SOCIETY: The Complete Penny Dreadful Collection (Proper Romance Victorian), by Sarah M. Eden, Shadow Mountain, Sept. 5, 2023, Hardcover, $24.99 (young adult/ new adult/ adult nonfiction)
Fans of Sarah M. Eden rejoice, The Dread Penny Society anthology brings together all her penny dreadful short stories into one place.
This cloth-covered hardcover collector’s anthology compiles all the penny dreadful short stories from Sarah M. Eden’s five-book Victorian romance series (The Lady and the Highwayman, The Gentleman and the Thief, The Merchant and the Rogue, The Bachelor and the Bride, and The Queen and the Knave). This edition also includes three new, never-before-released stories.
Emulating the Victorian style original penny dreadfuls, Eden’s stories follow a similar format — somewhat sensational stories published in weekly parts ranging from 8 to 16 pages that cost 1 penny each.
Eden has interwoven these tales throughout her five books, tailoring them to her storyline and adding depth to the overall narrative.
In The Dread Penny Society, readers get to read these serials all at once, perhaps lessening the anticipation for each new section but offering instant gratification at the same time. What’s especially nice here is that the stories are “penned” by different authors (from her series) with unique voices and subject matter. It’s a different kind of read from Eden and it’s lots of fun.
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