The Mysteries of London by George W.M. Reynolds
The Mysteries of London was a best-selling novel in mid-Victorian England. The first series was published in weekly instalments from 1844-46, priced at a penny each. Serialised novels sold in this way were known as Penny Dreadfuls … without any claim to literary greatness, they sought to provide ongoing entertainment for the popular audience.
When first published, this book would have been intended for an adult audience. The crime and vice involved would have had a terrible effect on the Young Mind of the Victorian Era. However, it’s unlikely to cause offence or concern now, though I don’t recommend it for the very young (those under 7, perhaps. Parental discretion required.) In bringing this wonderful piece of writing to modern listeners, I’ll be releasing chapters on a twice-weekly schedule. Comments and feedback welcome.
Source text: http://www.victorianlondon.org/mysteries/
mysteries-00-chapters.htm
Detailed background to the era: http://www.victorianlondon.org/
May 8th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Good luck with your audio project, mysterious reader of the Mysteries … I’ve always thought that http://www.victorianlondon.org could do with an audio component, but I don’t have the voice for it!
regards,
Lee
May 11th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Thankyou, Lee! I’m very appreciative of your time in putting the text online in the first place, and your willingness for it to be used in this way (my online-colleague, Kristin, contacted you about LibriVox possibly using your MoL and The String of Pearls texts as source for audio sometime back. I’ve only signed up to one chapter of SoP — I think MoL will take some doing!)