penny dreadful

English

Black Bess; or, The Knight of the Road: A romanticized tale of Dick Turpin.

Etymology

From their low price and the lower-class British use of dreadful (“sensationalized crime reporting”).

Noun

penny dreadful (plural penny dreadfuls)

1. (originally pejorative, now usually historical) A cheap paperback book, particularly those concerning lurid depictions of crime in the Victorian era.
   • 1861 July 29, North American Review:

     They can read the ‘penny dreadful’, but they cannot darn their stockings or mend their shoes.

2. (originally pejorative, now usually historical) Pulp fiction: stories written in the lurid style of the penny dreadfuls.

Usage notes

Also used attributively as an adjective.

Derived terms

• penny-dreadfulish

See also

• dime novel
• gazette
• pulp fiction

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, "penny, n.", 2005.