“Varney stands as the most complex and emotionally identifiable monster character of the 19th century” Jess Nevins, The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana

The Critical Edition of James Malcolm Rymer's 1845 Penny Dreadful, Varney the Vampire; or, The Feast of Blood

Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Curt Herr

He's Baaaaack~~~~ after 100 years of neglect, the potboiler Penny Dreadful Varney The Vampire; or, The Feast of Blood returns in this innovative critical edition to entertain a whole new generation of readers. Sold for a penny a chapter on the streets of London in 1845, Varney the Vampire is a milestone of Vampire fiction, yet ignored and overlooked for nearly 100 years, until now!

This Zittaw Press edition includes:

•                 Penny Bloods and Penny Dreadfuls
•                 Mary, The Maid of the Inn , author unknown
•                 The Body Snatchers, by G. W. M. Reynolds
•                 The Dead Alive, author unknown
•                 The Monster of Scotland, author unknown

 Nineteenth Century Essays on the Perils of Penny Dreadfuls:

•                 A Defence (sic) of Penny Dreadfuls, by G.K. Chesterton
•                 Penny Packets of Poison, by James Greenwood
•                 Preface from The Terrific Register, author unknown
•                 Popular Culture, New York Times
•                 Penny Dreadfuls, New York Times

Contemporary Scholarship on Penny Dreadfuls and Varney the Vampire:

•                 ‘Introduction' to the Dover Edition, by E. F. Bleiler
•                 A Note on Authorship, by E. F. Bleiler
•                 New Light on Sweeney Todd, Thomas Peckett Prest, James Malcolm Rymer
•                 and Elizabeth Caroline Grey, by Helen R. Smith

Including Lists of Important Publications:

•                 Lloyd's Publications
•                 Thomas Peckett Prest's Penny Dreadfuls
•                 James Malcolm Rymer's Penny Dreadfuls
•                 The Children of the Night: Stoker's Dreadful Reading and the Plot of
•                 Dracula, by Dick Collins

Woodcuts from the original printing of Varney the Vampire; or, The Feast of Blood.