The Mysteries of London

I studied a lot the sort of Penny Dreadfuls and Victorian urban Gothic stories of the 19th century.

And one of them was called The Mysteries of London by a writer called George Reynolds, who was as famous as Dickens, sold at various points more than Dickens, and is now completely forgotten.

He wasn't as good a writer, I think a way better person.

But his Mysteries of London were based on...

In the 1840s, there were penny serials.

There's one by G.W.M. Reynolds called The Mysteries of London, which is probably the best-selling novel of the whole 19th century.

It sold for a penny an issue.

And it was bought by 300,000 people upwards.