penny dreadful

noun

, Chiefly British.

, plural penny dreadfuls.

1. a cheap, sensational novel of adventure, crime, or violence; dime novel.

penny-dreadful

noun

1. informal.
   a cheap, often lurid or sensational book or magazine

Word History and Origins

Origin of penny dreadful¹

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

That a penny dreadful character originally meant just to shock and sicken becomes instead a pitiable victim is a testament to the power of music to make bad guys, if not good, compelling.

From New York Times

On his bedside table were loose matches, unused stationery, a penny dreadful left facedown at the page he had stopped reading.

From Literature

“It is Grand Guignol, it is penny dreadful.”

From New York Times

Casey links the newspaper era that parallels the rise of the penny dreadful with the gestation of the 19th century idea of "new journalism."

From Salon

Travelers to the village were rare, but occasionally a peddler would come through the village, selling "penny dreadful" accounts of grisly murders, fateful encounters, dire doings and remarkable escapes.

From Literature