JAMES, ELIZABETH & HELEN R. SMITH. - Penny Dreadfuls and Boys' Adventures. The Barry Ono Collection of Victorian Popular Literature in the British Library.

. London, 1998. xxii,121pp. Illus. in b/w. 3 Indexes. Cloth. Dustjackets. *Penny Dreadfuls - sensational stories published in weekly parts - were an important feature of Victorian popular literature. Often anonymous, and inspired by the melodramas of the day, they formed a lively part of nineteenth-century sub-culture. One of the most comprehensive collections of these scarce and fragile items was built up and then bequeated to the British Library by performer Barry Ono. This is the first full catalogue, complete with a wideranging introduction by Helen R. Smith, indexes and photographs of some of the rarest items..