Join host Corinthian Finn, a.k.a. Finn J.D. John 18th Baron Dunwitch,* for a one-hour-long spree through the scandal-sheets and story papers of early-Victorian London!

For COMPLETE SHOW NOTES, including art and links to resources, see ⁠⁠pennydread.com/discord.⁠⁠

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IN TODAY'S "GRAANUM GOTHICS" EPISODE:

• 01:55: ON THIS DREADFUL DAY (JULY 12, 1850): A Lonon blacksmith was convicted for trying to murder his wife by defenestrating her through a second-floor window. Also On This Dreadful Day — July 12, 1722 — a baronet named Sir Charles Burton was arrested for shoplifting!
• 05:05: VARNEY THE VAMPYRE; or, THE FEAST OF BLOOD, Chapter 60-61: Over Dr. Chillingworth’s objections, the admiral accepts the invitation to breakfast. Sir Francis receives them with apparent civility, but provokes the admiral with the coolest and most mildly delivered insults until he gets their goats, proposes a duel in a darkened room with scythes, and then, once he’s gotten the admiral to lean on the table, pulls the catch to dump him onto the floor with the tea-tray on top of him, and skips out in the ensuing confusion. Then a mysterious stranger arrives, asking for Sir Francis; when he sees Dr. Chillingworth, there is a horrified mutual recognition. What guilty secret does Dr. C share with this strange man?
• 45:25: CATCHPENNY BROADSIDE: A snappy, flashy bit of poetry in praise and defence of the old Newgate Prison, which was being threatened with demolition.
• 50:10: THE LIVES OF THE HIGHWAYMEN: Finishing off the story of the exploits of Old Mobb, the audacious cross-dressing highwayman-poet who, legend says, wore a dress for his hanging. Also — did convicted murderess Sarah Malcolm take the rap for her three guilty co-conspirators? Let’s examine the historical record, shall we?
• 1:05:10: THE GIAOUR by LORD BYRON, PART 2 OF 3: The portion of this long poem devoted to the curses of Prince Hassan’s followers upon the Giaour, who has slain him to avenge his murder of the Giaour’s lover.
• 1:11:25: A FEW SQUEAKY-CLEAN DAD JOKES from the early-1800s' most popular joke book: "Joe Miller's Jests; or, The Wit's Vade-mecum."

GLOSSARY OF EARLY-VICTORIAN SLANG USED IN THIS EPISODE:

• RUM CULLS: (from intro patter) Bartender.
• OVERSEERS (ibid): Persons in the pillory, “overseeing” a crowd. A pun on Overseers of the Poor, the parish officials in charge of distributing charity.
• KNIGHTS OF THE BRUSH AND MOON (ibid): Drunken fellows wandering amok in meadows and ditches, trying to stagger home.
• CORINTHIAN (ibid): A fancy toff or titled swell. Used here as a reference to Corinthian Tom, the quintessential Regency rake depicted in Pierce Egan's "Life in London" (usually referred to as "Tom and Jerry").
• CHAFFING-CRIB (ibid): A room where drinking and bantering are going on.
• GRUNTER (ibid): A shilling. Probably a witty reference to another slang word for a shilling, “hog.”
• FLATS (ibid): Suckers.
• TARTARS (ibid): Spicy old ladies.
• SNICKER (ibid): A drinking glass.
• BLUE RUIN (ibid): Gin.
• HOISTER (from On This Dreadful Day): Pickpocket.
• COLLEGE (from broadside ballad): Prison.
• THROW THE HATCHET (ibid): Tell a long, highly unlikely story.
• PIKE OFF (from outro patter): Run away.
• RED WAISTCOAT (ibid): The traditional uniform of the Bow-Street Runners, London’s first real professional police force.
• GAMMONERS (ibid): Swindlers or gamblers who cheat.
• ROMONERS (ibid): Fake occultists and fortune tellers.
• SHARPS (ibid): Swindlers.
• OLD ST. GILES (ibid): The neighbourhood of St. Giles in the Fields parish, which in the early Victorian age was a notorious slum.
• RUM TE TUM WITH THE CHILL OFF (ibid): The very best.