Fetter Lane Fiend

The following short review of penny dreadfuls was published in the Gentleman's Magazine Jan-June 1874. I had never heard of a penny parts issue titled Fiend of Fetter Lane, which you must admit is a great title for that kind of literature. Going by the date I would think this was from A. Ritchie’s New Newgate Calendar, originally published by Edward Harrison in 1864 in 80 penny numbers (No. 1 of “Blueskin” was given away with the first number) and reprinted by Ritchie in the seventies. The Harrison copy, which the illustration above is from, had an advertisement inserted for Ritchie’s version published in seven indexed volumes. The full title was The Diabolical Career of Mother Brownrigg, the Fetter-lane Fiend, and Murder of her Female Apprentices.