By Dave McCall (AKA David Ebsworth) I first ran into George W. M. Reynolds about ten years ago. I was writing the first of my Spanish Civil War novels, The Assassin’s Mark, and I needed to find an appropriate real-life newspaper for which fictional protagonist and journalist Jack Telford might work. It needed to be … More Reynolds’s Afterlives in the Historical Fiction of David Ebsworth
By: David Dixon The early life of G. W. M Reynolds is shrouded in mystery, despite the efforts of a small but dedicated cadre of scholars, researchers, and enthusiasts. A conspicuous dearth of primary sources, including personal papers and family correspondence are one reason why the best-selling English novelist of the Victorian era remains an … More Radical Rakes: The Friendship of G. W. M. Reynolds and Hugh Forbes
Musing on the significance of treadmills in The Mysteries of London’s social commentary… while running on a 21C treadmill. … More Reynolds’s Treadmills
By Dr. Stephen Carver, Literary Historian As a child, I possessed a morbid passion for nineteenth century gothic literature. I had inherited this trait from my mother, a Catholic turned Spiritualist with a taste for true crime and horror film and fiction. My parents had me late in life and my grandparents were all born … More Reynolds and Me
I can honestly claim to have been interested in George W.M. Reynolds since early adolescence, even if my path into his life and work differs from the literary scholars who are making him their own. I first came across Reynolds in the library at St. Paul’s School in Barnes when I happened in a lunch … More Reynolds Studies: A Personal History by Rohan McWilliam
No prizes for guessing who the above moniker applies to. In light of the recent publication of G. W. M. Reynolds and His Fiction – The Man Who Outsold Dickens, it seemed like a good idea to conduct a bit of a parley with the book’s author, Stephen Knight. The Man Who Outsold Dickens covers … More Stephen Knight on ‘The Man Who Outsold Dickens’
Sophie Raine (Lancaster University) I was first made aware of the George W M Reynolds Society at the RSPV conference at the University of Victoria this year. I was giving a paper on Reynolds’ use of classical imagery in his illustrations of nude models. One aspect of Reynolds’ work which I found particularly interesting, and … More Postgrads on Reynolds
By Stephen Basdeo When I was completing my undergraduate dissertation on Victorian crime and penny fiction, my supervisor, Prof. Heather Shore, suggested that I look up an author – then unknown to me – named George W. M. Reynolds and his novel entitled The Mysteries of London. In what some might call fate, two days later … More Discovering G. W. M. Reynolds
G. W. M. Reynolds Society 