Wagner, the Wehr-Wolf is penny dreadful Gothic at full throttle: a Faustian tale of lycanthropy sweeping through early modern Europe. First serialized in the mid-1840s in Reynolds's Miscellany, it tracks Wagner's bargain-borrowed youth repaid in monstrous transformations-through pursuits, disguises, and remorse. Reynolds blends nocturnal atmospheres and diabolical tempters with cliffhangers and rapid scene-changes, making monstrosity a moral emblem and a critique of worldly ambition. George W. M. Reynolds-prolific radical, feuilleton-trained stylist, and editor of Reynolds's Newspaper-perfected an accessible, rapid idiom under the sway of Eugène Sue. His mastery of sprawling serials (not least The Mysteries of London) and Chartist sympathies inform Wagner, where Germanic folklore and the Faust legend become vehicles for probing desire, social mobility, and the price of power. Recommended for readers of Gothic and Victorian popular culture, this novel offers both lurid thrills and a lucid index to nineteenth-century anxieties about temptation, identity, and authority. Read it for its breakneck serial energy and for the surprising moral intelligence that steadies the spectacle of fur, fang, and unquiet conscience. Quickie Classics summarizes timeless works with precision, preserving the author's voice and keeping the prose clear, fast, and readable-distilled, never diluted. Enriched Edition extras: Introduction · Synopsis · Historical Context · Brief Analysis · 4 Reflection Q&As · Editorial Footnotes.

George William MacArthur Reynolds (1814-1879) was a notable figure in Victorian popular literature, extensively known for his sensation novels that blended elements of gothic horror, historical romance, and social commentary. Born in Sandwich, Kent, Reynolds initially tried his hand at business before fully committing to a literary career. His prolific output and sensational content helped him to out-sell contemporaries like Charles Dickens at the height of his popularity. Among his most famous novels is 'Wagner, the Wehr-Wolf' (1847), a daring blend of the gothic and the gruesome, illustrating his fascination with the darker aspects of human nature and the supernatural. This novel is exemplary of his broader literary style, which involved serialized narratives intertwining melodrama with an exploration of the societal issues of his day, such as class disparity and the exploitation of the poor. Reynolds's literature, though less esteemed by critics in comparison to his contemporaries, resonated with the working-class readers due to its confronting look at moral corruption and his willingness to critique the established social order. His work, once widely read yet subsequently marginalized, has seen a resurgence of academic interest in recent years, acknowledging his role in shaping Victorian popular fiction and the penny dreadful genre.