Sixpenny Wonderfuls
This book is full of vibrant illustrations and tells the story of the first paperbacks, their authors and illustrators.
We are told that 'early novels were mainly printed in hardback and although beautifully printed they were an expensive luxury at 3/6d.'
At the same time as publishers were looking to see how they could improve sales, we see the advent of Free Schools and libraries and a more literate working class, who like everybody else liked to read as a form of escapism.
Books were serialised in newspapers and magazines by authors such as Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins and they proved extremely popular.