Episode 12 - FOLKLORE IN GOTHIC CHAPBOOKS

Before the rise of the Gothic novel, faciliated by the development of cheap printing systems, the Chapbook and Bluebook were common forms of literature, particularly in the United Kingdom. For a penny or half-penny, members of the public of any class with the ability to read suddenly had access to a wealth of information (of varying degrees of accuracy) and stories of adventure and morality through these publications. Although looked down on by the higher classes of the time, and indeed by scholars of today, the Chapbooks and Bluebooks are a wonderful repository of folklore which can tell us much about the beliefs and traditions of the people of the time. In this edition of The Folklore Podcast, the first of Season 2, creator and host Mark Norman examines some of the folklore presented in the old Chapbooks and how it was used to teach lessons to others.  An e-magazine supplement supports this episode, featuring some of the illustrative covers from old Chapbooks being discussed. You can get this from our website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com. Patrons of the podcast at any level from $1 per month receive all of our supplements via our Patreon page. More details at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast