March 17, 2025
Doing is an Act of Teaching:
Prof. Nesvet’s New Book on James Malcolm Rymer
In July of 2024, Professor Rebecca Nesvet published James Malcolm Rymer, Penny Fiction, and the Family, which explores how Rymer’s stories reflected and shaped ideas about what family life meant during the Victorian period. James Malcolm Rymer authored short stories that produced characters such as Sweeney Todd and Varney the Vampyre. Although referred to as “penny bloods” and “dreadfuls” due to their graphic nature, these stories, Dr. Nesvet’s text argues, were written to reflect the working class of Britain and to advocate for patriarchal family values in response to the changes in British society. Dr. Nesvet examines these works through multiple lenses, revealing the connection between Victorian penny fiction’s sensational themes and its underlying focus on family values.
This book is available for purchase through Routledge, Amazon. and Barnes & Noble. UWGB students can read an e-copy for free through our library.
—Tiffany Jablonowski, Co-Editor-in-Chief