<P> The title refers to the penny dreadfuls , a type of 19th - century British fiction publication with lurid and sensational subject matter . The series draws upon many public domain characters from 19th - century British and Irish fiction , including Dorian Gray from Oscar Wilde 's The Picture of Dorian Gray ; Mina Harker , Abraham Van Helsing , Dr. Seward , Renfield , and Count Dracula from Bram Stoker 's Dracula ; Victor Frankenstein and his monster from Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein ; and Dr. Henry Jekyll from Robert Louis Stevenson 's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde . </P>
<P> The title refers to the penny dreadfuls , a type of 19th - century British fiction publication with lurid and sensational subject matter . The series draws upon many public domain characters from 19th - century British and Irish fiction , including Dorian Gray from Oscar Wilde 's The Picture of Dorian Gray ; Mina Harker , Abraham Van Helsing , Dr. Seward , Renfield , and Count Dracula from Bram Stoker 's Dracula ; Victor Frankenstein and his monster from Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein ; and Dr. Henry Jekyll from Robert Louis Stevenson 's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde . </P>
who are the characters in penny dreadful supposed to be
who are the characters in penny dreadful supposed to be
public domain characters from 19th - century British and Irish fiction
public domain characters from 19th - century British and Irish fiction