Spring-Heeled Jack

<p><em>Spring-Heeled Jack: The Terror of London (1886)</em> is the second major serial devoted to the character following the 1863 penny dreadful that transformed Jack into a folk hero. Published in 48 issues the 1886 story represents Jack's longest and most visually striking appearance in Victorian print culture. It is a gripping tale of villainy abduction and nocturnal justice - a sensational adventure steeped in the atmosphere of fog-shrouded London streets and Gothic melodrama.</p><p></p><p>In this narrative the scheming Sir Roland Ashton stops at nothing to seize control of the Ashton estates. Two young women - Daisy Leigh and Constance Marfield - find themselves at the mercy of his plots. Ralph Ashton the rightful heir is forced into a dangerous struggle against Roland's power. And throughout it all an enigmatic figure moves in the shadows: Spring-Heeled Jack now depicted as part demon part avenger meting out justice to the wicked.</p><p></p><p>This edition reproduces the 1886 serial in full and includes a new introduction by J.S. Mackley situating the text within the wider history of Spring-Heeled Jack narratives theatrical adaptations criminal imitations and popular folklore from the 1830s to the early twentieth century. It offers both an engaging Victorian adventure and a valuable resource for those studying Gothic literature urban mythology and sensational print culture.</p><p></p><p><strong>This is Book 1 of 2</strong> as the complete text is too extensive to be contained in a single volume. The companion Book 2 continues and concludes the 1886 serial.</p><p></p><p>The <em>Spring-Heeled Jack Library</em> brings together all major serialisations and related stories of the legendary figure including the 1863 <em>Terror of London</em> serial short fiction plays and later adaptations such as <em>The Human Bat</em> and <em>The Winged Man</em>. This new critical edition makes these rare and fragmented texts accessible to a modern readership for the first time.</p>