Under the headings of 'Narrative of Law and Crime' and 'Narrative of Accident and Disaster' may be found an astonishing catalogue of terrible, grisly and most dreadful Victorian events. Fires and railway disasters abound; shipwrecks, floods and 'horrible affairs' leap from every page. Some of the crimes would surprise even the most ardent fan of crime fiction – it is doubtful that so many cases of such shocking violence and awful ingenuity have been collected together in one volume since. With a terrifying tale for every day of the year, Dickens' Dreadful Almanac will delight lovers of his work everywhere.