I thoroughly enjoyed this. As is clearly gleaned from the title, the titular character is a werewolf, but oddly enough it really plays like much more minor of a detail than one would figure. A somewhat surprising number of characters get their moments in the spotlight, as opposed to following a mere one or two; there's a decent handful that have a good amount of space for themselves, which doesn't always work out very well, but in this case I enjoyed it. Reynolds does a good job at creating very different characters with their own motivations and sets of moral codes. There are some various other small bits of the supernatural, plenty of Gothic-style romance, plots, and intrigue, and multiple levels of mystery to unravel.

    The night was dark and tempestuous – the thunder growled around – the lightning flashed at short intervals – and the wind swept furiously along, in sudden fitful gusts.
    The streams of the great Black Forest of Germany bubbled in playful melody no more, but rushed on with deafening din, mingling their torrent-roar with the wild creaking of the huge oaks, the rustling of the firs, the howling of the affrighted wolves, and the hollow voices of the storm.
    The dense black clouds were driven restlessly athwart the sky; and when the vivid lightning gleamed forth with rapid and eccentric glare, it seemed as if the dark jaws of some hideous monster, floating high above, opened to vomit flame.
    And as the abrupt but furious gusts of wind swept through the forest they raised strange echoes – as if the impervious mazes of that mighty wood were the above of hideous fiends and evil spirits, who responded in shrieks, moans, and lamentations, to the fearful din of the tempest.
    It was indeed an appalling sight!

Sure, it's Gothic, so naturally some parts are a little exaggeratedly over-the-top, and there's a few right-place-right-time moments that are a little too excessively convenient. And I did also notice a couple times where Reynolds apparently forgot a (very minor) thing he'd written (e.g. at one point there's an abduction, a weapon was on the person but unable to get at before being grabbed and obviously removed after - it would have been lost, but later in the book they are getting prepared, and lo, this weapon is part of the attire), but since it was written as a serial first I can imagine it's easy for small details to slip by. In any case none of this little stuff is enough to take away from the intriguing story and vivid characters.

Also of note, Reynolds was very anti-Christian (basically for the same reason many are today, the hypocrisy, judgment etc) and was a confirmed atheist. He included a Jew, which at first mention made me wince, money-lending Jews in old stories is normally BADBADBAD!, however, I was happily astonished to see him represented as a good kind man, and he even gives a wonderful speech at one point, which was, it turns out, because Reynolds very pro-Jew. He was also apparently an admirer of the Muslim empire, which given some of the things in this story isn't quite as clearly painted, however, he did include a lot dealing with them and it wasn't negative, just, more ambiguous. He also wrote strong independent women characters, and about the plight of the poor - placing the blame where it actually belonged. All this in the 1800s! Amusingly, while being a voice for the underdogs, he was seemingly incredibly arrogant and unpleasant and pretty much got along with no one for very long. But hey, you can't win 'em all! ;) I am definitely a fan. ( )

I found this a difficult read, but not without compensations. Like most novels of this and earlier periods, it's full of melodrama, with a long word count and stilted dialogue. But the characters (even some of the minor ones) are interesting, and the concept of a heroic Jew would have been somewhat shocking to the typical reader. It's definitely a book for those curious about the origins of horror and fantasy ( )

This book, I feel, is more a historical curiosity than a piece of literature that can really be appreciated today, at least by me. I was curious about its status as "penny dreadful" greatly popular during the mid-19th century, a piece of Victorian pop fiction. Unlike more "classic" works that are still read today, (like Shelley's "Frankenstein" or even Stoker's "Dracula") Wagner the Werewolf has little to offer modern readers. Word count is stretched, the plot is melodramatic and easily predictable, dialogue is sporadic and stilted, and characters are of hazy motivation. These problems may have been less noticeable by readers in the 1840s, but still Wagner the Werewolf is perhaps best as an example of what would be, in today's terms, an average TV melodrama.

However, I was particularly interested in reading a 19th century imagining of the historical events of the 16th century, which roots the work in its particular time period, with rival European powers and the Inquisition providing a backdrop to the plot. Also, Reynolds put forward social ideals in his writing that were progressive for his day which were slightly evident in some of the plot (especially the equality of religions) but still the majority remains embedded in typical viewpoints of Victorian English society. In the end, Wagner the Werewolf remains an artifact of 19th century popular culture and I can't recommend reading it for pleasure. ( )