How familiar are you with the Victorian-era newspaper feature known as the Agony Column? You are likely familiar with its methods and central plot lines, even if you don’t know what it is!
Anonymous personal advertisements made up the Agony Column in the mid- to late- 19th century. Authors of these advertisements sometimes coded them using different kinds of numbered ciphers and pseudonyms.
Although the Agony Column no longer exists as it did in the 19th century, our research has documented how private messages on this public forum have had an enduring impact on fiction, entertainment and popular culture.
