It sold more than 65,000 copies in the first few months after its publication as a dime novel. Eisenhower, for one, considered reports like this to be the stuff of dime novels. Study 59 apush chapter 25 vocabulary flashcards from allen k. By comparison, in 1916 26 dime novels were published, in 1918 22 dime novels were published, and in 1920 20 dime novels were published. September 20, 1878 november 25, 1968 was an american.
The dime novel medium was well into its decline, with 30 titles being the fewest published in that medium since 1886. In a new afterword, denning locates his study within the context of. Full text of the beadle collection of dime novels given. Oberlin college library special collections dime novels. Critics are always skeptical of folks who seemingly write too much. Unfortunately milanis anecdote is misplaced, as eisenhower wasnt responding to the cia propaganda campaign, but the final actionpacked days of the coup. Its character fell asleep and awoke in the year 2000 to an ideal society.
The core of the american collection dates 18601915 and the british collection dates 18951935. Tunks was a wellrespected churchman who helped to turn around st. The comments are based on personal visits to over half of these archives and published archive descriptions. Some years ago i came across a small cache of bragin reprints, most of them unread copies with the perforated top edges unopened and side edges folded but untrimmed. Dime novel became a general term for similar paperbacks produced by various publishers in the early twentieth century. Irwin and erasmus beadle and robert adams published the first. Beadles dime fiction beadles dime handbooks beadles dime library of choice fiction beadles dime novels beadles dime song books beadles dime speakers beadles dime tales, traditions and romance of border and revolutionary times beadles fifteen cent. Dime novel definition of dime novel by merriamwebster. He wrote 6 novels, many of which seem best left forgotten. Nick carter, for example, ran into a lost civilization of old norse speaking amazons in bolivia in 1907. Many dime novels were fictionalized versions of the exploits of people who were still alive at the time. The dime novel and the detective story uconn today. The books were first sold in 1860 for 10 cents by the firm of beadle and adams. The illustrated dime novel price guide companion rainone, joseph l.
Leblanc and online at villanova university provide authortitle information for. Stanfords dime novel and story paper collection consists of over 8,000 individual items, and includes long runs of the major dime novel series frank leslies boys of america, happy days, beadles new york dime library, etc. This list of dime novel romance series and story papers is in alphabetical order by publisher. When nobody wished to produce his plays, he turned to writing novels. Most of the books are credited to the collective pseudonym victor appleton. Young wild wests weird west weekly, a 1915 dime novel. Several thousand have been microfilmed and there are digital issues available for download. Brandies university library, special collections collection of dime novel literature, primarily focusing on publications on men and boys. In 1860, the publishers erastus and irwin beadle released a new series of cheap paperbacks, beadles dime novels. A dime novel was a cheap and generally sensational tale of adventure sold as popular entertainment in the 1800s. Series beadles dime novels the dime novel bibliography.
Romance series and story papers american womens dime. Dime novels synonyms, dime novels pronunciation, dime novels translation, english dictionary definition of dime novels. Much like barbara cartland, tellado wrote romantic novels, but a lot moreestimates put her total number of books at anywhere from 4000 to 5000 over a 63year career. Dime novels were short works of fiction that were printed on cheap newsprint, bound in paper, and usually sold for a dime. Wrote leaves of grass emily dickensonwrote over 2,000 poems, all published after her death. Combining marxist literary theory with american labor history, michael denning explores what happened when, in the nineteenth century, working people began to read cheap novels and the fiction question became a class question. Deadwood dick is a fictional character who appears in a series of stories, or dime novels, published between 1877 and 1897 by edward lytton wheeler 185451885. Study 62 apush key people in late 19th century flashcards from scott s. Pulp fiction and dime store novels are, more or less, supposed to be the same thing.
Wesley is an english writer who wrote three childrens books, the first when she was in her 50s. He subsequently appeared as a character in various dime novels. Numerous dime and halfdime publications soon flooded the market. It countered darwinsm with faith in christ and sold 2 million copies. There were a few publishers who decided to cash in on the high business of the dime novels. The character appeared in over 300 dime novels between 1896 and 1930 some between 1927 and 1930 were written by other authors with the same pen name, numerous radio dramas in 1934 and again from 1946 through 1949, a comic strip from 1928 through 1936, a comic book four issues frank merriwell at yale, and a 12chapter serialized film in 1936. Digital dime novels university of minnesota libraries. Browse and buy a vast selection of dime novels collections. This chapter examines dime novels and series books as one of the first. The dime novel is a form of late 19thcentury and early 20thcentury u.
Apush key people in late 19th century ap us history with. Dime novels and series books have, for more than a century, provided a battleground for a contest over childrens reading. An appendix contains a publishing chronology of the more than 300 serial publications, and a selected bibliography suggests further reading. The beadle collection of dime novels, by new york public. The subject of scorn by moralists in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth, dime novel was originally a brand name, but as has often been true of trademarks in america, it became a generic term and was soon applied to any work of sensational fiction despite the cover price. Now even those are collectibles, the earliest ones being seven decades old. Halsey wrote about 650 dime novels and became rich. List of books and articles about dime novels online. Was a novelist who wrote a series of coldly realistic novels about america.
Dime novels quotes quotes tagged as dimenovels showing of 3. Toms adventures have been written by various ghostwriters, beginning with howard garis. Women writers of the american west, 18331927 by nina baym. The hess houses over 65,000 individual dime novels. Obrien of new york, who has given this collection to the library, it is possible to place on exhibition about fourteen hundred of those rare little books and magazines which, beginning about the year 1859, were issued in america under the broad and general title of dime novels. The beginnings of the mystery novel from edgar allen poe to sherlock holmes. Her first adult novel was published when wesley was 71, and the camomile lawn, which was made into a television series, was published when she was 72.
Inexpensive books known as dime novels were the first of what kind of book. It was during the issuance of the first few titles of the original dime novels that. Kate chopinwrote the awakening mark twainmost famous works. However she wrote 10 bestselling novels in the last 20 years of her life. Nina baym women writers of the american west, 1833. A tale of sea and land during the war of 1812 beadles dime novels edition. Famous people form late 1800s to 1900s ap us history. None of the nick carter series of books carried author credits, although it is known that several of the earliest volumes were written by michael avallone, and that valerie moolman and nyt bestselling author gayle lynds wrote others, making this the first series of its kind to be written in significant part by women. Nonfiction wordcounts sit between 70,000120,000 words.
The first dime novels were largely indian and pioneer tales that were highly moralistic in spirit. For childrens fiction, the general rule is the younger the audience the shorter the book, and for ya novels the average is 50,00070,000 words. The beadle collection through the generosity of dr. Hess collection materials university of minnesota libraries. The term dime novel has been used as a catchall term for several different but related forms, referring to story papers, five and tencent weeklies, thick book reprints, and sometimes early pulp magazines.
Pulp fiction meant that the book was printed on paper processed from pulp, 100% cheap wood byproducts with a high acid content. As the popularity of dime novels increased, original stories came to be the norm. The original beadles dime novels were similar to the later quarto broadleaves 3 only in being cheap, in having paper backs, and in being spirited novels with very little philosophizing or flowery writing. Selected special collections dime novel collection popular paperback fiction, nineteenth century, approximately 40,000 titles. Dime novel, a type of inexpensive, usually paperback, melodramatic novel of. The earliest dime novels were frontier stories written in the mold of james fenimore coopers leatherstockings tales, typically featuring a scout or backwoodsman who guides a party through a dense forest to a fort in 18th century new england. Additional digitized dime novels can be found at northern illinois university and the university of south florida. The average wordcount for adult fiction is between 70,000 to 120,000 words. Dime novel definition is a usually paperback melodramatic novel. Entered according to act of congress in the year 1901, in the office of the librarian of congress, washington, d. Nina baym mined literary and cultural histories, anthologies. Bill crider is another author identified with nick carter. His solution was that the government had taken over all business, communistsocialiststyle, and everything was rosy.
Dime novels definition of dime novels by the free dictionary. The beadle collection of dime novels, by new york public library. Puritan who wrote over a hundred volumes of juvenile fiction that taught that virtue, honesty, and industry are rewarded by success, wealth, and honor. The phrase dime novel is often used to describe various forms of late 19th and early 20th thcentury popular fiction. Women writers of the american west, 18331927 recovers the names and works of hundreds of women who wrote about the american west during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, some of them long forgotten and others better known novelists, poets, memoirists, and historians such as willa cather and mary austin holley. Plus dime novels appraisals, free sales advice, free price. The following list of archives was compiled over two years of research into womens dime novels. Apush chapter 25 vocabulary at james clemens high school.
Before the civil war, the opening of the eastern states, the revolutionary war, the war of 1812, and the indian wars were not long past. Both genres flourished from the middle to the close of the 19th century in. Browse todays selected dime novels for sale, best offer and auction. Dime novel article about dime novel by the free dictionary. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Full text of the beadle collection of dime novels given to the new york public library by dr. The book series was relaunched with a different author in 1965, but only three books were published. Dime novels first appeared on the american literary scene in 1860 with the publication of beadles dime novels no. Dime novels collection library brandeis university. It had to do with the kind of paper that these things were published on. Over a period of several years bragin published dozens of dimenovel facsimiles. Halsey, who made a fortune by dashing off about 650 novels, often one in a day. The dime novel made its debut in 1860 when erastus beatle.
Dime novels were very popular, especially about the wild west with characters like deadwood dick. The character was created by edward stratemeyer, the founder of the stratemeyer syndicate, a bookpackaging firm. American dime novels 18601915 historical association. Oberlin college librarys special collection of dime novels was compiled by dr. The name became so widely known in its time that it was used to advantage by several men who actually resided in deadwood, south dakota those who took the nickname included.
Adventures with intelligent apes treasure of the golden crater from adventure library, no. He and she edited magazines and later wrote dime novels for beadle and company. The beginnings of the mystery novel from edgar allen poe. Dime novel and penny dreadfuls collection, 18741953. A discussion of dime novel scholarship includes a selected directory of libraries and museums with significant collections of dime novels. A melodramatic novel of romance or adventure, usually in paperback. Dime novels can be considered the paperback books of their day, and they often featured tales of mountain men, explorers, soldiers, detectives, or indian fighters. The books were first sold in 1860 for 10 cents by the fi. Intellectualtypes enjoyed discussing the book and its ideas. Dime novels are, at least in spirit, the antecedent of todays mass market paperbacks, comic books, and. Online dime novels and story papers 19thcentury girls series. He also misquotes him slightly by taking the liberty of pluralizing dime novel for some reason.
1263 642 1209 833 1396 1269 1179 60 137 912 794 99 1286 1099 297 646 1582 1583 829 943 892 402 1070 1367 1210 1180 1046 739 605 1439 718