Dime Novels

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A popular form of literary entertainment in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, dime novels were works of sensational fiction published in paper-covered booklets, issued at regular intervals, and priced at five to ten cents. Profitable mainstays of theAmerican publishing industry for many years, dime novels gradually waned as pulp magazine consumption increased, and by 1915, motion pictures had replaced dime novels as inexpensive forms of entertainment. Since that time, dime novels have become significant resources for examining the development of American popular culture in that they exemplify early printing methods, serve as rudimentary forms of genre fiction, and reflect aspects of the social history of the United States.

Published in four basic formats between 1860 and 1915, dime novels usually possessed pictorial covers with black-and-white or colored illustrations, ranged in size from four by six inches to eight by 12 inches, and varied in length from 32 to 250 pages. Initially produced for an adult market, early versions detailed life on the American frontier. Later publications, however, featured detective mysteries, adventure stories, and science fiction tales and were primarily read by juveniles.

The idea of producing cheap paper-covered novels in a continuous series was conceived by Irwin P. Beadle. In 1860, Beadle, along with his older brother, Erastus, and Robert Adams, established the publishing firm of Beadle & Adams in New York City and launched Malaeska, the Indian Wife of the White Hunter by Mrs. Ann S. Stephens, as the first entry in a series entitled Beadle's Dime Novels. Achieving success with the publication of this story and others, Beadle & Adams were for a time the principal publishers of dime novels until competitors George P. Munro, his brother Norman L. Munro, Frank Tousey, and Street & Smith began to publish dime novels as well.

Dime novel authors had strict guidelines to follow—stories had to be exciting, entertaining, and moral. Each of the major publishers employed regulars who wrote for a particular series. In some instances, authors published stories for several firms. Prolific contributors to Beadle's Dime Novels (1860-1874) included Mrs. Ann S. Stephens, Mrs. Metta Victor, Edward S. Ellis, Edward L. Wheeler, Philip S. Warne, and Ned Buntline. George P. Munro's Old Sleuth Library (1885-1905) highlighted the detective adventures of Old Sleuth, a pseudonym for Harlan Page Halsey, and other authors. His brother, Norman, published works by W. I. James in the Old Cap Collier Library (1883-1899), another dime-novel detective series. Frank Tousey's small group of authors wrote under so many pseudonyms that the amount of contributors to the Wide Awake Library (1878-1898) appeared greater than it actually was. Street & Smith, as the last major publishing firm to produce dime novels, featured authors Horatio Alger, Jr., Ned Buntline, Gilbert Patten, and Colonel Prentiss Ingraham, among others, in several series between 1883 and 1899. When dime-novel production ceased, most of the once prolific authors faded into obscurity.

Often, characters appearing in dime-novel series were better known than their authors were. Ned Buntline's famous western hero, Buffalo Bill, based on United States scout and performer William Frederick Cody, appeared in numerous publications by Beadle & Adams, Street & Smith, and Frank Tousey. Amateur detective Nick Carter proved to be so popular after his first appearance in The Old Detective's Pupil (1886), that Street & Smith featured his adventures in three different series between 1891 and 1915, The Nick Carter Library, The New Nick Carter Weekly, and Nick Carter Stories. Similarly, the exploits of Deadwood Dick, Kit Carson, Jr., Jesse James, Old Sleuth, Young Wild West, Frank Reade, Jr., Tiger Dick, and Frank Merriwell appeared in more than one dime novel.

Covering a wide variety of subjects, dime novels promoted traditional American values of patriotism, rugged individualism, and moral behavior. Many of the early dime novel stories focused on historical events such as the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and conflicts with Native Americans. Others were set in gold mining camps or towns within the expanding western frontier, and featured gunfighters, villains, and damsels in distress. Reflecting the urbanization of cities, the industrial revolution, and increased transportation modes, subsequent dime novel subjects included circuses, railroad workers, firefighters, sports, science fiction, fantasy, sea or polar explorations, and mysteries with detectives from every walk of life. Moving beyond the borders of America, a few detail adventures in distant places.

In the 1990s, few original dime novels exist outside of libraries and personal collections. Moreover, owing largely to their sheer numbers and past popular appeal, dime novels are seldom considered by literary scholars to be good examples of American literature. Their value as historical artifacts, however, is considerable.

Denning, Michael. Mechanic Accents: Dime Novels and Working Class Culture in America. London, Verso, 1987.

Johannsen, Albert, The House of Beadle & Adams and Its Nickel and Dime Novels: The Story of a Vanished Literature. Vol. 1. Norman, University of Oklahoma Press, 1950.

Sullivan, Larry E., and Lydia C. Schurman. Pioneers, Passionate Ladies, and Private Eyes: Dime Novels, Series Books, and Paperbacks. New York, The Haworth Press, Inc., 1996.

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