The dime novel is a type of American fiction from the late 1800s and early 1900s. These stories were sold in series as inexpensive paperbacks. The term "dime novel" has been used to describe several related formats, including story papers, weekly magazines that cost five or ten cents, reprinted "thick books," and sometimes early pulp magazines. Dime novels share similarities with British penny dreadfuls and story papers, which were also popular during the same time period.

The word "dime novel" was used as a magazine title as late as 1940 in Western Dime Novels, a short-lived pulp magazine. Today, the term is often used to describe quickly written, exciting stories that focus more on shocking or dramatic events than on deep storytelling. It is sometimes used in a negative way to describe works that are not well-written but are meant to capture attention.

History

In 1860, publishers Erastus and Irwin Beadle released a new series of inexpensive paperbacks called Beadle's Dime Novels. Over time, the term "dime novel" became a general name for similar paperbacks made by other publishers in the early 1900s. The first book in the Beadle series was Malaeska, the Indian Wife of the White Hunter, written by Ann S. Stephens. It was first published in the Ladies' Companion magazine in 1839 and later reprinted as a dime novel in 1860. The book sold more than 65,000 copies in its first few months.

Dime novels varied in size, but most were about 6.5 by 4.25 inches (16.5 by 10.8 cm) and had around 100 pages. The first 28 books in the Beadle series had no cover illustrations and were wrapped in salmon-colored paper. Starting with the 29th issue, woodblock prints were added to the covers, and the first 28 books were reprinted with illustrated covers. Each book cost ten cents.

The Beadle's Dime Novels series lasted for 321 issues and helped shape the style of the genre. Stories often included dramatic titles, exciting frontier tales, and were usually reprinted from earlier serials. By the end of the 1860s, many stories in the series were original. As the series grew in popularity, publishers like George Munro and Robert DeWitt began creating similar books, often differing only in title and paper color. Beadle & Adams also created other lines, such as the Frank Starr series.

Dime novels were popular with young, working-class readers during and after the American Civil War. However, critics often criticized the low quality of the stories, and the term "dime novel" later came to describe any cheap, exciting fiction, not just the specific format.

The stories in dime novels often included adventures set in the sea, the West, railways, circuses, and gold mining. These books were small and easy to carry, making them accessible to readers with limited time and money.

Many dime novel series had similar designs and themes but varied in price, ranging from ten to fifteen cents. Some books, like those in the Bunace's Ten Cent Novels or Brady's Mercury Stories series, were also included in this category. This made it difficult to define exactly what a dime novel was, as classification depended on format, price, or story style.

In 1874, Beadle & Adams introduced color to the covers of their New Dime Novels series. These books used a dual numbering system, with one number continuing from the original series and another indicating the issue number in the new series. For example, the first issue was numbered 1 (322). The stories were mostly reprints from the first series, and the New Dime Novels series lasted for 321 issues until 1885.

Many dime novel stories came from story papers, which were weekly publications that resembled newspapers. These papers were popular from the mid-1850s and often included serial stories, articles, and illustrations. Examples of popular story papers include The Saturday Journal, Young Men of America, and Golden Weekly.

By the late 1880s, some dime novels began featuring recurring characters, which became popular. The Old Sleuth, first published in The Fireside Companion in 1872, was the first detective character in dime novels and helped shift focus away from Western and frontier stories. Other popular characters, like Frank Reade and Nick Carter, also appeared in their own series.

In 1873, Beadle & Adams tried a new format called New and Old Friends, which was larger and had only 32 pages. It was not successful, but the lower production cost led to similar formats being introduced later, such as The Fireside Library and Frank Starr's New York Library. These publications varied in size and often featured single stories, unlike the story papers. Examples include The Boy's Star Library and New York Detective Library.

Collections

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, collecting dime novels became popular, and their prices increased. At that time, these inexpensive books were falling apart and becoming difficult to find. Two collectors, Charles Bragin and Ralph Cummings, began reprinting some of the rare titles from certain weekly libraries.