| Dime Novels |
Article Index for Dime |
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Information AboutDime Novels |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT DIME NOVEL | |
| literary genres | |
| pulp fiction | |
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Dime novels and penny dreadfuls often involved Melodrama tic tales of vice and virtue in conflict, often with strong elements of Horror and cruelty. Their main audience consisted of young and/or unsophisticated readers, primarily male. Many American dime novels had inspirational themes, most notably those written by Horatio Alger, Jr. . Respected writers such as Theodore Dreiser and Upton Sinclair often wrote dime novels under pseudonyms. New York City-based firm Street & Smith , founded in 1855 , was one of the most prolific publishers of the genre. On '' became the first dime novel to be published. William J. Benners was one of the first historians of the dime novel. He was also a publisher and author. Philip Pullman has written several "modern penny dreadfuls" in this style such as the Sally Lockhart series (including The Ruby in the Smoke, The Shadow in the North, and The Tiger in the Well). While themselves penny dreadfuls, these works also incorporate the atmosphere in which the novels thrived. Stanford University has a collection of over 8,000 individual dime novels, and a web site devoted to the subject. The University of South Florida-Tampa Special Collections Department has an extensive collection of dime novels, including Frank Tousey's the ''Frank Reade Library'' and the ''Franke Reade Weekly Magazine''. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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