The dime novel is a form of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S. popular fiction issued in series of inexpensive paperbound editions. The term dime novel has been used as a catchall term for several different but related forms, referring to story papers, five- and ten-cent weeklies, "thick book" reprints, and sometimes early pulp ...

Apr 14, 2022 · Dime novels were a format of inexpensive popular fiction produced in the United States between 1860 and 1930. Available for as little as a nickel or as much as a dime, they opened up leisure reading for the masses in a way previously not possible.

Dime novels typically told the dramatic adventure stories of a single hero or heroine who often found himself or herself in the midst of a moral dilemma. The novels were ethically sound, endorsing good character and strong moral values when the novel's hero chose virtue over vice.

Essentially, any cheaply produced popular fiction published in the United States between 1860 and 1930 might be called a dime novel, whether it cost a nickel or a dime and whether it had 8 pages or 300.

dime novel, a type of inexpensive, usually paperback, melodramatic novel of adventure popular in the United States roughly between 1860 and 1915; it often featured a western theme.

The Edward T. LeBlanc Dime Novel Bibliography project aims to create a comprehensive online database of dime novels, story papers, reprint libraries and related materials. Learn More →. Browse

Any cheaply produced popular fiction published in the United States between 1860 and 1930 might be called a dime novel, providing it was published in paper covers and issued in a series.

Dime novels thrived in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the United States. Erastus Beadle published the first dime novel in 1860, and his quick success prompted many other firms to enter the market. Dime novels were short works of fiction, usually focused on the dramatic exploits of a single heroic character.