The Age of Dimes and Pulps: A History of
Sensationalist Literature, 1830-1960 (2018).
by Jeremy Agnew.
Illustrated edition.
Paperback.
ISBN-13: 978-1476669489
From the dime novels of the Civil War era to
the pulp magazines of the early 20th century to modern paperbacks, lurid
fiction has provided thrilling escapism for the masses. Cranking out formulaic
stories of melodrama, crime and mild erotica – often by uncredited authors
focused more on volume than quality – publishers realized high profits playing
to low tastes. Estimates put pulp magazine circulation in the 1930s at 30
million monthly.
This vast body of "disposable
literature" has received little critical attention, in large part because
much of it has been lost – the cheaply made books were either discarded after
reading or soon disintegrated. Covering the history of pulp literature from
1850 through 1960, the author describes how sensational tales filled a public
need and flowered during the evolving social conditions of the Industrial
Revolution.
