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The Age of Dimes and
Pulps: A History of Sensationalist Literature, 1830-1960 (2018).
By Jeremy Agnew.
Published by McFarland.
Illustrated edition.
Paperback.
ISBN-10: 1476669481
ISBN-13: 978-1476669489
Description:
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.
