In the development of today’s literature, two movements changed the course of reading — the dime novel and magazines. Few people know what a dime novel is and others take for granted magazines. But both of these were major players in the role of the literacy and book publications.
What is the Dime Novel
Logically, someone would say it was a novel that cast only a dime. I couldn’t say they were necessarily wrong, but I could argue they aren’t exactly right. The dime novel did start out at only a dime. Almost overnight they began to be charged fifteen cents for the same work by other publishers, but the name ‘dime novel’ had already stuck itself to these mass produced books.
It was a cheaply produced novel that the public received with open arms. Books were no longer limited.
Origins
The first dime novels were made popular by a publisher known as Beadle and Adams. They realized that books for the first time could be printed in bulk at extremely low prices. It was enough to make a grown business man whimper and salivate. It was something new and untapped which meant lots of money. They had to give it a try. It paid off.
Stories were now everywhere for people to purchase. Other publishers joined in, and the dime novel continued to…
