The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1900-05-26
ERA OF THE DIME NOVEL.
THE RISE AND FALL OF BLOOD AND
THUNDER LITERATURE.
Little as It ls Generally Realized, the
Dime Novel Has Had Considerable
Influence on American Letters-Dates
lack to the Year 1860.

Witnessing Ine eAIlncIlou vi
what has been popularly
known as the "dime novel"
writes Firmin Dredd, in the March
Bookman). Very curiously, readers
are coming back to the position they
occupied about forty years ago, and
the books which are commanding wide
sales to-day are what are known as
high priced novels. And yet the dime
novel has played SO prominent a part
In the general literature of this coun-
try that the story OF its genesis, its
development, its evolution and its
final degeneration, is rich with inter
:est. Little as it is generally realized,
the dime novel has been consider
able factor in American literature. -
The dime novel dates from the yehf
1850. Shortly before, the firm of
;Beadle & Adams had begun series OF
publications intended for lower mid
/! !dle-class consumption. This series
was made up of books on Ell,
,quette, on letter-writing and othes
subjects OF equal moment and impor-
tance. The dime book Of etiquette,
for instance, purported to be a guide
to "true gentility and good breeding,
: and complete directory to the usages
and observances of society, including
etiquette of the ballroom, of the
eyening-party, the dinner-party, the
card and chess-table, OF business, aud
of the home CIRCLE" It did not differ
materially from the books of similar
nature that are published to-day.
These books had an enormous circula-
ton, and despite the ridicule which
one humorously inclined may see fit
!. to heap upon them, undoubtedly had
serious and real educational value.
Early IN the spring of 1850 Mr.. Or
Vile J. Victor conceived the idea OF
the dime novel. At his suggestion
the Beadle series was begun, and
Mrs. Ann s. Stephens, then one OF
the most popular and widely known
Tof American writers, was asked to
contribute the inaugurative story.
For "Malaeska, the Indian Wife OF
the White Hunter" she received two
hundred and fifty dollars, a consider,
able sum for work of it's length OF
that time. 'Malaeska" was followed
!by 'The Privateer's Cruise" by
Harry Cavendish; "Myra, the Child
of Adoption" another of Mrs.
iStephens's romances; and "Alics
Wilde, the Raftsman's Daughter,
by Mrs. NJ. Y. Victor:
ADert the dime novel there speedily
gathered staff of writer's who com
bined knowledge of the popular
taste, dexterity in the working ont o.
conventional plots, and an industry
that was simply amazing,-Mith
Assxatssptioaf4s;-oHs hundred dol
lars was the price paid for one 0
these novels, which contained on q
average twenty-five thousand words
i and which was produced by it
author in q week or ten days. In ad
Idition to the professional noyel-spir
llers OF the time the dime library dre'
lon q number OF newspaper men, WI
Hound in this way materially to ii
crease their incomes. In the autum
of 1860 the first story ever written b
Edward s. Ellis, afterward so popula
as writer for boys, found It's wa
into the Office of the dime library
1t was called "Seth Jones, or, Til
Captive Of the Frontier" and befor
| ut appeared as the eighth number i
the series it Lad been advertised wit
a skill end ingenuity very rare OF
time when the art of advertising wa
still, in a measure, in its infancy
Several weeks before the day Of put
lication, guttersnipes bearing th
Simple legend tSeth Jones" wer
,placarded on walls and fences all owe
the city. A week later these wer
followed by other guttersnipes, O
which was printed the query, "Wh
is Seth Jones?" A third guttersnip
answered the question, and proved re
'markably effective in bringing abou
for the book al enormous sale.-
Despite the literary inadequacy 0
these pioneers among the cheap popu
lar novels, they were entirely whole
isome and farremoved from the vicious
mess and the brutality which mark thei
successors in the later seventies an
early eighties. These romances wer
often extravagant in plot and crude i
treatment, but they were primarily de
signed for household reading. Probs
bly none Of the writer's of these book
was more successful in commanding
wide circle OF readers than Mrs. NJ. '
Victor. The fourth of the storie
which she contributed to this serie
attained sale which makes most c
the records OF book sales of the pres
ent day appear Insignificant in com
parison. This was "Uncle Ezekiel,
the story of an alleged typical Yanke
and his exploits at home and abroad
In the United States the book withi
a short time reached a total sale G
two hundred and seventy thousand
In England the sales reached two hun
dred and eleven thousand, q total O
four hundred and eighty-one thousand
This, however, was surpassed by 9Th
Backwoods Bride" of which five hun
dred aud fifty thousand were sold, an
"Maum Guinea" The last namet
! was story of negro life, which, ap
pearing at the time of the war, actuall
rivaled in popularity Mrs. Harrie
Beecher Stoves "Uncle Tom
Cabin.
The success of this series in few
years brought many rivals into tn
field. George Munro, who had beer
.bookkeeper in the employ of Beadl
& Adams, began publishing himsel
books along the same line about 1865