Category Archives: Dime Books

Many Hands, Many Voices: Writing, Editing, and Publishing Indian Captivity Narratives, Part 3

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

by Zabelle Stodola, University of Arkansas at Little Rock The opening parts of Zabelle’s article are found here: Part I, and Part II Carrie has done such a great job providing specific information about the dime novels based on Josephine Huggins’ … Continue reading →

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The Cultural Work of Pop-Fiction

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

The four volume Twilight Saga by Stephanie Miller Today, young people love serial fiction about vampires and the dystopian future.  In the 19th century, young Americans consumed dime novels about the frontiers of that day: the American West; “exotic” locales … Continue reading →

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In Which Real Indians Are Captive to Dime Hero Wanna-bes

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Oecetiduta commented on my post, Yellow-back Gold: “Too bad the stories of  ‘Indians’ being held captive are not shared, too.” That is precisely why historians of the western Indian wars need to pay attention to the pop-culture of the 19th century. … Continue reading →

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Innocence and Evil

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

This engraving, titled “The Minnesota Massacre,” faces the title page for Josephine Huggins’s story in Beadle’s Boys’ Book of Romance and Adventure No. 10. Dime publishers had extensive collections of stock artwork they recycled in multiple titles. While the expressions … Continue reading →

Posted in Dime Books, Edward Sylvester Ellis, Josephine Huggins | 1 Comment

Meet “Mrs. Huggins, the Minnesota Captive”

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Cover (facsimile) of Beadle and Adams Boys Books of Romance and Adventure, No. 10 containing “The Minnesota Captive,” 1864, as reproduced in the Garland Library of Narratives of North American Indian Captivities, vol. 86, 1978. ***** “When the reader takes … Continue reading →

Posted in Dime Books, Edward Sylvester Ellis, Josephine Huggins | 1 Comment

Yellow-back Gold

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Malaeska: The Indian Wife of the White Hunter by Mrs. Ann E. Stephens, June 1860. Edward S. Ellis’s first dime novel, Seth Jones: Captives of the Frontier, 1860, is said to have been one of Abraham Lincoln’s favorite stories. Myrtle: The … Continue reading →

Posted in A Thrilling Narrative, Dime Books, Edward Sylvester Ellis, history of printing | 2 Comments