dime novel

First page illustration of <em>Beadle's Dime Library</em>, 1884Texas Jack, the Prairie Rattler is an early dime novel by William F. (“Buffalo Bill”) Cody. It was serialized in Beadle's Weekly in 1883 and published in one volume in Beadle's Dime Library in 1884. Many, if not all, of Cody's dime novels were ghostwritten by Ned Buntline or Colonel Prentiss Ingraham.

dime novel, a type of inexpensive, usually paperback, melodramatic novel of adventure popular in the United States roughly between 1860 and 1915. It often featured a western theme and typically cost a nickel or a dime.

One of the best-known authors of such works was E.Z.C. Judson, whose stories, some based on his own adventures, were written under the pseudonym Ned Buntline. Judson and fellow dime novelist Colonel Prentiss Ingraham were the ghostwriters of many works attributed to William F. (“Buffalo Bill”) Cody, a famous figure of the American West. A number of prominent authors, including Louisa May Alcott and Jack London, produced dime novels, sometimes called “potboilers,” under various pseudonyms.

The dime novels were eventually replaced by pulp magazines. Penny dreadfuls and shilling shockers are genres similar to the dime novel.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by René Ostberg.
Citation Information
Article Title: dime novel
Website Name: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published: 24 July 2025
Access Date: November 14, 2026