History Main / DimeNovel

* FollowTheLeader: Dime Novel heroes were this to many characters who came after them. ''Literature/NickCarter'', for example, was a strong influence on ''Franchise/DocSavage'' and ''Literature/TheShadow''. TeenGenius characters like Frank Reade and Jack Wright provided the foundation for ''Literature/TomSwift''.

* FollowTheLeader: Dime Novel heroes were this to many characters who came after them. ''Literature/NickCarter'', for example, was a strong influence on ''Franchise/DocSavage'' and ''Radio/TheShadow''. TeenGenius characters like Frank Reade and Jack Wright provided the foundation for ''Literature/TomSwift''.

* FollowTheLeader: Dime Novel heroes were this to many characters who came after them. ''Literature/NickCarter'', for example, was a strong influence on ''Franchise/DocSavage'' and ''TheShadow''. TeenGenius characters like Frank Reade and Jack Wright provided the foundation for ''Literature/TomSwift''.

High-brow critics quickly derided the quality of the storytelling, and "dime novel" soon became a derogatory term for cheap[[note]]Literally. A dime went a lot further back then, but adjusted for inflation it's still cheaper than most novels today.[[/note]], sensationalistic stories in general.

High-brow critics quickly derided the quality of the storytelling, and "dime novel" soon became a derogatory term for cheap, sensationalistic stories in general.

* TheChick - The defining characteristic of many of the female characters. Sadly, their sheer lack of characterization resulted in many boys objecting to ''any'' female character on the sole basis that she would inevitably turn out to be bland and uninteresting.
* DistressedDamsel - Women did not get much in the way of important roles in many of these books, that was for sure.

Some of the most prominent DimeNovel characters were:

* OldSleuth: Another GreatDetective (first appearing in 1872).
* OldKingBrady: A GreatDetective (1885).
* OldCapCollier: A GreatDetective (1883).
* DeadwoodDick: An adventurer operating in TheWildWest (1877).
* DiamondDick: A fighter for justice in TheWildWest (1878).
* FrankReade: I-Jr-III: Teenage inventors (see below).
* JackWright: Another teenage inventor (1891).
* FrankMerriwell: An UsefulNotes/IvyLeague (he was a Yale man) athlete and adventurer (1896).

* FollowTheLeader: DimeNovel heroes were this to many characters who came after them. ''Literature/NickCarter'', for example, was a strong influence on ''Franchise/DocSavage'' and ''TheShadow''. TeenGenius characters like Frank Reade and Jack Wright provided the foundation for ''Literature/TomSwift''.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: A modified version of the trope. Many DimeNovels were fictionalized versions of the exploits of people who were still alive at the time: Creator/BuffaloBill, UsefulNotes/CalamityJane, KitCarson, etc.
* LostWorld: Many DimeNovel heroes ran into one of these. Literature/NickCarter, for example, ran into a lost civilization of Old Norse speaking Amazons in Bolivia in 1907.
* MasterOfDisguise: A very common DimeNovel trope.

* SteamPunk: The DimeNovel lived this trope, as exemplified by characters like FrankReade, JackWright, TomEdisonJr, etc.

* TeenGenius: JackWright, FrankReade, etc.

!DimeNovel Characters:
!! FrankReade

There were three generations of Frank Reades appearing in the DimeNovel era: the father (the first FrankReade, in 1876), the son (Frank Reade, Jr, the most long lasting of the three, first appearing in 1879), and the grandson (FrankReade III, in 1899). All three are essentially the same in terms of characterization. They are young inventors who create SteamPunk machines and weapons and go off on wild adventures. The following tropes largely concern Frank Reade, Jr, the most famous and enduring of the three:

* CanonWelding: Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett's ''FRANK READE: Adventures in the Age of Invention'' does a bit of this, tying the Reade family to other DimeNovel inventors (JackWright, ElectricBob) as well as to their own fictional Victorian robot, Boilerplate.

* DirectLineToTheAuthor: Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett's SteamPunk biography ''FRANK READE: Adventures in the Age of Invention'' does this to the DimeNovel Reade family. The book is written as a factual account of the famous Victorian family of inventors, one that will provide the full truth behind the DimeNovel stories.

* FollowTheLeader: DimeNovel heroes were this to many characters who came after them. Literature/NickCarter, for example, was a strong influence on Franchise/DocSavage and TheShadow. TeenGenius characters like Frank Reade and Jack Wright provided the foundation for Literature/TomSwift.

* FrankReade: I-JR-III: Teenage inventors (see below).

There were 3 generations of Frank Reades appearing in the DimeNovel era:the father (the first FrankReade, in 1876), the son (Frank Reade, jr, the most long lasting of the 3, first appearing in 1879), and the grandson (FrankReade III, in 1899). All three are essentially the same in terms of characterization. They are young inventors who create SteamPunk machines and weapons and go off on wild adventures. The following tropes largely concern Frank Reade, jr, the most famous and enduring of the three:

* BigAppleSauce: The first Frank Reade lives in New York. Frank Reade, jr, though operates in nearby Readestown.

The style of storytelling of the dime novel has lived on even today. Cliffhanger movies told essentially the same types of stories as dime novels, and the ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' and ''[[Film/TheMummyTrilogy The Mummy]]'' movies are essentially the dime novel in big budget form. While our entertainment today is much more sophisticated, there's still a market for low-brow high adventure stories. Heck, even many of today's video games have roots in these.

* TheChick - The defining characteristic of many of the woman character. Sadly, their sheer lack of characterization resulted in many boys objecting to ''any'' female character on the sole basis that she would inevitably turn out to be bland and uninteresting.

* SteamPunk: The DimeNovel lived this trope, as exemplified by characters like FrankReade, JackWright,TomEdisonJr, etc.

* FollowTheLeader: DimeNovel heroes were this to many characters who came after them. Literature/NickCarter, for example, was a strong influence on Franchise/DocSavage and TheShadow. TeenGenius characters like Frank Reade and Jack Wright provided the foundation for TomSwift.

[[quoteright:299:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/buffalo_bill_stories_190_1904.png]]

* FrankMerriwell: An IvyLeague (he was a Yale man) athlete and adventurer (1896).

People in the 19th century weren't so lucky. With entertainment being far more limited, you had to learn to enjoy what little you could get your hands on. Around the time of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, literacy in the US began to increase considerably, and just around then, a new form of entertainment was invented. The dime novel.

The British equivalent of this at the time was known as the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_dreadful Penny Dreadful]], and sometimes dime novel stories saw a transatlantic adaptation in the UK.

People in the 19th century weren't so lucky. With entertainment being far more limited, you had to learn to enjoy what little you could get your hands on. Around the time of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, literacy in the US began to increase considerably, and just around then, a new form of entertainment was invented. The dime novel. (It also had a UK equivalent known as the penny dreadful.)

The dime novel itself changed in format a number of times. The term referred not only to 10 cent books as described above, but both 15 cent books, and also to "story papers", a sort of newspaper-like format that contained multiple stories encompassing detective serials and globetrotting adventures. Due to changes in publishing, the price of these dropped to 5 cents, but the term "dime novel" remained in use. The British equivalent was the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_dreadful Penny Dreadful]], and sometimes dime novel stories saw a transatlantic adaptation in the UK.

* FollowTheLeader: DimeNovel heroes were this to many characters who came after them. Literature/NickCarter, for example, was a strong influence on DocSavage and TheShadow. TeenGenius characters like Frank Reade and Jack Wright provided the foundation for TomSwift.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: A modified version of the trope. Many DimeNovels were fictionalized versions of the exploits of people who were still alive at the time: BuffaloBill, CalamityJane, KitCarson, etc.
* LostWorld: Many DimeNovel heroes ran into one of these. NickCarter, for example, ran into a lost civilization of Old Norse speaking Amazons in Bolivia in 1907.

* SteamPunk: Along with JulesVerne, some of the earliest examples of this trope. Frank Reade's inventions are legion: flying machines, steam-powered proto-robots ("the steam-man of the plains," who can shoot fiery missiles and travel at 50 miles per hour), submarines, nitroglycerin grenades, etc.

* DirectLineToTheAuthor: Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett's SteamPunk biography FRANK READE: Adventures in the Age of Invention does this to the DimeNovel Reade family. The book is written as a factual account of the famous Victorian family of inventors, one that will provide the full truth behind the DimeNovel stories.

* LiteraryAgentHypothesis: Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett's ''FRANK READE: Adventures in the Age of Invention'' does this to the Reade family. The book is written as a biography of the famous family of inventors, one that will provide the full truth behind the DimeNovel stories.

* CanonWelding: Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett's ''FRANK READE: Adventures in the Age of Invention'' does a bit of this, tying the Reade family to other DimeNovel inventors (JackWright, ElectricBob) as well as to their own fictional Victorian robot, Biolerplate.

* LiteraryAgentHypothesis: Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett's FRANK READE: ADVENTURES IN THE AGE OF INVENTION does this to the Reade family. The book is written as a biography of the famous family of inventors, one that will provide the full truth behind the DimeNovel stories.

* SubmarinePirates: Tom Edison Jr fought a YellowPeril villain named Kiang Ho of the Golden Belt in 1892. He used a submarine called the Sea Serpent.

* NickCarter: A GreatDetective (1886).