Spotlights

Don't know where to start? We've prepared a number of short "spotlights" that feature a dime novel from the collection. Each provides contextual information about the novel, a brief biography of the author, an annotated bibliography of scholarship, and discussion questions and activities. These might be used in the classroom as part of a larger unit on the dime novel or for independent study.

Spotlights were written by dime novel scholars, as well as faculty and graduate students at NIU. If you'd be interested in writing your own spotlight, or if you're a teacher developing curricula using dime novels, please get in touch!

The Compact of Death (1905)
Antagonist, Lucio Palazzo, is unique in his simultaneous bucking of and extreme adherence to the depravity often ascribed to Italians in dime novels
The Compact of Death (1905) Spotlight
Marion takes control of a train to thwart an attempted robbery.
Marion Marlowe on the Prairie (1901) Spotlight
The first full-length American detective novel.
The Dead Letter (1866) Spotlight
The first American science fiction novel.
The Steam Man of the Prairies (1868) Spotlight
Inverted detective mystery by the only known dime novelist of African-American descent.
Tiger Dick (1875) Spotlight
One of the first stories to feature a cowboy as the hero.
Texas Jack, the Prairie Rattler (1883) Spotlight
Features a disabled main character capable of heroism and agency.
One-Armed Alf (1874) Spotlight
An antislavery dime novel with a protagonist disguised as a black man.
Scuttled; or, Bessie, the Slaver's Daughter (1866) Spotlight
Fictionalizes the tumultuous confrontation between workers and employers in the “Great Strike” of 1877.
Nemo, King of the Tramps (1881) Spotlight
A shockingly-bloody and action-packed frontier adventure story, said to be the “perfect dime novel."
Seth Jones (1860) Spotlight
Appropriates for its central protagonist, without acknowledgement, a budding Indigenous celebrity.
Red Butterfly (1891) Spotlight
Adventures of a spy for William Henry Harrison during the land in the War of 1812.
The Forest Spy (1861) Spotlight
The first issue of the only nickel weekly aimed at a female audience.
From Farm to Fortune (1900) Spotlight
Fist fight from cover image of The Society of Assassination
The famous detective enacts two stereotypical portrayals that can be described as Italian minstrelsy.
The Society of Assassination (1904) Spotlight
An example of anti-Mormon prejudice in Western genre fiction.
California Joe’s First Trail (1884) Spotlight
Cloudwood and Edith from Cloudwood cover
Features a same sex marriage between two women, while exploring themes of crime and punishment.
Cloudwood (1871) Spotlight
Violet Vane, the velvet sport, or, The jubilee at Jacktown
Dandyism and alternative masculinity during the 1849 Gold Rush.
Violet Vane (1889) Spotlight
The wolf demon, or, The queen of the Kanawha cover
Werewolf story with a number of horror elements that also features Daniel Boone and other historical figures.
The Wolf Demon (1870) Spotlight
Deadwood Dick on deck, or, Calamity Jane, the heroine of Whoop-up : a story of Dakota
A trio of women outlaws challenge norms about femininity, domesticity, and womanhood.
Deadwood Dick on Deck (1878) Spotlight
Pursued to the altar
Sentimental story that focuses on female sexual endangerment.
Pursued to the Altar (1883) Spotlight
One of the few dime novels that includes explicit references to homosexual romance.
Captain Volcano (1880) Spotlight
Enslaved characters take turns sharing stories of their lives.
Maum Guinea (1861) Spotlight