I Love History

And I love assignments where I get to help my kiddos learn more about history.

But when my youngest came home saying he had to make a paper bag puppet of a historical figure-I was flummoxed.

And then I decided to go wild and be creative. I cut up twine for hair, I cut up an old lace curtain for a jabot, and I cut up a pair of glasses that came complete with a humongous fake nose (sadly, the nose has been lost for a while or I would have used it too).

And I tried to teach my son about Benjamin Franklin...but hey, the puppet looks pretty cool!

A Dime Novel History

Do you rush out and buy the new releases every month? Do you scour author’s pages and publisher’s sites, looking for the next titillating book to buy? If you do, perhaps you should thank those authors that wrote Dime Novels so many, many years ago.


You see, dime novels were the predecessor of today’s mass market books! The most famous ones, published by Beadle were small booklets with wrappers (covers) of bright orange and a wood cut print in black. They sold for the lofty sum of 10 cents a piece.


There were also nickel novels. These had no wrappers (covers). They were basically broadleaves, printed in small type with two to three columns on a quarter page. Obviously, they sold for a nickel a piece.



Dime novels usually had 70,000 to 80,000 words (which, incidentally is about the total of my first book) and nickel novels had only 35,000 to 40,000 words. I am thinking a full length book and a novella would be great definitions of them.


But do you have any idea of the author’s of dime novels? Or readers?

Beadle sent bushels of its novels to the frontlines during the Civil War! When the troops received their supplies, they also had a great selection of dime novels to choose from.

Abraham Lincoln was a voracious reader of dime novels, his favorite supposedly being Seth Jones, The Captives of the Frontier. This particular book was published in several different languages and sold six hundred thousand copies! Can you imagine?



And about those authors-did you know they wrote under several different names (pseudonyms) to keep readers from learning just how many they wrote? For instance, Colonel Prentiss Ingraham, author of over 100 Buffalo Bill stories, typically wrote a story a week. That boggles my mind. And Colonel Ingraham sometimes made as much as $200 to $300 a book. I imagine if you really good at math that this would translate to quite a lot today.

Now, are you ready for the list of author’s that started out writing dime novels?

Here’s a few that I found:

Louisa May Alcott, Horace Greely, Henry Wadsworth, Longfellow, Upton Sinclair, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Impressed yet? I am.

Here’s a few fun facts I found while researching them:

Beadle’s novels were highly patriotic and very heavy on adventure and romance.


The first ever published was wrote by Mrs. Ann Stephens. It was titled Malaeska. It was about a Native American woman who loses her father and her white hus
band and sets of to search for her missing child.

Novels about Frank and Jesse James were banned by the Post Master General.

James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales were initially installments in a series of dime novels.

Fascinating, isn’t it?

Have You Read...

I have been a fan of Lorraine Heath's for years. I loved her westerns and when Ms. Heath made the switch to England-based stories, I followed, unhappily. Not because I didn't enjoy the books, but because she was such an awesome western writer. And honestly, although I have all of those books, without going to the shelves and looking at them, I couldn't tell you the name of one of them. But her newest series has totally blown me away! I read the first book, In Bed With the Devil, in two and a half hours. I didn't feed my kids until about 8 o'clock that evening. When they would come to me, complaining of severe hunger pains gnawing at their empty stomachs, I would reply "SHHH! I'm reading". (Sadly, I am not joking).


I finished the book and, with trepidation, let my sister borrow it. That's been MONTHS ago. I've called her, and emailed her, and generally pestered her to death about giving me back my book. It was that good.

My elder son, the 16 year old who's world revolves around his guitar, his girlfriend, and his video games, came to me the other night and says, "Mom, can I buy a book?" My heart jumped with joy and off to Amazon we went. I ordered his book (based on a video game, but hey it's a book!), and really hated to have to pay shipping on one measly book. So I browsed. And what did I find?Between the Devil and Desire!
I was thrilled. THRILLED. I added it to my cart, and then thought, I can't just jump in and read Jack's story without revisiting Luke's, now can I? So, I re-ordered it, checked out and called my sister to tell her 'keep the book' and that she couldn't borrow the new one (I like to gloat, what can I say).

Once again my children were left to scrounge up sandwiches for themselves while I immersed myself into the lives of Feagan's brood of orphans. I was sucked in and could not put the book down until I was finished.

Here are the back blurbs from the books:

IN BED WITH THE DEVIL

They call him the Devil Earl—a scoundrel and accused murderer who grew up on the violent London streets. A proper young lady risks more than her reputation when consorting with the roguishly handsome Lucian Langdon, but Lady Catherine Mabry believes she has no choice. To protect those she loves, she would do anything—even strike a bargain with the devil himself.

Lucian desires respectability and a wife above all else, but the woman of his choosing lacks the social graces to be accepted by the aristocracy. Catherine can help Lucian gain everything he wants. But what she asks for in exchange will put their very lives in jeopardy. When danger closes in, Catherine discovers a man of immense passion and he discovers a woman of immeasurable courage. As secrets from his dark past are revealed, Lucian begins to question everything he knows to be true, including the yearnings of his own heart.

BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND DESIRE

The ladies of the ton won't stop whispering about deliciously wicked Jack Dodger, once a thieving street urchin, now the owner of London's most exclusive gentleman's club. There's no pleasure he hasn't enjoyed, no debauchery the handsome scoundrel won't provide for the lords who flock to his house of carnal intrigue.

London's most virtuous lady, honourable, uncorrupted, and all too human Olivia, Duchess of Lovingdon, would never associate with such a rogue. So when Jack is named sole heir to the duke's personal possessions she is outraged.

Now, Olivia is forced to share her home with this despicable man. Olivia's icy disdain is no match for Jack's charm. She will struggle to bar Jack from her heart, but her body will not let her bar him from her bed

The blurbs absolutely do NOT let you know that these books are full of emotions. Luke must overcome his guilt, his feeling of betrayal, and his sense of duty. Jack has to overcome his childhood, his self hatred, and his feelings of insecurity. These books touch on themes I'm usually not comfortable reading about but I found I didn't mind at all, that it brought a new depth to the characters. Well, I've tried and couldn't find a way to tell you about the stories without giving them away. So take my word for it, these are two books you MUST buy and read!