dime novel

IPA/ˈdaɪm nɒvl/
IPA/ˈdaɪm nɑːvl/

dime novel — noun

1. a cheap paperback book that was sold mainly in the United States from the mid-18

1.名詞B2
釋義

a cheap paperback book that was sold mainly in the United States from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s, containing an exciting story of adventure, romance, or mystery

例句

In class, Lotte analysed a dime novel from 1885 about a female detective in New York.

dime novel + year + genre context

Selim bought a stack of old dime novels at a garage sale for two dollars.

collocation: old dime novel / stack of dime novels

同義詞
  • pulp novel

    broader term that includes later cheap fiction from the 1900s

  • penny dreadful

    British equivalent from the same time period

  • paperback thriller

    modern equivalent, but refers to any inexpensive thriller regardless of era

反義詞
  • literary fiction

    novels written with serious artistic intent, considered higher quality

文法句型

dime novel as countable noun

用法筆記

Commonly used in historical or literary contexts; the term is less common in everyday speech about modern books. The British equivalent is 'penny dreadful'.

常見錯誤

❌I read a dime novel last night about a modern detective.
✅I read a dime novel from the 1890s about a detective.
💡The term refers specifically to 19th- and early 20th-century cheap books, not any inexpensive modern novel.