S. E. Grosskopf
Pulp fiction:
A type of fiction popular from the 1890s – 1950s, characterized by fast-paced action, a linear structure, straightforward prose, plot-focused rather than character-focused storytelling, escapist and entertaining. It often contains colorful characters, witty dialogue, and intriguing settings.
What is Pulp Fiction?
Pulp fiction began in 1896, when Frank Munsey’s magazine Argosy started printing on cheap pulp paper. Cutting production costs made the magazine affordable for the working class. Other fiction magazines copied their success; their circulation grew exponentially through the early 20th century.
While Wikipedia says that the term “pulp fiction” is synonymous with run-of-the-mill, low-quality literature, anyone who has spent time reading them knows that isn’t true. Pulp fiction is also often erroneously associated with lurid or erotic fiction, but this isn’t true either. The vast majority of pulp fiction from the early 20th century was cleaner than most of what you find on TV today.
Magazines like Argosy featured fast-paced action, solid storytelling, and unusual plot twists. Pulp fiction included a wide range of genres, including crime, science fiction, fantasy, adventure, horror, western, and romance. Whether they took place on Mars, the jungles of Africa, or the streets of New York, they were linear, plot-driven, and written in a direct and unpretentious style.
Pure entertainment at its finest.
Famous authors of pulp fiction included Walter Gibson (Maxwell Grant), Lester Dent (Kenneth Robeson), Edgar Rice Burroughs, H. G. Wells, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Agatha Christie, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Joseph Conrad, Isaac Asimov, Dashiell Hammit, Raymond Chandler, Erle Stanley Gardner, Ellery Queen, Zane Grey, H. P. Lovecraft, Jack London, Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, along with a very long list of others. And yet, people somehow think pulp fiction was substandard? I studied half of those authors in fancy college English Literature classes!
Some popular heroes, such as the Shadow, Doc Savage, Tarzan, Buck Rodgers, and Zorro became household names, starring in dozens or even hundreds of novellas. Pulp fiction heroes such as these are often credited as the direct ancestors of modern superheroes.
The decline of pulp fiction began in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Production costs increased. Radio and television competed for consumers’ attention. Mainstream publishing shifted their priorities from providing entertainment to a stronger focus on literary merit. Pulp fiction began to disappear.
The legacy of pulp fiction influenced the entertainment industry for decades. Now, they’ve moved quite far from what once made them successful. Reading is less popular than ever. Hollywood and the old traditional publishing houses continue to lose customers. In response, they try a little harder to subvert time-honored plot structures and push agendas that nobody asked for–the very things that are driving their audience away.
Maybe it’s time to go back to what captivated millions of readers for decades. Good storytelling, fast-paced and plot-focused action, solid characters, intriguing locations, and logical and satisfying resolutions–the foundations of pulp fiction.
Our passion for storytelling drives us to create unforgettable literary experiences for our readers.
