Explore how pulp magazines and dime novels of the 19th and early 20th centuries popularized the Western myth, creating iconic characters and moral archetypes that would shape the genre. Discover the roots of cowboy legends and the role these stories played in building America’s frontier mythology.
Introduction
The myth of the West did not only emerge from literary works like Zane Grey’s Riders of the Purple Sage or Hollywood films—it was also deeply shaped by pulp magazines and dime novels. These inexpensive and mass-produced stories were hugely influential in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, providing entertainment for a growing readership and cementing many of the key tropes and archetypes that define the Western genre. While often simplistic, these tales played a crucial role in popularising and romanticising the idea of the American West, creating the foundation for the Western myth that we know today.
This article was inspired by conversations with my son, Bill, during his time at the University of Birmingham, on his degree course in English Literature. This article is the eleventh of my “Myth of the West” cycle.
The Rise of Dime Novels
Dime novels first appeared in the 1860s, as inexpensive booklets that could be sold for around ten cents. They were designed to be cheap and widely accessible to a mass audience, often featuring thrilling and sensationalised tales of adventure, heroism, and danger. It wasn’t long before the West—then still an untamed and largely unexplored region—became a popular setting for these stories.
One of the most famous early dime novel characters was Deadwood Dick, a cowboy hero created by Edward L. Wheeler in 1877. Deadwood Dick was a quintessential Western protagonist—brave, daring, and fighting for justice in a lawless land. Dime novels like The Life and Adventures of Nat Love, featuring real-life African American cowboy Nat Love, as well as Buffalo Bill (based on the exploits of William F. Cody), painted a picture of the West as a place of grand adventure and larger-than-life figures. These stories turned historical figures into near-mythological characters, blurring the line between fact and fiction.
The appeal of dime novels lay in their portrayal of the West as a place where individual courage and action could make a difference. The heroes of these stories were often outsiders—lone cowboys or vigilante sheriffs—who were forced to take the law into their own hands to bring justice to a chaotic and dangerous world. The clear-cut dichotomy between good and evil in these tales contributed to the white hat versus black hat imagery that would dominate Western fiction for decades.
Pulp Magazines and the Expansion of the Western Genre
By the early 20th century, dime novels had evolved into pulp magazines. These monthly or weekly publications were printed on cheap, wood-pulp paper (hence the name) and often featured lurid cover art designed to catch the eye of readers. Westerns were one of the most popular genres in the pulp era, and many of the leading Western writers of the early 20th century got their start in these magazines.
Writers like Max Brand (Frederick Schiller Faust), Ernest Haycox, and Luke Short became household names through their contributions to pulp magazines. These authors created vivid, action-packed stories that distilled the essence of the Western myth—rugged individualism, the taming of the wilderness, and violent encounters between good and evil. The black hat versus white hat trope was ubiquitous in these stories, with heroes easily identifiable by their moral righteousness and villains by their cruelty.
One of the defining features of pulp Westerns was their formulaic nature. While writers like Zane Grey brought more literary complexity to the Western genre, pulp stories were often straightforward, with a focus on fast-paced action, gunfights, and clear moral distinctions. The good guys were always the good guys, and the bad guys were irredeemably bad. This simplicity, though criticised by some as shallow, contributed to the mass appeal of Western stories, making them accessible to readers of all ages and backgrounds.
The Impact on Popular Culture
Pulp magazines and dime novels didn’t just shape the Western myth—they helped spread it across the globe. The popularity of these stories coincided with the rise of mass media in the early 20th century, and the imagery and themes they promoted became deeply ingrained in American culture. Cowboys, gunfights, and dusty frontier towns became part of the national consciousness, defining the American identity as one rooted in independence, toughness, and moral clarity.
The influence of these stories extended beyond literature. Early silent films like The Great Train Robbery (1903) borrowed heavily from the plots and imagery of dime novels, with outlaws, bandits, and courageous lawmen filling the screen. The simplicity of the Western moral universe, with its clear divisions between good and evil, lent itself perfectly to the emerging medium of film, which often relied on visual shorthand to convey complex ideas quickly.
The Western genre continued to thrive in pulp magazines through the 1930s and 40s, even as Hollywood began producing its own brand of Westerns. As radio and later television became dominant forms of entertainment, pulp Westerns and their authors shifted into these new media. Western heroes like The Lone Ranger became household names, transcending their pulp roots to become enduring icons of American culture.
Limitations of Pulp Westerns: Simplifying Complex Histories
While pulp magazines and dime novels played a major role in popularising the myth of the West, they also simplified and distorted the history of the American frontier. The portrayal of Native Americans, Mexicans, and African Americans in these stories was often stereotypical or overtly racist, reinforcing a narrative in which white settlers were the rightful rulers of the land, and anyone who opposed them was either an enemy to be defeated or an obstacle to be overcome.
Pulp Westerns largely ignored the complexity of life on the frontier, glossing over the harsh realities of settler colonialism, the displacement of Indigenous peoples, and the ecological damage wrought by westward expansion. Instead, they focused on romanticised visions of cowboys, outlaws, and lawmen, leaving little room for the nuanced portrayals that would later come with the rise of revisionist Westerns.
From Pulp to Prestige: The Legacy of Pulp Westerns
Despite their limitations, pulp Westerns had a profound impact on the development of the genre, helping to create and sustain the myth of the West well into the 20th century. Many of the tropes and archetypes established in dime novels and pulp magazines—such as the lone cowboy hero, the quick-draw gunfight, and the conflict between civilisation and wilderness—became central to the Western’s appeal in film and television.
By the mid-20th century, the genre began to shift, with writers and filmmakers like John Ford, Howard Hawks, and later Clint Eastwood exploring the darker, more morally ambiguous side of the West. However, the foundations laid by the dime novelists and pulp writers remained visible, even as the genre matured. Though increasingly complicated, the imagery of the white hat versus black hat continued to resonate with audiences.
The enduring popularity of the West, from its pulp roots to its modern iterations, shows the lasting power of the myth of the West. Even today, as revisionist takes and new perspectives challenge old narratives, the larger-than-life heroes and villains that were first immortalised in dime novels and pulp magazines continue to shape our understanding of the American West.
Conclusion
Pulp magazines and dime novels were instrumental in shaping the myth of the West, popularising the genre and introducing millions of readers to the thrills and dangers of frontier life. These stories simplified the complex history of the West into a moral battleground where good and evil were clearly defined, laying the groundwork for the Western genre’s eventual dominance in literature, film, and television. Though later works would bring more nuance and critique, the influence of pulp Westerns can still be felt in the genre’s enduring appeal and in the iconic imagery of the white hat hero and the black hat villain.