A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1878 — all 16 pages of painted-cover fiction magazines that launched science fiction, horror, and hardboiled crime, free to page through at ComicBooks.com.

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A complete issue · 16 pages · 1878

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 39

1878 · Free to read

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 39 — page 2 of 16 — 2 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 39 — page 3 of 16 — 3 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 39 — page 4 of 16 — 4 / 16

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Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 39 — page 11 of 16 — 11 / 16

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Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 39 — page 15 of 16 — 15 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 39 — page 16 of 16 — 16 / 16

About this issue

Edward L. Wheeler's serial novel opens with a murder in Central Park. Young Celia Orwick awaits a meeting in a secluded arbor; the wealthy dandy Dock Raymond finds her there and confesses his love before departing. Ned St. Cloud then arrives—Celia confronts him, demanding marriage and threatening to expose him as a blackguard. When he refuses, St. Cloud strangles her in a violent assault, leaving her dead on a bench. The narrative shifts to the following day as a cadet-dressed gentleman appears on sweltering Baxter Street, repeatedly stopping at saloons before pausing before a brick building. Wheeler employs melodramatic conventions typical of penny-dreadful detective fiction: passionate romantic intrigue, dark secrets, sudden violence, and urban New York settings. The story interweaves multiple male figures vying for Celia's affections against St. Cloud's murderous rage.

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