Frank Reade
Encyclopedia
Frank Reade was the protagonist of a series of dime novel
s published primarily for boys. The first novel, Frank Reade and His Steam Man of the Plains, an imitation of Edward Ellis's "The Steam Man of the Prairies
" (1868), was written by Harry Enton and serialized in the Frank Tousey juvenile magazine Boys of New York, February 28 through April 24, 1876. The four Frank Reade stories concerned adventures with the character's inventions, various robot-like mechanisms powered by steam.
A very long series of juvenile novels followed which featured the son of Frank Reade, Frank Reade Jr., as its teenaged inventor-hero. These stories were written by Luis P. Senarens
(1865–1939) with the pseudonym "Noname". Extremely popular during their time, they were often reprinted.
Frank Reade Jr. inventions included airship
s of the dirigible-balloon and helicopter type, submersibles, steam-driven and electrical land vehicles, and steam
-powered robot
s.
The Frank Reade stories are perhaps the best known of the many boys' invention fiction series published in America during the later 19th century.
Dime novel
Dime novel, though it has a specific meaning, has also become a catch-all term for several different forms of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S...
s published primarily for boys. The first novel, Frank Reade and His Steam Man of the Plains, an imitation of Edward Ellis's "The Steam Man of the Prairies
The Steam Man of the Prairies
The Steam Man of the Prairies by Edward S. Ellis was the first U.S. science fiction dime novel and archetype of the Frank Reade series. It is one of the earliest examples of the so-called "Edisonade" genre...
" (1868), was written by Harry Enton and serialized in the Frank Tousey juvenile magazine Boys of New York, February 28 through April 24, 1876. The four Frank Reade stories concerned adventures with the character's inventions, various robot-like mechanisms powered by steam.
A very long series of juvenile novels followed which featured the son of Frank Reade, Frank Reade Jr., as its teenaged inventor-hero. These stories were written by Luis P. Senarens
Luis Senarens
Luis Philip Senarens was an American dime novel writer specializing in science fiction, once called "the American Jules Verne". He grew up in a Cuban-American family in Brooklyn....
(1865–1939) with the pseudonym "Noname". Extremely popular during their time, they were often reprinted.
Frank Reade Jr. inventions included airship
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
s of the dirigible-balloon and helicopter type, submersibles, steam-driven and electrical land vehicles, and steam
Steam
Steam is the technical term for water vapor, the gaseous phase of water, which is formed when water boils. In common language it is often used to refer to the visible mist of water droplets formed as this water vapor condenses in the presence of cooler air...
-powered robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s.
The Frank Reade stories are perhaps the best known of the many boys' invention fiction series published in America during the later 19th century.
See also
- Tom SwiftTom SwiftTom Swift is the name of the central character in five series of books, first appearing in 1910, totaling over 100 volumes, of American juvenile science fiction and adventure novels that emphasize science, invention and technology. The character was created by Edward Stratemeyer, the founder of...
- Tom Swift Jr.Tom Swift, Jr.Tom Swift Jr. is the central character in a series of 33 adventure novels for male adolescents, following in the tradition of the earlier Tom Swift novels. The series was entitled The New Tom Swift Jr. Adventures...
- EdisonadeEdisonade"Edisonade" is a modern term, coined in 1993 by John Clute in his and Peter Nicholls' The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, for stories based around a brilliant young inventor and his inventions, many of which would now be classified as science fiction...
- SteampunkSteampunkSteampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
External links
- The Frank Reade Family
- The University of South Florida's Tampa Dime Novel Collection has an extensive collection of Frank Reade dime novels
- Frank Reade at Jess NevinsJess NevinsJohn J. Nevins, MA/MS, is an American author and librarian, born 30 July 1966 and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the author of the World Fantasy Award-nominated Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana , and other works on Victoriana and pulp fiction...
' Fantastic Victoriana - Frank Reade Library, No.1: Frank Reade, Jr., and His New Steam Man; or The Young Inventor’s Trip to the Far West, at the University of Minnesota
- Frank Reade Library, No.15: Frank Reade, Jr.’s Electric Air Canoe or The Search for the Valley of the Diamonds, at the University of Minnesota
- Frank Reade Library, No.19: Frank Reade, Jr.’s New Electric Van; or, Hunting Wild Animals in the Jungles of India, at the University of Minnesota