Many works now studied by contemporary literary scholars were scorned by critics when they were first published. So too, there is a large body of popular American fiction that is only now beginning to receive critical attention. This book examines the growing respect given to popular mass-produced American fiction, though such works were initially rejected by cultural watchguards such as librarians and educators. Expert contributors examine such scorned literature as dime novels, comic books, juvenile fiction, romance novels, and pulp magazines from the 1830s to the 1950s. The chapters illuminate the value of these works and analyze the cultural forces that sought to censor them.