The word ‘yellowback’ hails from the mid-to-late 1800s and was generally used to describe books that were cheaply made — bound with yellow paper or board — and of a sensationalistic nature. Somewhat similar to penny dreadfuls — lurid, sensationalist books that literally cost a penny when they first came into being — a yellowback is {1} cheap, and {2} entertaining.
As a fan of mystery/thriller/adventure novels, I have definitely read my share of yellowbacks. In the mid 1900s, many books were published on cheap pulp (thus, the term pulp fiction) for mass publication and share a common ‘yellowback’ trait of having quickly acquired yellowed edges. Books that have lasted from then until now — examples of which, from my own collection, can be seen in the photo above — tend to have paper pages that are somewhat rough and their texture has gotten brittle over time. Along with the yellow edges (also visible, above), these time period novels are/were “cheap” and are some of my favorite things to find and read.
The ones pictured above, from a different angle, are:
- The White Priory Murders, by Carter Dickson (an alias of John Dickson Carr)
- Come, Tell Me How You Live, by Agatha Christie
- Last Respects, by Catherine Aird
- Somewhere in the House, by Elizabeth Daly
- The Sound of Murder, by Rex Stout
Four of these five are in my TBR pile.
One of these authors I’ve never read before. (Can you guess which?)
All of these books are modern — or, rather, mid-century modern? — yellowbacks.
And y’know… I’ve always been fond of the color yellow…
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My A-to-Z Challenge posts this year are all related to the topic of READING.
If you’re wondering how we are on the 25th letter [Y] on the 23rd day: I have been flying by the seat of my pants this year, and I have combined letters for several posts to make this work for me. 🙂 Thinking I was going to get too far behind, I somehow wound up ahead!
If you’d like to read other posts on my blog from this series, see here. To see what others are doing for the Challenge, please click the badge above.
Nice collection. My husband has quite a few sci-fi yellowbacks, and I wonder how many eyes have been on all those pages.
I like how you’ve done multiple letters on your posts, and now you’re ahead. I suspect it’s not the only thing you’re on the leading edge of. 🙂
You’re very nice to say so; I suspect some might consider my combinations “cheating” but I have been pleased with the way the posts have turned out. 🙂
There is a sci-fi author who also writes (or wrote – he is now deceased) mysteries. I was delighted to discover that the writer I knew as Reginald Hill is also Dick Morland. Perhaps, if your husband has DM yellowbacks in his collection, we have something in common.
Oh, I have used this word as a prompt in one of the last AtoZ that I did on books and this year too it makes a comeback. Yellowbacks were the backbone of my reading for many years as they were easily and cheaply available, often in pirated forms too. I used to devour Perry Mason, John Grisham, Sidney Sheldon, Jeffrey Archer. Robin Cook, Michael Crichton and many more bestsellers in this form. You reminded me of those days with this post.
Good for you to be able to march ahead as opposed to lagging behind in the challenge 🙂
I haven’t read or heard of these books but will come back to your blog to read your reviews for them later.
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It’s a fun word! I’m glad to know someone else is familiar with the term and has enjoyed reading them. 🙂
I’d never heard the term, so this was educational for me! Thanks for enlightening…
That’s always one of the fun parts, for me, about the A-to-Z: new vocabulary!!! 😀
Oh, never heard about yellowbacks, but what a well-suited name!
It’s a great descriptive word, for sure. 🙂