{"id":42,"date":"2026-09-01T14:10:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T12:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/?page_id=42"},"modified":"2026-09-01T14:13:02","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T12:13:02","slug":"2-the-rise-of-the-pulps","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/?page_id=42","title":{"rendered":"2. The Rise of the Pulps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The History of Science Fiction \u2013 1900s to 1930s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the turn of the century, the easiest and cheapest way to publish a story was in one of the many pulp magazines (so named because the rough material they were printed on) that made up a large chunk of the publishing market at the time. Science fiction as a genre was not born yet and if it wasn\u2019t for Luxemburg-born writer and editor Hugo Gernsback, it might never have been. Adventure stories, some even set in space or on other planets, abounded in those magazines, but it took Gernsback\u2019s vision of \u201cscientifiction\u201d and his magazine&nbsp;<em>Amazing Stories<\/em>&nbsp;(first issue April 1926), devoted completely to what he himself called \u201cthe Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Edgar Allan Poe type of story \u2013 a charming romance intermingled with scientific fact and prophetic vision\u201d (3), to bring about what we nowadays consider science fiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"716\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Amazing-1939-716x1024-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-66\" srcset=\"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Amazing-1939-716x1024-1.jpg 716w, https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Amazing-1939-716x1024-1-210x300.jpg 210w, https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Amazing-1939-716x1024-1-105x150.jpg 105w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 716px) 100vw, 716px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gernsback\u2019s magazine was aimed at young adults, eager to learn and be educated about science and he thus envisioned&nbsp;<em>Amazing<\/em>&nbsp;as \u201cprimarily a teaching tool, but one that did not make its teaching obvious\u201d (Attebery 33). Combined with the popular story-telling format of adventure stories (already established in pulp magazines), Gernsback soon developed a good mixture of stories that captured his audience \u2013 even though the educational side grew less and less important, so that in the end space adventure outgrew scientific education. Nonetheless, Gernsback\u2019s success soon led other publishers to follow his example and it can be stated that he established the genre in literary terms, or as Mike Ashley points out he started \u201cthe first of a series of SF revolutions\u201d (64).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lecture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the lecture&nbsp;\u201cThe Rise of the Pulps (1900s \u2013 1930s)\u201d by Dr. Zahra Jannessari-Ladani (University of Teheran):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Videofile \u2013 MP4<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"480\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 640 \/ 480;\" width=\"640\" controls poster=\"http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/History-Session-2-Rise-of-the-Pulps.jpg\" src=\"http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/53-563_jannessari-ladani_2012-04-17_18-22.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Essay<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The introductory essay \u201cThe Three Golden Ages of Science Fiction\u201d by Dr. Zahra Jannessari-Ladani is available for download here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Jannessari.pdf\">Jannessari-Ladani, Zahra \u2013 \u201cThe Rise of the Pulps (1900s-1930s)\u201d<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>THE ROAD TO SCIENCE FICTION, VOL. 2: FROM Wells TO Heinlein<\/em>&nbsp;(ED. JAMES GUNN):<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Campbell, John W. \u201cTwilight\u201d (1934) \u2013 pages 259-76.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A man drives through the desert and encounters a time traveller, who has seen the future of mankind, where the race is slowly dying. The story bears certain resemblances to H.G. Wells&nbsp;<em>Time Machine<\/em>&nbsp;and could be taught alongside this novel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keller, David H. \u201cRevolt of the Pedestrians\u201d (1928) \u2013 pages 171-95.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the few examples of early pulp fiction (originally published in&nbsp;<em>Amazing Stories<\/em>) that provides a certain literary appeal \u2013 written as a dystopian vision in which the rise of the automobile was commented upon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Van Vogt, A. E. \u201cBlack Destroyer\u201d (1939) \u2013 pages 419-45.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A dark and dangerous alien stalks a group of humans \u2013 only this time we actually get the perspective of the prowling thing itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Weinbaum, Stanley. \u201cA Martian Odyssey\u201d (1934) \u2013 pages 234-55.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the most famous examples of pulp sf, Weinbaum was the first to describe several alien species, that did not adhere to human physiology and sociology. Tweel, a bird-like alien that is lovable, strange and utterly non-human, is&nbsp;discovered by a Mars mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>WESLEYAN ANTHOLOGY OF SCIENCE FICTION<\/em>&nbsp;(ED. ARTHUR B. EVANS ET AL.):<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Weinbaum, Stanley. \u201cA Martian Odyssey\u201d (1934) \u2013 pages 136-59.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">for this story, see above entry \u2013 the Wesleyan is not as ideally equipped to deal with early pulp stories, there is less choice to pick stories from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hamilton, Edmond. \u201cThe Man Who Evolved\u201d (1931) \u2013 pages 79-95.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A classic mad scientist-story of a man who has determined the cause of human evolution and uses its full potential to become superhuman before eventually returning to the ooze humanity evolved from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ADDITIONAL READING (ASIDE FROM THE ANTHOLOGIES):<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Leigh R. Grossman (Ed.).&nbsp;<em>Sense of Wonder: A Century of Science Fiction<\/em>. Rockville: Wildside&nbsp;Press, 2011.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another anthology to consider if you want to delve deeper into the earliest science fiction and the pulp magazines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Burroughs, Edgar Rice&nbsp;<em>A Princess of Mars<\/em>&nbsp;(1917) \u2013 free online&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.gutenberg.org\/ebooks\/62\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">version<\/a>&nbsp;at Project Gutenberg<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The novel (1917) was first published in&nbsp;<em>All-Story Magazine<\/em>, February 1912, in shorter form originally titled \u201cUnder the Moons of Mars\u201d under the pseudonym of Normal Bean. It is a classic early pulp adventure story, only not set in the Wild West but rather on planet Mars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Further Reading (Academic)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ashley, Mike. &nbsp;<em>The Time Machines: The Story of the Science-Fiction Pulp Magazines from the Beginning to 1950<\/em>. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2000.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Luckhurst, Roger.&nbsp;<em>Science Fiction<\/em>. London: Polity, 2005.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tymn, Marshall B. and Mike Ashley.&nbsp;<em>Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines<\/em>. Westport and London: Greenwood Press, 1985.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Works Cited on this page:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ashley, Mike. \u201cScience Fiction Magazines: The Crucibles of Change.\u201d&nbsp;<em>A Companion to Science Fiction<\/em>. Ed. Seed, David. Malden: Blackwell, 2005. 60-76. Print.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Attebery, Brian. \u201cThe Magazine Era: 1926-1960.\u201d&nbsp;<em>The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction<\/em>. Eds. James, Edward and Farah Mendlesohn. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003. 32-47. Print.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gernsback, Hugo. \u201cA New Sort of Magazine.\u201d&nbsp;<em>Amazing Stories<\/em>&nbsp;1.1 (1926): 3. Print.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">MLA Citation for this page:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">Video Lecture:<br>Jannessari-Ladani, Zahra. \u201cThe Rise of the Pulps (1900s to 1930s)\u201d. Video Lecture.&nbsp;<em>A Virtual Introduction to Science Fiction<\/em>. Ed. Lars Schmeink.<br>Web. 2012. &lt;http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/?page_id=42&gt;.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">Essay:<br>Jannessari-Ladani, Zahra. \u201cThe Rise of the Pulps: Science Fiction \u2013 1900s to 1930s\u201d. <em>A Virtual Introduction to Science Fiction<\/em>. Ed. Lars Schmeink.<br>Web. 2012. &lt;http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/?page_id=42&gt;. 1-15.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">Info Page:<br>Schmeink, Lars. \u201cThe Rise of the Pulps\u201d. Web Page. <em>A Virtual Introduction to Science Fiction<\/em>. Ed. Lars Schmeink. Web.<br>2012. &lt;http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/?page_id=42&gt;.<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The History of Science Fiction \u2013 1900s to 1930s At the turn of the century, the easiest and cheapest way to publish a story was in one of the many pulp magazines (so named because the rough material they were printed on) that made up a large chunk of the publishing market at the time. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-42","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72,"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42\/revisions\/72"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}