Pulp fiction has a long history; the books getting their name from the cheap wood pulp paper used to print them. They are a continuation of the sensational pulp magazines such as Penny Dreadfuls in the 19th century. An explosion of pulp fiction occurred in the early to mid-20th century. The pulp editions were an inexpensive way for publishing houses to make as much money as possible. Salacious stories with covers often featuring vibrant, lurid artwork, leading to these covers later becoming iconic. The titles were also sensational and designed to entice an audience, such as The spread eagles or Up your pleasure. The stories themselves were sensationalised fiction to attract a wide audience and were often defined by a range of genres: detective, science fiction, romance and adventure genres. 

Although originally cheap sensationalised fiction, they are now important artifacts from the past that have an important part to play in discovering aspects of social history and culture, especially within the LGBTQIA+ community. As Michael Bronski states, ‘they are records – albeit fictional and reflecting and refracting the tenor and biases of their time – of how [the LGBTQIA+] community lived, thought, desired, loved, and survived.’ 

The Special Collections and Archives team has put together a display of just a small selection of the titles we hold in our Special Collections. Some of the material in our library is much more naughty... 

We have selected material from our LGBTQ+ and the UK Fetish Archive’s library collections, as well as our extensive collection of London published materials. 

All material from our archives and library can be viewed in our Researchers Area – no need to book an appointment; you can just drop in. 

Open Monday – Friday 10am - 5pm (late opening on Wednesdays 8pm). 

References 

Michael Bronski - Pulp friction : uncovering the golden age of gay male pulps (New York, St. Martin’s Griffin, 2003) Goss, Michael R. - Young lusty sluts : a pictorial history of erotic pulp fiction (London, The erotic print society, 2004)