Beadle's Dime Novels No. 126: Old Jupe

About this issue

Old Jupe; or, A Woman's Art by Mrs. Orrin James (Beadle's Dime Novels No. 126, 1867) This frontier romance set in New Bristol, Missouri, concerns Mary Miller, the beautiful nineteen-year-old daughter of a miller, betrothed to Luke Bryant, a riverboat mate of excellent character and prospects. When Mary's estranged half-sister Annette unexpectedly arrives from New York after receiving Mary's enthusiastic letters about frontier life, jealousy erupts. Annette, who had hoped to attract Luke herself during their steamboat journey, becomes consumed with resentment at Mary's superior beauty and Luke's devotion. Unable to seduce him through charm, Annette fabricates a damaging falsehood, falsely accusing Mary of theft that supposedly forced the family westward. The narrative captures themes of frontier courtship, sibling rivalry, and female manipulation amid the rough social equality of new settlements.