Beadle's New Dime Novels: The Dragon's Bride

The Dragoon's Bride: A Tale of the Ramapo in 1770 This dime novel by N. C. Iron, published by Beadle and Adams in 1864, opens in a remote valley near Orange County, west of the Hudson Highlands. The narrative centers on Elsie Turner, an elderly woman of mysterious reputation living in isolated Black Hollow with her deformed servant Goblin. The valley, shrouded in folklore and superstition, becomes strategically significant during the American Revolution when Continental forces are stationed nearby to combat the "Bandits of the Ramapo"—organized guerrillas plundering the region. Amy Ward, a young woman, ventures desperately into Black Hollow seeking Elsie's supernatural assistance to win the love of Captain Randolph Murray, a Continental cavalry officer. Elsie reveals that Murray's affections are directed toward another, devastating Amy. The story emphasizes gothic atmosphere—the skull-adorned cabin, skeleton hand on the latch, taxidermied animal heads—alongside themes of romantic desperation and Revolutionary War intrigue set against the wild New Jersey landscape.