The genre most heavily influenced by the advent of pulp fiction? Probably science fiction....
Although few people seem to agree on a rigorous definition of what constitutes science fiction, the definition given by noted science fiction author Robert Heinlein probably is as good as any: "...realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method."
By this definition, famed astronomer Carl Sagan and noted science fiction author Isaac Asimov both consider Johannes Kepler's Somnium (a detailed imaginative description of how the earth might look when viewed from the moon, published posthumously in 1634) to be the world's first true science fiction story:
However, it was not until after the development of the novel as a literary form in the early 18th century that science fiction really began to take off. Books such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, as well as the works of 19th century authors like Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, laid the groundwork for the genre:
Known in Great Britain as scientific romance, the genre would grapple early on with the implications of developments like electricity, the telegraph and the aeroplane. But it was the rise of pulp fiction that would most heavily influence the genre during the early to mid-20th century....
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