Giallo (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒallo], plural gialli) is an Italian 20th century genre of literature and film, which in Italian indicates crime fiction and mystery. In the English language, however, it is used in a broader meaning that is closer to the French fantastique genre, including elements of horror fiction and eroticism. The word giallo is Italian for "yellow", and stems from the origin of the genre as a series of cheap paperback novel...
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Giallo (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒallo], plural gialli) is an Italian 20th century genre of literature and film, which in Italian indicates crime fiction and mystery. In the English language, however, it is used in a broader meaning that is closer to the French fantastique genre, including elements of horror fiction and eroticism. The word giallo is Italian for "yellow", and stems from the origin of the genre as a series of cheap paperback novels with trademark yellow covers.
The term giallo derives from the series of mystery/crime pulp novels first published by the Mondadori publishing house, starting from 1929, entitled Il Giallo Mondadori, taking their name from the yellow cover background.
Published as cheapish paperbacks, the success of the "giallo" novels soon began attracting the attention of other publishing houses, who began releasing their own versions (not forgetting to keep the by-now-traditional yellow cover). The Giallo Mondadori popularity then established the word...
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