Hardy Boys
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The Hardy Boys are the heroes of a popular series of detective/adventure books for boys.
From The Hardy Boys Unofficial Home Page (http://hardyboys.bobfinnan.com): In 1926, Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, conceived the idea for the Hardy Boys. He created the plot outlines and then advertised for ghostwriters to complete the stories. Most notable among these writers is Leslie McFarlane, who wrote volumes 1-16 and 22-24 and is generally regarded as by far the best ghostwriter of the series. The first three volumes of the series were released in mid-May 1927.
Starting in 1959, the Stratemeyer Syndicate engaged in a 15 year project to revise the first 38 titles in the series. The revisions ranged from slight alteration to completely new stories. All the stories were reduced in length, had obsolete prose updated and had racial stereotypes (which abounded in many of the early volumes) removed.
In 1979, after 52 years and 59 titles (which includes Detective Handbook), Grosset & Dunlap lost the rights to publish any new Hardy Boys tales in a protracted court battle with the Syndicate. They did retain the right to continue publishing these 59 titles (refered to by most Hardy Boys enthusiasts as the canon) and continue to do so to this day, despite several changes in ownership. In the meantime, Simon & Schuster continued the series in the Hardy Boys Digest series of paperback books. In 2005 Grosset & Dunlap got permission to continue publishing more books starting with Digest volumes 59 to 66.
The Hardy Boys also appeared in several spin-off series: The [Casefiles] (127 volumes), the Clues Brothers (17 volumes), with Tom Swift in the 2 volume Ultra-Thriller series and with Nancy Drew in the 36 volume Supermystery series.
In 2005 the venerable Hardy Boys Digest series was ended with volume 190 and a new series, The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers, was started.
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List of Original Titles (The Canon)
- 01 The Tower Treasure (1927)
- 02 The House on the Cliff (1927)
- 03 The Secret of the Old Mill (1927)
- 04 The Missing Chums (1928)
- 05 Hunting for Hidden Gold (1928)
- 06 The Shore Road Mystery (1928)
- 07 The Secret of the Caves (1929)
- 08 The Mystery of Cabin Island (1929)
- 09 The Great Airport Mystery (1930)
- 10 What Happened at Midnight (1931)
- 11 While the Clock Ticked (1932)
- 12 Footprints under the Window (1933)
- 13 The Mark on the Door (1934)
- 14 The Hidden Harbor Mystery (1935)
- 15 The Sinister Signpost (1936)
- 16 A Figure in Hiding (1937)
- 17 The Secret Warning (1938)
- 18 The Twisted Claw (1939)
- 19 The Disappearing Floor (1940)
- 20 The Mystery of the Flying Express (1941)
- 21 The Clue of the Broken Blade (1942)
- 22 The Flickering Torch Mystery (1943)
- 23 The Melted Coins (1944)
- 24 The Short-Wave Mystery (1945)
- 25 The Secret Panel (1946)
- 26 The Phantom Freighter (1947)
- 27 The Secret of Skull Mountain (1948)
- 28 The Sign of the Crooked Arrow (1949)
- 29 The Secret of the Lost Tunnel (1950)
- 30 The Wailing Siren Mystery (1951)
- 31 The Secret of Wildcat Swamp (1952)
- 32 The Crisscross Shadow (1953)
- 33 The Yellow Feather Mystery (1954)
- 34 The Hooded Hawk Mystery (1954)
- 35 The Clue in the Embers (1955)
- 36 The Secret of Pirate's Hill (1956)
- 37 The Ghost of Skeleton Rock (1957)
- 38 The Mystery at Devil's Paw (1959)
- 39 The Mystery of the Chinese Junk (1960)
- 40 The Mystery of the Desert Giant (1961)
- 41 The Clue of the Screeching Owl (1962)
- 42 The Viking Symbol Mystery (1963)
- 43 The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior (1964)
- 44 The Haunted Fort (1965)
- 45 The Mystery of the Spiral Bridge (1966)
- 46 The Secret Agent on Flight 101 (1967)
- 47 The Mystery of the Whale Tattoo (1968)
- 48 The Arctic Patrol Mystery (1969)
- 49 The Bombay Boomerang (1970)
- 50 Danger on Vampire Trail (1971)
- 51 The Masked Monkey (1972)
- 52 The Shattered Helmet (1973)
- 53 The Clue of the Hissing Serpent (1974)
- 54 The Mysterious Caravan (1975)
- 55 The Witchmaster's Key (1976)
- 56 The Jungle Pyramid (1977)
- 57 The Firebird Rocket (1978)
- 58 The Sting of the Scorpion (1979)
- xx Detective Handbook (1959)
Story Background
The Hardy Boys are brother detectives, Frank being the elder of the two, and Joe his younger brother. The two sleuths live in Bayport with their father Fenton Hardy (himself a private detective), their mother Laura, and their Aunt Gertrude. Frank's longtime girlfriend is Callie Shaw, while Joe is often linked with Iola Morton, the sister of the duo's good friend Chet Morton. Other friends who assist the brothers include Phil Cohen, Biff Hooper, and Tony Prito.
Publishing Information
New volumes continued to be released in a Digest series of paperbacks published by Simon & Schuster. The Digest series was canceled in 2005 with the issue of #190, Motocross Madness, and a new, "revamped" series Undercover Brothers began..
Previous series include the Casefiles, aimed at older readers, and the Clues Brothers, for the younger reader. Nancy Drew also teamed up with the Hardy Boys in the Supermystery series.
Hardy Boys books have been issued in over 25 languages, including Spanish, Dutch, French, German, Sinhala, Japanese, Russian, and Afrikaans.
TV Appearances
The Hardy Boys have appeared five times on television (http://hardyboys.bobfinnan.com/hbtv.htm), including programs on The Mickey Mouse Club in 1956 and 1957 starring Tim Considine and Tommy Kirk, a 1967 pilot called "MYSTERY OF THE CHINESE JUNK" starring Tim Mathison as Frank Hardy aired on NBC, In 1969 ABC ran a Saturday Morning cartoon series (produced by Filmation) and later an ABC prime time series starring Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy from 1977-1979. There was also a syndicated 13 episode Canadian series in 1985 with Paul Popowich.
External links
- The Bayport Times - The Hardy Boys Webzine (http://hardyboys.bobfinnan.com/bt0.htm)
- The Hardy Boys Casefiles (http://www.hardyboyscasefiles.com)
- The Hardy Boys Unofficial Home Page (http://hardyboys.bobfinnan.com)
- Hardy Detective Agency (http://www.hardydetectiveagency.com)