I loved the Hardy Boys series. Read almost all of them up to the late Seventies. In some cases, thanks to the library in Weatherford, I read some of the earlier forms of the stories from the 30's and 40's and 50's. If I'm not mistaken, the novels were periodically rewritten to keep them up-to-date.

The one problem I had with them is that they seemed to use the same plot over and over. Certainly the same description of Joe, Frank and Chet, Callie Shaw and the other regulars were the same in almost every book.

Of course, the series author, F.W. Dixon, was also Carole Keane, author of the Nancy Drew series. (Tried reading a couple of those. Didn't like them.)

While they were both pseudonyms, I don't think Dixon and Keane were the same people. I'll have to go back and check that one.

You're right about the novels being rewritten over the years, though. I've had the opportunity to compare editions, and believe me, they needed the update.
Earlier versions tended towards simplistic plots in which the villian was usually some sort of shifty-eyed ethnic type. (In the case of the Bobbsey Twins, there was also the glaring need to update the dialogue...or dialect...of the family's black servant couple.)
And since they were trying to appeal to the fickle teen market, there was also the need to discard stilted or obsolete situations and phrases in general: 'frock', 'roadster', etc. (What the heck was a roadster, anyway? Was it a particular model of car? I always wondered.)

One thing that has stayed constant in all these series is the unintentionally hilarious parenting. Despite constantly being lauded for their intelligence and savvy, neither Fenton Hardy nor Carson Drew (or, for that matter, Mr.& Mrs.Bobbsey) ever seemed to care that their darlings were running afoul of international smugglers etc. about once a month. Talk about encouraging your kid's creativity - Dr. Spock must have felt totally vindicated.

Kerrie, you're right. Joe and Frank were actually created by Edward Stratemeyer. Stratemeyer was also the creator of Tom Swift, Nancy Drew and, I believe, The Bobbsey Twins (which I avoided like they were a letter filled with anthrax). Canadian Leslie McFarlane wrote the first 11 books of the Hardy Boys series. The rest were written by various others.

For more information see http://home.thezone.net/~csimpson/history.html

Kerrie. a roadster was a car that had no fixed roof and no roll up windows. They were preferred for hot rods because without a roof or windows, they were lighter, and engine improvements were more effective as a result. They were the Mustangs/Camaros/Barracudas of their day.

Thank you Butch - there's one tiny part of my life that now makes sense, anyway.

Kerri: The first Dodge Viper in 1992 was also considered a roadster. It had a ten-cylinder engine, and was built for speed, not comfort. For the grand price of $60,000, you got a convertible top (manual), side curtains (no windows), no air bag and (the kicker) no air conditioning (Ouch!.) Later models have added all of the above, to make the car a bit more civilized. (Sorry to get off topic, though. Thanks, Butch, for jogging my faulty memory.)

Mmmmm...Wonder if this is what Nancy drives in the new series?

At the beginning of the first Nancy Drew book, The Secret Of The Old Clock, she is visiting a couple of elderly women. She tries to make a phone call from their house only to be told the phone is out of order. Yet, a short time later, we are told Nancy telephones their house and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the phone!

I always loved how Nancy's hair changed from golden blonde to strawberry blonde, and eventually to auburn.

I remember reading one of my dad's copies of the Hardy Boys (can't remember the title) where everyone was raving over this wonderful new concept of a restaurant--the "Automat". I've always wondered if that book was updated for modern audiences, and if so, how they managed that Automat, considering that they don't exist anymore.

It was amazing how many adventures could be crammed into a single year. Some sixty years after the fact, Nancy was finally old enough to go to college.

BTW, the earliest Bobbsey Twin books were NOT mysteries, just family adventures. Anyone know at what point they became amateur detectives?

Decided to reread my Hardy Boys books (only have 5, 7, 21, 38, 40 & 44) and decided to read them in order. So I found it rather odd that when I went from 7 to 21 Frank & Joe were still 18 & 17.

Looking things up I found that in the original books the boys started off as 16 & 15 and aged in real time. Not sure when the syndicate decided to stop that and make them permanently 18 & 17, but apparently it became retroactive during the rewrites.

Still, wondering how much time had passed I started keeping track of how many days each adventure took.

5. Hunting For Hidden Gold = 7 days
7. The Secret of the Caves = 6 days
21. The Clue of the Broken Blade = 23 days
38. The Mystery at Devil's Paw = 11 days
40. Mystery of the Desert Giant = 11 days
44. The Haunted Fort = 12 days

One interesting thing is how the Hardy's tend to have a revolving door of danger. Yeah, you want to keep things exciting, but sometimes the boys just keep going in and out of danger like it's going out of style.

IIRC Hunting For Hidden Gold starts off with them being shot at, oh, it's just some inconsiderate hunters, they get kidnapped, escape, realize they are in a cab driven by one of the kidnappers, escape, set off a booby trap in a helicopter, and so on and on and on.
Oddly enough it happens so much that it kind of takes the edge off of worrying about what happens to the boys.


The Clue of the Broken Blade (revised edition)

Not sure how much rewriting happened between the two versions. The dates given would seem to work with the original's 1942 publication, but not so much with 1970 when it was rewritten.

Grandfather Giovani inscribed his will on the blade in the late 1800s and it's buried until the Hardy's dig it up during the book.
Surprisingly he never wrote an updated will after that.

NANJAO. The screenwriter, who's working with the crooks, says he didn't see any will inscribed on the blade. The crooks decided to steal the blade and have it inscribed to benefit the grandson they are working for.

The Hardy's find a jeweler who says "He had me inscribe on a broken blade that the Russo fortune would go to somebody named Fabrizio Dente."
However, when the blade is recovered (2 pages later) that inscription is not on the blade.

Also, how would Giovanni know the name of his grandson if he wrote this in the late 1800s?
Anti-nit. Dumb crook. ;-)

The will was actually inscribed on the underside of the leather wrapped around the hilt.
Good thing all those years being buried didn't damage the leather.


The Haunted Fort

On page 7, in Chapter 1, it says the boys had secured permission from the parents to go.
However, on page 10, in Chapter 2, Mrs. Hardy says she will tell their father who is out of town.

Regarding the automats, I once read an article about them and it was noted that there was still one in operation in in New York City. However, said article was written some time ago, so it may have closed by now.

As for the Eternal Teenager Syndrome, that occurs in pretty much any long-running serial that doesn't involve live actors.

I remember seeing an automat in downtown Dallas around the end of the Sixties when I was a kid. I really don't have much of a memory of it, though. An automat was shown in Taxi Driver in the mid-70s and now that I think about it, the food replicators in STAR TREK (Original Series) seem to have been modeled on automats.

A year or two ago, I re-read the first Hardy Boys book I ever owned - The Secret Agent on Flight 101. It was entertaining. That's about it. I do have a few other books now. Eventually I'll read them, too.

What is the general view of the Bobbsey Twins?

I've also read or re-read the occasional HB book over the past few years. They're especially good for situations where I need something light, like bus trips.

The original versions are in the PD and freely available on the internet.

Gordon - As for the Eternal Teenager Syndrome, that occurs in pretty much any long-running serial that doesn't involve live actors.

Yeah, but the smart thing to do is to keep their exact ages vague, mention they're teens, fine, that they are a year apart, okay, but making a point of establishing them as 18 & 17 every freakin' story...
There is suspending your disbelief and suspending your disbelief by the neck until it is dead, Dead, DEAD! ;-)

Kevin - The original versions are in the PD and freely available on the internet.

I was wondering about that. Thanks.

Several Bobbsey Twins books (and other works by Laura Lee Hope; (probably the most famous author who never existed) are freely available on Project Gutenberg, but I wouldn't advise anyone of a nervous, PC disposition to read them as they are the original text.

Concerning the previous mention of the NYC automat, a bit of research revealed that it closed down in 1991 and had apparently been coasting on nostalgia value up to that point.

There has to be more Bobbsey Twins fans out there, there just gotta...

Check the senior centers and old age homes. ;-)

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