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Series historyThe Hardy Boys is a creation of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, the creators of dozens of successful book series such as the Rover Boys, the Bobbsey Twins and Tom Swift, and later, Nancy Drew. Edward Stratemeyer conceived of the Hardy Boys in 1926 with the creation of plot outlines that would become the first volume of the series. Various ghostwriter(s) were employed, under contract of secrecy, to pen the actual stories. The first author was Leslie McFarlane, whose writing defined the literary style of the series, as well as the personalities and nuances of its characters. McFarlane authored volumes 1–16 and 22–24, which are generally regarded as the best works of the series. His 1976 autobiography, Ghost of the Hardy Boys, provides substantial background information on the series, as well as the Stratemeyer Syndicate as a whole.
In 1979, after 52 years and 58 titles (plus the didactic Hardy Boys' 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 58 titles (referred to by some 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 the venerable Digest series was ended with volume 190 and a new series, The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers, was started. The Undercover Brothers series is supplemented by a series of graphic novels and, initially, a now-discontinued series of comic books. Also in 2005 Grosset & Dunlap gained permission to continue publishing more titles in hardcover, 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 & the 6 volume Be Your Own Detective series. Hardy Boys books have been issued in over 25 languages, including Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish, Dutch, French, German, Sinhala, Japanese, Russian, Malay, and Afrikaans. Story background
The two boys live in the fictional city of Bayport (on Barmet Bay) with their famous father, Fenton Hardy, a private detective formerly with the New York Police Department, their mother Laura Hardy (erroneously called Mildred in The Flying Express), and their Aunt Gertrude, a character often used for comic relief. Frank's longtime platonic girlfriend is Callie Shaw, while Joe is often linked with Iola Morton, the sister of the duo's good friend Chet Morton, who is described as being a large boy who loves to eat, another comic relief character. Other friends who assist the brothers include Phil Cohen, Biff Hooper, Jerry Gilroy and Tony Prito. The Bayport Police Department is represented by Police Chief Ezra Collig (in Flying Express he is called Chief Finch), a close friend of the Hardys who constantly asks their assistance and advice in dealing with crime in Bayport. Detective Oscar Smuff is sometimes seen in cases as he comically blunders trying to solve a mystery. In the older stories, the Hardy Boys' cases often are linked to the confidential cases their detective father is currently working on. He sometimes asks them for help, while at other times they stumble upon villains and incidents that are connected to his cases. The Hardys have a motorboat named the Sleuth and a yellow convertible (In volumes 1–6, they use motorcycles, but this changes when Joe's is destroyed in "The Shore Road Mystery"). Mr. Hardy has an airplane, which is described in some books as being twin-engined, single-engined in others. Chet Morton has a jalopy called the Queen, which is at times described as being tomato red, other times being bright yellow. Biff Hooper has a jalopy, Tony Prito has a motorboat called the Napoli and drives his father's pick-up truck. In 1987, a spin-off series, the Hardy Boy Casefiles, targeted at older readers, was introduced. Consisting of 127 volumes, these stories were much darker in tone and featured plots involving bioterrorism and other kinds of terrorism, espionage, government conspiracies, cults, militia groups, and organized crime. They also featured a level of violence unseen in previous Hardy Boys stories, a fact that became evident to readers in the opening pages of the first "Hardy Boys Casefile" novel as longtime supporting cast member Iola Morton was murdered by a bomb planted in the Hardys' car. The original series (1927–1979)The first 58 stories and the 38 revisions, along with the Detective Handbook and its revision, are considered by many collectors to form the Hardy Boys canon. The Hardy Boys Mysteries ("Digests") (1979–2005)This now-discontinued series of paperbacks started in 1979 as a continuation of the hardcover books, hence the volume numbers start as #59 and ended in 2005 with volume 190. Volumes 59 through 85 were also released in hardcover with a dustjacket. The Clues Brothers (1997–2000)Image:Hardyboyscluesbrothers16fish.jpg The Fish-Faced Mask of Mystery #16 The Clues Brothers books were aimed at younger readers, particularly in third and fourth grades. The series was introduced in 1997 and was cancelled in 2000 for lack of popularity. This book had some big differences from the other Hardy Boys books, such as:
The Hardy Boys Casefiles (1987–1998)The Casefiles series, aimed at older readers, was published by Archway Paperbacks (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) between 1987 and 1998. The Casefiles were a drastic change from the established Hardy Boys world. Some of their major features:
The list of Casefiles is below: The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers (2005-Date)"The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers" is a series of paperback books which replaced the Digest paperbacks in early 2005. The Hardy Boys are now agents of A.T.A.C. (American Teens Against Crime) and are solving more realistic and/or violent crimes. This series is written in first-person narrative style with Frank and Joe alternating chapters.
Spy Set - Box set of volumes 1–4 (2005) Undercover Brothers Super Mystery (2006-Date)
Undercover Brothers Graphic Novels (2005-Date)The Undercover Brothers also appear in a series of graphic novels by Papercutz.
CrossoversThe Hardy Boys teamed up with two other series book protagonists; Nancy Drew and Tom Swift. The Ultra-Thriller Series (1992–1993)The two volume Ultra-Thriller series was a short-lived Hardy Boys spin off that joined boy inventor Tom Swift with the crime-solving Hardy Boys, Frank & Joe. Although the Franklin W. Dixon pseudonym was used, the series was more akin to the then-current Tom Swift IV series. The Super Mystery Series (1988–1998)Image:Supermysteryhardydrew34.jpg Process of Elimination #36 The Hardy Boys teamed up with Nancy Drew in this 36 volume series of paperbacks. The Carolyn Keene house name was used for this series and the stories are more geared toward Nancy Drew fans.
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