The man who aroused my lifelong love of books did not exist; he was a "ghost," Franklin W. Dixon. I first discovered the Hardy Boys when I was ten, and I have been re-reading the originals ever since. . . the books were the brainchild of an author and 'book packager' Edward Stratemeyer who provided other writers with plots and paid $100 more or less to have them written. These were then peddled to publishers with Stratemeyer keeping the profits. . . he used this formula with lots of series--Nancy Drew, the Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, etc. It is a fascinating story and I urge you to Google his name for all the details. . . When I joined the State Library staff in 1962 I was appalled to learn that librarians looked down on these adventures; many did not even stock them anymore. How could such treasures be so easily dismissed? . . . The Hardy Boys began in 1927 and were "dumbed down" for today's readers in 1959, shortened by several chapters and adjusted to be "politically correct;" some original plots even disappeared altogether. . . stick with the originals when you can find them; they are quite rewarding reading. . . the same goes for Nancy Drew, which I also absorbed in my childhood. (Bob was a Bobbsey Twins fan back then; I wasn't.) . . . Sixteen of the original Hardy Boy books have been reprinted and there is a Nancy Drew series of reprints as well. . . One question has plagued me all my life: what was The Password to Larkspur Lane that Nancy needed? Thanks to the Internet, I now know the answer . . .
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