Hardy Boys

The Canon
I (and many other collectors) believe that the first 58 Hardy Boys mysteries are the "canon" of the series. The Digests and Casefiles are outside of the realm of the original 58 and in my opinion - stunk.

Outside the Canon
The Casefiles series died in 1998 with #127 Dead in the Water and the Digests were mercifully ended in 2005 with #190 - Motocross Madness.

The Casefiles started off with a bang when Iola Morton was killed off via a car bomb with Dead on Target in 1987 and went downhill from there. The Casefiles were meant to grab teens after they had grown too old for the original series and Digests with more mature themes. They were fun at first, but alas the writing became hackneyed and predictable.

The Digests were bland at best and never really gained the popularity of the original 58 stories. I myself could not stomach the poor writing and lame premises for mysteries. The Digests began in 1979 and ended well after they should have.

A new series to replace the Digests began in 2005 and is a combination of the Casefiles and Digests in that the Hardy Boys work for A.T.A.C. (American Teens Against Crime - seriously I am not making this up) which is a secret agency of the government. The only neat thing about the series is that the stories are told from the perspectives of Frank and Joe with each of them alternating from one chapter to the next.

The Graphic Novels began in 2005 and are drawn in the "anime" style to appeal to kids from 8-14. Not my bag, but it is an interesting concept. I have heard that a lack of sales has made this series difficult to find.

As a kid reading the Hardy Boys I was amazed that F.W. Dixon could churn out so many books and live to be so old. I knew that the first books were written in 1927 and new books were still being released some five decades later. I was stunned by his longevity.

Needless to say I was a bit bummed to hear that there really was no Franklin W. Dixon, but a team of ghostwriters who toiled under the leadership of the Stratemeyer Syndicate to churn out new tomes in the popular series.

Leslie McFarlane was the first (and best known) ghostwriter for the Hardy Boys. He penned the first 16 Hardy Boys adventures and returned for volumes 22-24. It is believed that his wife, Amy McFarlane, wrote The Phantom Freighter.

In addition to writing for the Stratemeyer Syndicate (he also penned the first four volumes of The Dana Girls) he wrote for CBC TV, and also wrote scripts for Bonanza.

Leslie McFarlane received around $100 for each Hardy Boys book and was given a general outline for each story. He detested writing juvenile fiction (but it paid the bills) so he elaborated on the outline by creating additional characters and adding more sophisticated language.

Over two dozen other "ghosts" would wear the Franklin W. Dixon monicker over the years, but Leslie McFarlane is the best known. Probably because his writing style and added flair were what drew young readers to the series in the first place. He holds a special place in our memories as the Franklin W. Dixon.

• Frank Hardy - Dark-haired, tall, slender - older brother of Joe.


• Joe Hardy - Blond wavy hair and prone to making rash judgments which lead to more danger.


• Fenton Hardy - Famous father of Frank and Joe. Toiled away for years as a detective for the New York City Police Dept. He is now a private detective and his cases inevitably intersect with Frank and Joe's nearly every time.


• Laura Hardy - Mother of Frank and Joe. Other than being a good cook she doesn't do a whole lot in any of the books.


• Aunt Gertrude (Hardy) - Cantankerous old spinster who spends her free time staying at the home of Fenton Hardy and nagging virtually everyone around.


• Chet Morton - Best friend of the Hardy boys. He is always there to lend a hand in a mystery even if he complains the whole time.


• Allen "Biff" Hooper - Periodically helps the Hardy brothers solve mysteries.


• Tony Prito - Another pal of the Hardy's who usually pops up in their mysteries.


• Phil Cohen - He appears in a lot of the Hardy Boy stories, but seems more often than not to blend into the background.


• Iola Morton - The sister of Chet is the steady date of Joe Hardy.


• Callie Shaw - Frank Hardy's steady date and a regular character who pops in here and there throughout a large number of the books.


• Chief Ezra Collig - In the original text books he was a stumbling buffoon who acted as a foible to the work the Hardy's were trying to accomplish. To create a better image of police officers in general he was made out to be a helpful friend of the Hardy Boys and their endeavors.


• Officer Con Riley - Dumber than a bag of hammers. He can be found bumbling around in a number of the books.


• Detective Oscar Smuff - Another of the goofballs on the Bayport PD staff who more often than not gets in the way of Frank and Joe.


• The Sleuth - The much-loved boat of the Hardy Boys. It was purchased with their reward money from The Tower Treasure and The House on the Cliff. She brought the Hardy Boys safely through the numerable storms that blew up on the sullen sea of Barmet Bay.


• Sam Radley - Fenton Hardy's right-hand man. He appears sporadically throughout the series.


• Jack Wayne - Fenton's pilot

I didn't even know about the revised books until I started to expand my dad's collection that he had given to me.

Revisions were made to the first 38 books in the series in order to "update" the dialogue, remove racial stereotypes, and reduced the length from 200+ pages to around 180 pages.

When the books were rewritten the plot and story was sometimes changed so much that you might as well consider them two different books.

After you read the original text version of a story and compare it to the revised text edition you will most likely agree that the revised text versions are of immensely lesser quality both in writing style and story.

Do yourself a favor and collect the original text versions of the Hardy Boys. I am currently trying to collect the Original Text PC (Picture Cover) editions of the first 58 books. The Tower Treasure and the House on the Cliff do not have Original Text editions available in the PC format.

Download and/or print this PDF I put together to help myself find original text PC editions of books 3-58. You can grab it here.

The "endpapers" are the pages on the inside front and back cover.

The orange "Gretta" (named by collectors for the illustrator J. Clemens Gretta) endpapers were introduced in 1932 until the brown endpapers replaced the "Gretta" endpapers in 1958 (same year no new titles were introduced for the first time in the series history).

I am pretty sure that this scene is not associated with any particular mystery the Hardy Boys were in, but I just like the panoramic quality of it and the sense of adventure is generates.



The brown endpapers are interesting and fun because they depict scenes from a handful of the first 36 books in the series.

You can see a breakdown of which books the various scenes are associated with at The Hardy Boys Online Resource.

From 1969 to 1971 there was a Hardy Boys cartoon series featuring the Hardy Boys in a rock band from which they launched their investigations into various nefarious acts perpetrated by poorly animated crooks.

Season 1

1. Part 1


2. Part 2


3. The Secret Warning


4. The Viking Symbol Mystery


5. The Secret of the Caves


6. The Secret of the Old Mill


7. The Missing Chums


8. The Mystery of the Desert Giant


9. The Mystery Cabin Island


10. Hunting for Hidden Gold


11. The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior


12. The Hidden Harbor Mystery


13. The Ghost At Skeleton Rock


14. Mystery of Chinese Junk


15. The Shore Road Mystery


16. What Happened At Midnight


17. The Sign Of the Crooked Arrow

Season 2

1. The Clue In the Embers


2. The Clue of the Screeching Owl


3. The House On the Cliff


4. Mystery Of the Spiral Bridge


5. The Yellow Feather Mystery


6. The Mystery Of Devils Paw


7. The Sinister Sign Post


8. The Melted Coins


9. The Mark On The Door


10. The Flickering Torch Mystery


11. The Haunted Fort


12. The Mystery of Wildcat Swamp


13. The Clue of the Broken Blade


14. Hardy Boys Episode Thirty-One


15. The Short Wave Mystery


16. The Hooded Hawk Mystery


17. Pirate's Hill

The first two seasons were a mix of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys episodes with some crossover episodes where the Hardy Boys teamed up with Nancy Drew. Season 3 (the final season) were all Hardy Boys episodes.

Season 1

1. The Mystery Of The Haunted House


2. The Mystery Of Pirate's Cove


3. The Mystery Of Witchs' Hollow


4. The Mystery Of The Diamond Triangle


5. The Disappearing Floor


6. The Secret Of The Whispering Walls


7. The Flickering Torch Mystery


8. A Haunting We Will Go


9. The Mystery Of The Flying Courier


10. Mystery Of The Fallen Angels


11. Wipe-Out


12. The Mystery Of The Ghostwriter' s Cruise


13. The Secret Of The Jade Kwan Yin


14. Mystery Of The Solid Gold Kicker

Season 2

1. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula (Pt 1)


2. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula (Pt 2)


3. The Mystery of King Tut's Tomb


4. The Mystery of the Hollywood Phantom (Pt 1)


5. The Mystery of the Hollywood Phantom (Pt 2)


6. The Mystery of the African Safari


7. The Creatures Who Came On Sunday


8. The Strange Fate of Flight 608


9. Acapulco Spies


10. Nancy Drew's Love Match


11. The Mystery of the Silent Scream


12. Will the Real Santa...?


13. The Lady on Thursday at Ten


14. Oh Say Can You Sing?


15. The House on Possessed Hill


16. Sole Survivor


17. Voodoo Doll (Pt 1)


18. Voodoo Doll (Pt 2)


19. Mystery on the Avalanche Express


20. Death Surf


21. Arson and Old Lace


22. Campus Terror

Season 3

1. The Last Kiss Of Summer (Pt 1)


2. The Last Kiss Of Summer (Pt 2)


3. Assault On The Tower


4. Search for Atlantis


5. Dangerous Waters


6. Sting Of The Scorpion


7. Defection to Paradise (Pt 1)


8. Defection to Paradise (Pt 2)


9. Game Plan


10. Life On The Line

This short-lived series made a "lucky" 13 episodes in its only season.

1. All That Glitters


2. Jazzman


3. A Perfect Stranger


4. Say Cheese


5. Smart Drugs


6. Telling Lies


7. The Debt Collectors


8. The Curse


9. R.I.P.


10. Play Ball


11. Lovebirds


12. The Last Laugh


13. No Dice

Tentative title is "The Hardy Men" and could possibly star Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller as the grown up versions of Frank and Joe Hardy.

From the Internet Movie Database:
"Tom Cruise has been talking with Ben Stiller about starring in an updated version of "The Hardy Boys" at Twentieth Century Fox. Tentatively titled "The Hardy Men" "The Hardy Boys" detective novels date back to 1927, though a variety of ghost writers using the pen name of Franklin W. Dixon kept Frank and Joe Hardy perpetual teenagers. "The Hardy Men" would have them finally grown up, but up to their old tricks once more."

This movie has been rumored for a few years now with a script that keeps being rewritten - usually not a good sign. We'll see if this pans out.

Unfortunately if this movie is produced it does not appear to be anything but a comedy, not based upon the Hardy Boys books. If that is the case, I think I'll pass on this one.

While eBay is a great source for those hard to find volumes that you need in order to complete your collection it is not the only place.

I have found numerous volumes (of varying degrees of good used condition) at flea markets, garage sales, estate sales, Goodwill, and of course - used book stores.

Amazon will have a gem here or there, but the lack of pictures by sellers is a bit frustrating. Descriptions (even good ones) can vary as to the individual's idea of what "some wear and tear" and "good condition" mean to buyers. No picture - I don't buy it.

I like to keep a reference guide with me that lists the volumes I still need to round out my collection as well as any "special" editions in the series that I might find for a bargain.

You can add to your existing collection or begin a Hardy Boys book collection today. Below are listings of the first 10 books in the series to get you started.

Original text brown covers (like the picture to the right) can usually be had for around $5 unless you are trying for one with a dust jacket or a first edition.

For instance, I saw an auction for a First Edition of The Mark on the Door with dust jacket go for $240 recently.

The PC (picture cover) editions that have been revised can be had for as little as $.99 each. If you want the vintage Original Text editions in PC format you can expect to pay anywhere from $3 (for titles in less demand) and depending on the scarcity of the title you can pay much more.

Right now I am just trying to finish out my collection of the first 58 titles in PC format with original text. I am not concerned about first editions or anything special.