Hardy Boys

There is no such thing as a book written only for children. Children and middle grade books can be some of the most fun books to pick up on a whim. I found the Hardy Boys to be a few of the more well written children's mysteries when I'd first begun reading. I haven't touch them in recent years, but they definitely have their appeal.

 

Pff, better than a lot of people who wouldn't read anything.

I do remember them being pretty good.

 

They're great! There's no shame in it! I love Nancy Drew actually

 

Ah, the Hardy Boys. I have so many fond memories of them, ever since I "met" them. Back in 1st grade, a classmate brought a Hardy Boys book to show and tell. I was too young to read them myself, of course, but I sure could make my mother read the books to me.

One story: after 1st grade, we took a car trip that probably ran about 2 days one way. My mother got the first four books to read, thinking it would be enough. It wasn't. I insisted she keep reading. Every now and then, she'd want to pause and rest her voice. She'd point out a "pretty mountain" in sight. I'd say something like: "Pretty mountain. Read!"

It was on that trip that my mother discovered a nasty little secret. One of the books was The Secret of the Old Mill, which was one of two she remembered from growing up. It had been her favorite. And she was, one supposes, happy to revisit that book. Except...it wasn't the same book. Long story short: starting in 1959, the oldest Hardy Boys books were rewritten. In some cases, it was relatively minor--condensing the books, updating them, etc. But in other cases, the book was for practical purposes totally rewritten. Even when the book remained more or less recognizable, a lot got lost in the revision process. The language in the original, oldest books was richer. There was a bit more richness of character. Anything that wasn't pure action was seemingly cut.

Because the old and new series were so different, I went through two phases growing up. The new text phase back in elementary school, which was over long before sixth grade IIRC. Then, later, I got interested in reading the old text versions, which were then still easily found.

Today, I have a small collection of some older childrens mystery series books, including the Hardy Boys. The Hardy Boys is far from complete, and is an interesting mix of old and new text. I really appreciate the old text, but I have reacquired copies of the new text versions that were my favorites when growing up.

Oh, yes--I sometimes will read a Hardy Boys book. I have to be in the right mood, though. Part of that is just being non-critical. I remember reading a newer Hardy Boys book when I was about 20ish, and laughing myself sick over how ridiculous the plot in that book was...

An EC related thought: I have sometimes thought the Hardy Boys were gay. Think of it. They were more interested in chasing counterfeiters than spending time with their girlfriends. :lol:

---------- Post added 30th Jan 2015 at 02:11 AM ----------

Oh, yes...back to the original post questions...

According to the back of my copy of The Tower Treasure (new text, first published 1959, and my copy dates to the early 60s):

All boys from 10 to 14 who like lively adventure stories, packed with mystery and action, will want to read every one fo the Hardy Boys stories listed here.
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I suppose it depends on the circumstances. Honestly, it's not something I'd have been caught dead doing at, say, 20, but now at my age I'm past the point of caring. Besides, I can make the nostalgia argument.

 

And actually, I think I liked Nancy Drew better when I was a kid. She got the fun cases involving spooky houses!

But I think my opinion would be more mixed today. Certainly I have mixed feelings based on what few books I've read in relatively recent history. This is not unexpected; both series go back to about 1930, and so the authorship has changed quite a bit over the years. But I think I like the oldest Hardy Boys the best of the two, both with writing, and the plots. But I think the books being published when I was growing up (written 1950s-about 1980), Nancy Drew was better.

 

Have fun!

One cost saving tip: these books are quite common in libraries and on the used market. I see no need to acquire and read in series order. Each book is self contained, and, unlike Harry Potter, there is no story line that develops across the series. In fact, I believe in editions printed outside North America, the series numbering can be quite different.

 

Getting the books new would be a challenge. Although some of the original text editions have been printed in somewhat recent history for one reason or another. In the US, Applewood Books republished many original text editions in the 1990s.

Apparently, in England, they never replaced some titles with the revised text edition. Here's a chart (look for "Not published" in the revised column). Some titles apparently just faded totally away, but some have been apparently published in fairly recent history. The two I note that are supposedly still old text are The Melted Coins and The Flickering Torch Mystery. As I recollect, both had flaws. (The Melted Coins premise was weak--thieves stealing coin collections to melt down and turn into counterfeit money!) But both were written by the original writer of the series.

Appendix I – Revised Texts (HardyBoys.co.uk)

It's still possible to find old copies of the books with the original text. I see them somewhat regularly in used book stores, and antique stores. Every now and then, one might even turn up at Goodwill. That failing, there is always Amazon and Ebay.

The one challenge is making sure one gets the original text. Unless one knows the books really well, it's hard to tell at a quick glance. Thus, if buying on-line, buying from someone who knows what they are talking about is a good idea. When buying in person, one can examine the book. One reliable clue with US editions (and probably other countries) is that the original text will have about 25 chapters, and the revised text seems to be capped at 20 chapters.

This link gives the information about the US editions--date of original book, revised, and art information. Each title has a link showing more detail, including photos of cover art. This, alone, is fun. For example, here is the page for The Tower Treasure, showing the major cover art changes.

 

I loved reading the Hardy Boys growing up. We picked up several for my 15 year old son.

I wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen reading anything in public.

A curious mind goes beyond the cover...

 

This link has an excerpt from the original text edition of What Happened at Midnight. The Hardy Boys' Aunt Gertrude comes to town. Back in the 1930s, she was quite a character...and that was one thing that got lost during the revision process.

Aunt Gertrude

One other thought hit me. A lot of people have accused the oldest Hardy Boys books of having racist moments. One thing one has to keep in mind: these books go back to the late 1920s, and that America was much different than today.