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The Hardy Boys

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The Hardy Boys are the heroes of a popular series of detective books for boys. Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate created the plot outlines, while Leslie McFarlane wrote 19 of the first 25 books in the series, all under the pen-name Franklin W. Dixon. The first three books were published in 1927. (Some later books were also written by Harriet (Stratemeyer) Adams, daughter of Edward Stratemeyer).

In 1959, the first 38 titles received revisions which "ranged from slight alteration to completely new stories. All the stories were reduced in length, had obsolete prose updated and had racial stereotypes (which abounded in many of the early volumes) removed". In 1979 Grosset & Dunlap lost the rights to publish any new Hardy Boys tales, but retained the rights to the 59 titles to that date (the 58 in the series, and the special Detective Handbook).

The original canon consists of:

As with the similar Nancy Drew series, new volumes continue to be released in a 'Digest' series of paperbacks published by Simon & Schuster. This Digest series will be cancelled in 2005 with the issue of #190, Motocross Madness, and a new 'revamped' series will begin.

Previous series include the Casefiles, aimed at older readers, and the Clues Brothers, for the younger brother or sister. Nancy Drew also teamed up with the Hardy Boys in the Supermystery series.

The Hardy Boys have been issued in over 25 languages including Spanish, Dutch, French, German, Sinhala, Japanese, Russian, and Afrikaans.

The Hardy Boys are brother detectives, Frank being the elder of the two, and Joe his younger brother. The two sleuths live in Bayport with their father Fenton Hardy (himself a private detective), their mother Laura, and their Aunt Gertrude. Frank's longtime girlfriend is Callie Shaw, while Joe is often linked with Iola Morton, the sister of the duo's good friend Chet. Other friends who assist the brothers include Phil Cohen and Biff Hooper.

The Hardys have appeared 5 times on television, including programs on The Mickey Mouse Club, Saturday Morning Cartoons, and NBC.

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