tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post8462267405745095212..comments2024-03-27T10:50:17.270-05:00Comments on Rough Edges: Ghost of the Hardy Boys - Leslie McFarlaneJames Reasonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18049917964433932612noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-48990204998660311662022-10-13T00:47:53.209-05:002022-10-13T00:47:53.209-05:00I still remember the pleasant shock I received whe...I still remember the pleasant shock I received when, sometime in the mid-seventies, I discovered that Leslie McFarlane was the original Franklin W. Dixon (and for a while, Carolyn Keene). He was outed—at least to me—in the pages of Weekend, the colour supplement of The Montreal Star (which I delivered), by none other than his son Brian, who by that time was one of the big shot sportscasters for the Montreal Canadians. I suspect the article was part of the PR campaign for GHOSTS.<br /><br />But even better was the revelation that McFarlane had also lived for a while in Montreal.<br /><br />All those disparate threads coming together… hockey, the Hardy Boys, Montreal, mystery writers, Canada… talk about the interconnectedness of all things!Kevin Burton Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08366595974389658683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-3417165746746988562022-07-02T07:15:46.109-05:002022-07-02T07:15:46.109-05:00You're very welcome, Mike.You're very welcome, Mike.James Reasonerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18049917964433932612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-48500402146361889592022-07-01T16:01:41.946-05:002022-07-01T16:01:41.946-05:00I remember getting the McFarlane book when it firs...I remember getting the McFarlane book when it first came out in hardcover, all those years ago.<br />As it happened, I lost that copy some while back (not as dramatically as you lost yours ...).<br />Reading your post today - with its link to Amazon - spurred me to action.<br /> ... And then I saw the older post about Dennis O'Neil's Shadow novel ...<br />So anyway, James - thank you twice.Mike Doranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14427528138598549103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-75429075516500264432022-07-01T06:57:53.383-05:002022-07-01T06:57:53.383-05:00My cousin had a complete set of the Hardy Boys boo...My cousin had a complete set of the Hardy Boys books back in the 1950s. Once I read them (obsessively), I could never go back to the tame stories of Nancy Drew! Her adventures also have been rewritten for "modern audiences." Don't know whether the roadsters and chums remain.www.vweisfeld.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01535876534433744767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-4312139899543840162022-06-28T22:01:25.930-05:002022-06-28T22:01:25.930-05:00Like so many of my generation, I was a big fan of ...Like so many of my generation, I was a big fan of the Hardy Boys and read some 80-odd books available until the late seventies from a private circulating library (as these libraries were known back then). I didn't know that some of the books, even the early ones, were rewritten and not the originals. Back in my teens, I never bothered to read the copyright page.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-5169720244466464182022-06-27T17:59:09.208-05:002022-06-27T17:59:09.208-05:00I grew up reading the Hardy Boys and often wondere...I grew up reading the Hardy Boys and often wondered what a great detective series it would be having them as grownups. Guess we missed the boat, unless it's about their grandsons. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-46807307645614195632022-06-27T07:48:17.857-05:002022-06-27T07:48:17.857-05:00Yes, he writes quite a bit about selling his first...Yes, he writes quite a bit about selling his first story to Hoffman and mentions selling other stories to the pulps but doesn't go into detail. He actually sold close to 100 stories and was especially successful selling to Street & Smith, where his work appeared frequently in TOP-NOTCH, COMPLETE STORIES, and SPORT STORY.James Reasonerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18049917964433932612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-28656493110239646612022-06-27T07:16:50.702-05:002022-06-27T07:16:50.702-05:00I also read this book a few years ago. Leslie McF...I also read this book a few years ago. Leslie McFarlane wrote a few novelets for Adventure in the 1920's and they were outstanding. I seem to remember that he talked about his stories for Adventure and Arthur Sullivant Hoffman, the editor. Then he went on to write the Hardy Boys, which I also loved as a child.Walker Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16089880902426182100noreply@blogger.com