Articles and Presentations by James D. Keeline

Who Wrote the Hardy Boys? 21K

This article describes the ghostwriters for the Hardy Boys series and was published in Yellowback Library #125.

Who Wrote Nancy Drew? 18K

This article describes the ghostwriters for the Nancy Drew series and was published in Yellowback Library #127.

Tom Swift on the Silver Screen 523k

There have been several attempts to put Tom Swift or Tom Swift Jr. on radio, film, or television. This paper, presented to the Popular Culture Association conference in 1995, traces some of the more significant projects.

Jules Verne, Bracebridge Hemyng, and Edward Stratemeyer: A Case of Nineteenth-Century Plagiarism 1.4M

Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870) was very popular and often imitated. This paper, presented to the Popular Culture Association conference in 1996, follows the story as it was copied by a British author, Bracebridge Hemyng, and how the Hemyng story was copied, almost verbatim, by Edward Stratemeyer for a story called The Wizard of the Sea (Mershon, 1900).

Who Invented Tom Swift's Electric Rifle? 430k

Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle (Grosset & Dunlap, 1911) is one of the more innovative inventions in the Stratemeyer Syndicate's Tom Swift series. In it, Tom builds a gun which shoots "wireless bullets of electricity" to disable or kill the target. The inventor of the TASER has declared that it was named after "Thomas [A] Swift Electric Rifle". This paper traces similar devices in literature going back to the rifles in Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870) which were electrically-charged Leyden jars propelled with compressed air.

Supply and Demand with Resepct to Juvenile Series Books 80k

This paper was written before any access to royalty records for Stratemeyer series books was possible. It analyzes the size of the potential market for these books in the U.S. and trends about how families spent their money. It also discusses decay and attrition of copies over the decades. This paper was presented to the Popular Culture Association in 1997.

Trixie Belden: Schoolgirl Shamuses 1.7M

The Trixie Belden series was a popular mystery series for girls. It was begun by Julie Campbell Tatham and continued by authors hired by the publishers (Whitman and later Golden Press). This article, presented to the Popular Culture Association in 1998, explores the authorship of this series.

Edward Stratemeyer, Author and Literary Agent, 1876-1906 5.6M

Most people have heard the story that Edward Stratemeyer's first writing was a story called "Victor Horton's Idea" in Golden Days, a Philadelphia story paper, in 1889. However, he wrote much earlier than this, including works "published" in 1876 and 1877, before he graduated from high school in 1878. This 1999 Popular Culture Association conference paper depicts and describes examples of these early works and discusses the experiences and forces which influenced the founding of the Stratemeyer Syndicate in 1906.

Edward Stratemeyer's Work on Young Sports of America, Young People of America, and Bright Days 89K

Edward Stratemeyer was the associate editor of Young Sports of America in 1895 and wrote many of the stories. Unfortunately, no copies of this story paper or its successor have been seen in recent years. However, a dime novel and story paper collector by the name of J.P. Guinan made a list of the short and serial stories in YSA and its successor, Young People of America. This paper gives analysis of these stories and Stratemeyer's own story paper, Bright Days.

A Great Mental Tonic: Edward Stratemeyer's Hobbies, Vacations, and Automobiles 1.9M

Precious little is known about Edward Stratemeyer's personal life. This PCA paper from 2000 describes some of his hobbies, short and long vacations, and the automobiles he owned.

Edward Stratemeyer, Correspondent and Art Critic 63K

The illustrations in a book are a significant factor which influences the value as a collectible. Many of the artists involved are little-known yet occasionally prolific. It is ironic that an artist like Walter S. Rogers is unknown in biographical dictionaries yet he illustrated more than 300 series books between 1911 and 1931. This 2001 PCA paper pulls together information about key artists who worked on Stratemeyer's own books as well as those of his Syndicate series.

Notes on Stratemeyer Syndicate Artists 35K

These are some of the notes on artists which I compiled which was used for my 1999 PCA paper.

Edward Stratemeyer, Man of Mystery 911K

Edward Stratemeyer is often associated most strongly with his work on the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mystery series. However, his connection with the mystery genre goes back to some of his earliest writing examples from 1876. This 2002 PCA paper details many interesting examples.

My Dear Young Friend: Book Collectors Correspond with Edward Stratemeyer 90K

Another way to gain insight into Edward Stratemeyer's life and personality is to see how he corresponded with fans. Some of these fans were advanced book and story paper collectors who asked interesting questions about these items. This 2004 PCA paper examines Stratemeyer's answers which contain autobiographical statements which are not available elsewhere.

Series Book Companion: sample A section 219K

This is an old sample of the A section of a series book biographical and topical dictionary called the Series Book Companion. It will be 500 pages in length when complete.