The Stratemeyer Syndicate

On May 10, 1930, Edward Stratemeyer, author and empire builder, died. He began his career as a ghostwriter for the Horatio Alger series, then fashioned his own adventures about the Rover Boys. In 1906 Stratemeyer began to hire freelance writers to develop his ideas. He created nothing less than a literary assembly line—in the end about 65 series; 1,300 books that sold more than 200 million copies. In his day he was considered the equal of Ford and Rockefeller, only he mass-produced books for children.

The gatekeepers and critics vilified Stratemeyer—articles like “Blowing the Boy’s Brains Out” claimed that his books actually crippled readers’ imaginations. They were called “tripe” and the “devices of Satan.” But young readers did not agree with those trying to protect children from these mass-produced wares. They found characters they loved and page-turning adventures in the best of the Stratemeyer creations—Tom Swift, the Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, and the Hardy Boys. So successful was the syndicate that in the twenties through fifties, the majority of the books purchased by children in America, often with their allowance money, had been created by the Stratemeyer Syndicate..

Stratemeyer’s death by no means ended his enterprise. It was ably taken over by his daughters for a few years until Edna Stratemeyer Squier sold her share to her sister. Harriet Stratemeyer Adams continued to run the syndicate until her death in 1982. She focused much of her attention on the development of the girl detective Nancy Drew.

For those interested in the Stratemeyer Syndicate and the important role of Harriet and her ghostwriters, a recent book for adults, Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak, provides fascinating reading.

When I interviewed society leaders for Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children’s Book, I discovered many enjoyed Stratemeyer offerings. Actor Kirk Douglas, who played Hollywood tough-guy roles, fell in love with reading when he encountered The Bobbsey Twins. Financier Peter Lynch became an early devotee of The Hardy Boys. And Steve Wozniak, who invented Apple I and Apple II, fell under the spell of Tom Swift. The books made him realize that he wanted to become an inventor—he created his first computer at age twelve. The pseudonym for the writer of Tom Swift, by the way, Victor Appleton II, may well have been memorialized by one of his greatest fans.

Although many of the Stratemeyer books have been updated and changed, they eventually lost their place as the most popular reading in America—upstaged by newer heroes like Harry Potter. But in the first six decades of the twentieth century, Edward Stratemeyer and his syndicate ruled the reading lives of children. His success still reminds us that series books often keep children on the reading path until they are ready to pick up more difficult and complex offerings.

Here’s a section from The Shore Road Mystery (Hardy Boys Mystery Series #6):