READING

First introduced in 1927, The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories are a series of books about
the adventures of brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, teenaged detectives who solve one baffling
mystery after another. The Hardy Boys were so popular among young boys that in 1930 a
similar series was created for girls featuring a sixteen-year-old detective named Nancy Drew.
The cover of each volume of The Hardy Boys states that the author of the series is Franklin W.
Dixon; the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories are supposedly written by Carolyn Keene. Over the
years, though, many fans of both series have been surprised to find out that Franklin W. Dixon
and Carolyn Keene are not real people. If Franklin W. Dixon and Carolyn Keene never existed,
then who wrote The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries?
The Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew books were written through a process called
ghostwriting. A ghostwriter writes a book according to a specific formula. While ghostwriters are
paid for writing the books, their authorship is not acknowledged, and their names do not appear
on the published books. Ghostwriters can write books for children or adults, the content of which
is unspecific. Sometimes they work on book series with a lot of individual titles, such as The
Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew series.
The initial idea for both The Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew series was developed by a
man named Edward Stratemeyer, who owned a publishing company that specialized in
children’s books. Stratemeyer noticed the increasing popularity of mysteries among adults, and
surmised that children would enjoy reading mysteries about younger detectives with whom they
could identify. Stratemeyer first developed each book with an outline describing the plot and
setting. Once he completed the outline, Stratemeyer then hired a ghostwriter to convert it into a
book of slightly over 200 pages. After the ghostwriter had written a draft of a book, he or she
would send it back to Stratemeyer, who would make a list of corrections and mail it back to the
ghostwriter. The ghostwriter would revise the book according to Stratemeyer’s instructions and
then return it to him. Once Stratemeyer approved the book, it was ready for publication.
Because each series ran for so many years, Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys both had
a number of different ghostwriters producing books; however, the first ghostwriter for each
series proved to be the most influential. The initial ghostwriter for The Hardy Boys was a
Canadian journalist named Leslie McFarlane. A few years later, Mildred A. Wirt, a young writer
from Iowa, began writing the Nancy Drew books. Although they were using prepared outlines as
guides, both McFarlane and Wirt developed the characters themselves. The personalities of
Frank and Joe Hardy and Nancy Drew arose directly from McFarlane’s and Wirt’s imaginations.
For example, Mildred Wirt had been a star college athlete and gave Nancy similar athletic
abilities. The ghostwriters were also responsible for numerous plot and setting details. Leslie
McFarlane used elements of his small Canadian town to create Bayport, the Hardy Boys’
fictional hometown.
Although The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books were very popular with children, not
everyone approved of them. Critics thought their plots were unrealistic and even far-fetched,
since most teenagers did not experience the adventures Frank and Joe Hardy or Nancy Drew
did. The way the books were written also attracted criticism. Many teachers and librarians
objected to the ghostwriting process, claiming it was designed to produce books quickly rather
than create quality literature. Some libraries—including the New York Public Library—even
refused to include the books in their children’s collections. Ironically, this decision actually © Copyright EnglishForEveryone.Org, 2012. All rights reserved.
helped sales of the books, because children simply purchased them when they were
unavailable in local libraries.
Regardless of the debates about their literary merit, each series of books has exerted an
undeniable influence on American and even global culture. Most Americans have never heard
of Edward Stratemeyer, Leslie McFarlane, or Mildred Wirt, but people throughout the world are
familiar with Nancy Drew and Frank and Joe Hardy.
Questions
1) According to the passage, the Nancy Drew mystery series was introduced in
A. 1925
B. 1927
C. 1929
D. 1930
2) Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
A. Ghostwriting: A Way of Life
B. Who Were Leslie McFarlane and Mildred A. Wirt?
C. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew: Ghostwriting a Series
D. The Dubious yet Profitable Practice of Ghostwriting
3) According to the passage, which of the following people was a real writer?
A. Carolyn Keene
B. Franklin W. Dixon
C. Leslie McFarlane
D. Tom Hardy
4) According to the passage, a ghostwriter is someone who
I. writes about mysterious or strange events
II. does not receive credit as the author
III. bases his or her books on predetermined guidelines
A. I only
B. I and II only
C. II and III only
D. I, II, and III
5) As used in paragraph 3, which is the best definition for surmised?
A. guessed
B. questioned
C. knew
D. proved© Copyright EnglishForEveryone.Org, 2012. All rights reserved.
6) According to the passage, The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books were created based on
the idea that
I. mystery books for adults are popular
II. children enjoy reading about characters they can relate to
III. girls and boys are not interested in the same things
A. I only
B. I and II only (CORRECT)
C. II and III only
D. I, II, and III
7) Based on information in the passage, it can be inferred that Leslie McFarlane and Mildred
Wirt
A. disliked writing according to a specific formul
B. respected the art of ghostwriting
C. were unsuccessful in their previous occupations
D. found it helpful to write from personal experience
8) According to the passage, some teachers and librarians objected to ghostwritten books such
as The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mystery Stories because they
A. disapproved of mystery stories
B. thought the books were too expensive
C. believed the books were not quality literature
D. disliked Edward Stratemeyer’s questionable business practices
9) Which of the following best describes the author's attitude toward The Hardy Boys and
Nancy Drew book series?
A. balanced and respectful
B. doubtful and critical
C. hostile but forgiving
D. overwhelmingly praising
10)Which of the following best describes the structure of this passage?
A. introduction, explanation, history, controversy, conclusion
B. introduction, history, controversy, explanation, conclusion
C. history, explanation, summary, conclusion, controversy
D. history, controversy, explanation, summary, conclusion