Ghost of the Hardy Boys: An Autobiography

by Leslie McFarlane

The entertaining autobiography of the first ghostwriter of the Hardy Boys books. McFarlane, a Canadian, tells the story of how he came to write the books and the inside story of the Stratemeyer Syndicate and its founder, Edward Stratemeyer.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Autobiography, Writing, Biography

211 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1976

About the author

Charles Leslie McFarlane. who dropped the first forename for his writing career, was a Canadian journalist, novelist, screenwriter and filmmaker. McFarlane is most famous for ghostwriting many of the early books in the very successful Hardy Boys series using the pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon.

The son of a school principal, McFarlane was raised in the town of Haileybury, Ontario. He became a freelance writer shortly after high school. He and his family moved to Whitby, Ontario in 1936. This period is described in his 1975 book 'A Kid In Hailebury'.

He was also a reporter for various Canadian and American newspapers. From 1943 to 1957 he was a producer for the National Film Board of Canada in Ottawa.

In 1959/60 he was the Chief Editor for the CBC television drama for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He wrote and directed numerous films and wrote more than 70 plays.

He lived in Whitby from 1936 to 1943 and from 1961 to 1976. He was a member of the Whitby Public School Board and the Whitby Public Library Board in the 1960s, and in 1987 a public school on Garden Street was named after him.

He died in Oshawa on September 6, 1977. His ashes were spread on the Ottawa River.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine how a kid feels after hearing the words "There is no Santa Claus." That's how I feel after finishing Ghost of the Hardy Boys. In a twist I should have seen coming, I realized I've never read a Leslie McFarlane Hardy Boys story. This hurt quite a bit as I grew up reading old Hardy Boys stories and even have a reasonable collection of the books stashed away somewhere.

Franklin W. Dixon, the author of over a hundred different Hardy Boys stories, doesn't exist. Edward Stratemeyer, the Henry Ford of youth literature according to McFarlane, invented Dixon along with dozens of other manufactured authors. McFarlane was the first ghost writer for the Hardy Boys books.

I enjoyed following in this autobiography as McFarlane moved from peddling pure schlock in adventure novels to slowly falling in love with the world he assembled for Frank & Joe Hardy to run around in. I knew going in that the earlier Hardy Boys books were rewritten in the 40s (I own a number of the pre-40s editions but have never read one past the first few pages), but I assumed that McFarlane was going to be a part of those. When the final pages of McFarlane's autobiography revealed that not only did he not write the new versions, but he also despised them, my heart broke. I never explored the world McFarlane lovingly created after all.

I was completely enthralled hearing about how McFarlane first contacted Stratemeyer and became a part of one of the most famous children's book series of all time. Stratemeyer is a mysterious figure throughout the story. Despite working for Stratemeyer for decades, McFarlane never once meets or speaks to the man. Stratemeyer dictates all the terms of the contract coldly, and McFarlane's only request for a raise is not even acknowledged. Stratemeyer seems to me to be an unacknowledged genius of the 20th century.

McFarlane's depiction of the state of youth literature was also a treat. The backlash against "dime novels" was entertaining to learn about- it's difficult to imagine an era when adults rallied against the corrupting effects of cheap adventure novels. McFarlane provides the necessary background I didn't know I needed by describing all the relevant youth serials leading up to the Hardy Boys.

It's wrong of me, but I was somewhat disappointed when the narrative cut away from McFarlane's time with the Hardy Boys to his past as a struggling journalist in early 1900s Canada. I'm sure McFarlane knew the reader would be most interested in his time as Franklin W. Dixon, which is why he opened the autobiography with that chapter from his life. While the earlier chapters in McFarlane's life were interesting, I remained eager to pick up on the Hardy Boys threads again, and I was disappointed that this didn't happen until the final chapter or two.

Most of the stories from earlier in McFarlane's life showed the same cruel trends about the low regard society (and management) held for writers. The most interesting nugget for me an anecdote about McFarlane's time as one of the first ever hockey broadcasters in the pre-radio era. McFarlane would type out fun commentary on the game as it happened and then couriers would rush the commentary to the telegraph office, where the commentary would be transmitted across the country and finally read aloud to audiences waiting breathlessly in theaters. The end of this segment was also informative and illuminating, as McFarlane's request for an increase in pay resulted in his termination from the broadcast role altogether.

In summary, I enjoyed McFarlane's direct, sometimes jaded perspective on the state of modern literature. I couldn't put down the sections where he describes his collaborations with Stratemeyer on the Hardy Boys books, and the anecdotes from his earlier days had some gripping highlights. At the end of the day, I feel a little shell shocked to learn that the stories I loved years ago are part of what McFarlane considers to be devoid of merit.

Also as a side note, I want to thank the Arlington Heights Public Library for having a copy of this book. There is no digital version, and Ebay and Amazon both charge in the hundreds for it, so I'm thankful the library entrusts random strangers like me to hold it for a while. I've done my best to keep the book in excellent condition, and I hope it survives its journey into the return chute without a scratch.

[Josephine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually read this a few years ago from the library at which I was employed at the time. Giving it an extra star because I remembered it fondly enough to reread it, and wasn't disappointed by the golden haze of memory. Not that this is an intensely complex autobiography, mind. It's as quick a read as those long-ago Hardy Boys books, and as blithely skipping the surface of Great Literature and Deep Analysis.

But 'fess up: if you've come across this book because you read more than a handful of the Stratemeyer Syndicate books...don't you have a weeny little corner of your heart that remembers how fun they were to read? Well, this is that fun. And that fun.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I got it mostly out of curiosity and nostalgia, but it turned out to be an excellent read.

The thing that surprised me the most is how funny McFarlane was. There's a little less Hardys than I expected, though there's enough, but the rest is so entertaining that it hardly matters. It was also interesting to read about McFarlane long career writing in newspapers, magazines, radio, and tv.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an autobiography of the man who wrote most of the early Hardy Boys series for the Statemeyer syndicate, as well as many other adventure series novels. It's a fascinating and nostalgic account of a bygone era.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know why this book was so fascinating to me, there was something relatable about the story, and McFalaine's somewhat downtrodden career and journey through life, I enjoyed his jaded seen-it-all philosophical style, and his occasional irreverent remarks.

And, yet for such an accomplished author, or perhaps in tribute to his write-and-never-review approach to the Hardy Boys, it felt like this story wasn't edited at all. There were multiple spelling mistakes and factual errors (for example, mentioning the title of a Hardy Boys books correctly in one paragraph, incorrect in the next; mixing up plot details when summarizing Hardy Boys stories). Still, it was enjoyable read and felt like listening to a beloved elder relative reminisce about the good old days.

[Danny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little worried that reading this book would be a bit like learning how sausage is made. I loved the Hardy Boys as a kid, pouring through the blue hardcovers as fast as I could track them down. There's a distinct memory I have of wondering how Franklin W. Dixon became such a good writer.

It turned out not to be the case. McFarlane provides a fascinating glimpse at a peculiar process; an instructive read for those interested in how writing and other creative work is done.

[Chip · Rating 4 out of 5]

It did not cover as much of The Hardy Boys as I would have liked, but it was an interesting read.

[Edward Fenner · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining and informative autobiography about the creation of the Hardy Boys, about youth fiction publishing mills, and small-town Ontario from the 1920s-40s.

[Randy Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve known about this book forever but resisted reading it—fearing the worst—you know—but I was really surprised at how good it is. It’s really very entertaining—because he’s so funny and has a good attitude about being this kind of odd figure in literary history—a ghostwriter. He also describes his young life in Canadian mining towns and early career as a journalist—as well as his writing career after writing series books. I’ve always been curious about a few things, ever since I learned that about 20 of the early Hardy Boy books were written by him—including most of the early ones, which are among the best—and he answered a lot of my questions. He was much the source of the humor, strangeness, and irreverence that make the early, original versions so good. Of course, I grew up thinking Franklin W. Dixon was a real person—so it wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned most of the children’s series books were written by ghostwriters, and it wasn’t until much later that I learned that many books (Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, primarily) were not only being updated—in many cases entirely rewritten. McFarlane apparently didn’t learn until much later in life, either, about the re-writing—and he ends the book on that note. He doesn’t necessarily sound bitter about it—or the fact that he was paid around $100 per book—and they went on to be franchises—but he gets his last word in here, at least. You can tell by reading this autobiography, as well as early editions of the Hardys, that he had a unique sensibility and went a much further than it would have been required of him to infuse books—particularly the early Hardys—with some oddball perspective—essentially the personality of the books—which is why I’m still able to read them as an adult.

[Gordon Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a huge fan of "The Hardy Boys" series when I was young and pretty much read every one. It was surprising to find out that the original author, Franklin W. Dixon, did not, in fact, exist. The entire series was written by ghost writers. It was a further surprise was the first 21 were being written by Canadian, Leslie McFarlane, the father of famed Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster, Brian McFarlane.

This is a must read for fans of the Hardy Boys and readers who have an interest in northern Ontario mining communities in the 1920s-30s. It's not just about writing the original 21 books of the series but is mostly about life in the 1920s-30s of Sudbury and Cobalt.

McFarlane has an excellent sense of humour and is an entertaining writer. I learned much about life in the north and it was fascinating to have the curtain pulled back, not only on the Hardy Boys, but also Nancy Drew.

It was a fun and interesting read.

[Katharine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit I was amazed a book of this age and niche was actually rated on Goodreads. Published in 1976, Ghost of the Hardy Boys tells the tale of the writing life of Leslie McFarlane - and it reads much more like a tale than a memoir. The tone is casual and entertaining and comfortable, as though you are listening, fascinated, to long-ago yarns of backwoods Canada and publishers that spilled real ink on the floor. I understand McFarlane's frustration with being remembered for only one thing, ghost writing the early Hardy Boys books, when he actually went on to so much more. This is a great look-back for fans of the series.

[Joe Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun romp through the life of the man who ghosted many of the Hardy Boys books. It is more about the writer and his life than the Hardy Boys books and he clearly regards the books as hack work, if well-written hack work, which form only a tiny portion of his life. Folks interested in life a hundred years ago and what it was like to be a writer then will enjoy this book, but true adult collectors of Hardy Boy books who think they are fine literature will be shattered if they are intelligent enough to understand McFarlane's opinions of series books.

[Lisa Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, growing up, I was a big Hardy Boys fan. While my friends read Nancy Drew, I was searching for the next Hardy Boys book. In 1926, Leslie McFarlane took a position as a ghost writer for Edward Stratemeyer, a prominent author and publisher. McFarlane wrote 21 Hardy Boys books under the pseudonym of Franklin W. Dixon. He was paid a whopping $125 for each, quite a bit of money in the 1920s and 30s, but really not what he deserved for the number of books sold. This is a witty and engaging memoir of a man who should have known fame, but didn't.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting memoir by the original ghost writer for the Hardy Boys. I never read a single Hardy Boys book. Someone gave me #2 as a gift when I was a kid, but I was much more into Nancy Drew, and never got around to reading it (maybe I would have if it had been the first book in the series?)

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good bio of the author of the original Hardy Boys series. Very enjoyable.

[SheMac · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating memoir but also a look at the Stratemeyer syndicate that produced not only THE HARDY BOYS but also NANCY DREW and THE BOBBSEY TWINS.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn’t want I expected and was really dry.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nostalgic look back on his career written by the man who ghost wrote a number of series books for the Stratemeyer Syndicate including many volumes of the Hardy Boys Series. How he fell into writing for Stratemeyer and his attitude towards the books is kind of an eye-opener. Recommended reading for aspiring writers.

I was told that some of the finer details in this book are slightly incorrect. But this is a memoir written many years later and memories dim. But it is not surprising to me that an avid (obsessed?) collector has details available that the author didn't when he wrote this book. McFarlane admits to mailing manuscripts to Stratemeyer without even keeping a carbon copy. For someone whose food, clothing, and shelter depended on it, McFarlane didn't seem to be taking the whole thing very seriously. He aspired to write Great Literature. McFarlane claims that he was completely unaware of the popularity of the Hardy Boys books until his own son informed him of the fact decades later. This is all very different from the story of Mildred Wirt Benson, also a journalist and author of books 1 through 7, 11 through 25, and 30 of the Nancy Drew series.