First introduced in 1927,The Hardy Boys Storiesare a series (系列) of books about the stories of brothersFrank and Joe Hardy, teenaged detectives who solve one mystery (神秘) after another. The cover ofThe Hardy Boyssays that the author of the series isFranklin. Over the years, though, many fans of the books have been surprised to find out thatFranklinis not a real person. IfFranklinnever existed, then who wroteThe Hardy Boys Stories?
The Hardy Boysare written through a process called ghostwriting (鬼手写作). A ghostwriter writes a book according to a fixed formula (公式). Although ghostwriters are paid for writing the books, their names do not appear on the published books. Ghostwriters can write books for children or adults, the content of which is various.
The idea forThe Hardy Boysseries was developed by a publisher namedStratemeyer. He noticed the increasing popularity of mysteries among adults, and thought that children would enjoy reading mysteries about younger detectives of their age. He first developed each book with an outline (提纲). Once having completed the outline, he then hired a ghostwriter to turn it into a book of over 200 pages. After finishing a draft (草稿) of a book, he or she would send it back toStratemeyer, who would make a list of corrections and mail it back to the ghostwriter. The ghostwriter would improve the book according toStratemeyer'ssuggestions and then return it to him. OnceStratemeyerapproved the book, it was ready to be published.
The Hardy Boyshad a number of different ghostwriters producing books. However, the first ghostwriter,Leslie, proved to be the most influential. Although he was using prepared outlines as guides,Lesliedeveloped the characters through his imagination. He was also responsible for the details in the story. For example,LesliecreatedBayport, theHardy Boys' hometown, based on where he grew up.
AlthoughThe Hardy Boyswere very popular with children, not everyone approved of them. Critics thought their stories were not real, since most teenagers did not have the same experience as Frank and Joe Hardy. Besides, many teachers and librarians are against the ghostwriting process, saying it was designed to produce books quickly, but not to create quality literature. Some libraries even refuse to include the books in their children's collections.
