Bobbsey Twins

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Cover of The Bobbsey Twins, circa 1908 Bobbsey Twins - Gutenberg.jpg
Cover of The Bobbsey Twins, circa 1908

The Bobbsey Twins are the principal characters of what was, for 75 years, the Stratemeyer Syndicate's longest-running series of American children's novels, written under the pseudonym Laura Lee Hope. The first of 72 books was published in 1904, the last in 1979, with a separate series of 30 books published from 1987 through 1992. The books related the adventures of the children of the upper-middle-class Bobbsey family, which included two sets of fraternal twins: Bert and Nan, who were eight years old, and Flossie and Freddie, who were four when the first book was written. The two sets of twins aged as the series went on. As the series continued, the two sets of twins were perpetually aged at 12 and 6.

Contents

Authorship

Edward Stratemeyer is believed to be the writer of the first volume in its original form in 1904. [1] When the original series was brought to its conclusion in 1979, it reached a total of 72 volumes. At least two attempts to restart the series were launched after this, but neither effort saw the popularity the original series achieved.

Speculation that Stratemeyer also wrote the second and third volumes of the series is believed to be incorrect; these books are attributed to Lilian Garis, wife of Howard Garis, credited with volumes 4–28 and 41. Elizabeth Ward is credited with volumes 29–35, while Harriet Stratemeyer Adams is credited with 36–38, 39 (with Camilla McClave), 40, 42, 43 (with Andrew Svenson), and 44–48. Volumes 49–52 are attributed to Andrew Svenson, while 53–59, and the 1960s rewrites of 1–4, 7, 11–13, and 17, are attributed to June Dunn. Grace Grote is regarded as the author of 60–67 and the rewrites of 14 and 18–20, and Nancy Axelrad is credited with 68–72. Of the 1960s rewrites not mentioned, volumes 5 and 16 are credited to Mary Donahoe, 6 and 25 to Patricia Doll, 8–10 and 15 to Bonnibel Weston, and 24 to Margery Howard. [2]

Main characters

Plots

Set of Bobbsey Twins books Bobbsey twins books.png
Set of Bobbsey Twins books

In the original editions, the first books in the series (like those in previous Stratemeyer series) took place in a clear chronology, with the characters aging as time passed. The Bobbsey Twins: Merry Days Indoors and Out took place over the course of a school year, with Nan and Bert described as eight years old and Freddie and Flossie four. The second book, The Bobbsey Twins in the Country is set at the beginning of the following summer. The second part of the summer is chronicled in The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore, which is written as a direct sequel to the previous book, tying up some plot threads. The fourth book, The Bobbsey Twins at School, begins the next autumn, with Nan and Bert "nearly nine years old" and Freddie and Flossie "almost five." Editors at the Stratemeyer Syndicate quickly realized, at this rate, their young heroes would quickly age beyond their readership, so the later books in the series (and revised editions) take place in a sort of chronological stasis, with the older twins perpetually 12 years old and the younger set 6.

The earliest Bobbsey books were mainly episodic strings of adventures; with the growing popularity of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, detective plots began to dominate the series. Few of the mysteries involved violent crime, and quite a few did not involve any crime.

While many of the early volumes were constructed from whole cloth, with little or no connection to the real world, by 1917 (The Bobbsey Twins in a Great City, vol. 9, rewritten in 1960 as The Bobbsey Twins' Search in the Great City) they visit real places, and by the 1950s (The Bobbsey Twins at Pilgrim Rock vol. 50), those visits to real places were as well-researched as any fictional visits to real places. By 1971, when the Bobbseys visited Colonial Williamsburg (The Bobbsey Twins' Red White and Blue Mystery, vol. 64), real places were depicted in meticulous detail, down to the names of well-known hotels and restaurants (and, in that particular case, the color of Colonial Williamsburg shuttle buses).

It is said[ by whom? ] vol. 68, The Bobbsey Twins on the Sun-Moon Cruise, was the result of a research trip for a proposed Nancy Drew book: Harriet Stratemeyer Adams and Nancy Axelrad (her personal assistant at the time) took an eclipse cruise but, when they returned, the publisher was more interested in a new Bobbsey title.

Post-1960 rewrites

In 1960, the Stratemeyer syndicate rewrote most of the older volumes, many of which became almost unrecognizable in the process. This was concurrent with the release of a new edition of the series, with picture covers, no dust jackets, and a lavender spine and back cover (replacing earlier various green bindings). Many of the cover paintings were dust-jacket paintings added in the 1950s (for earlier versions, a single common dust-jacket painting was used throughout an edition), but most were new with the "purple" edition. In all, twenty were completely rewritten, all but two with modernized titles, while sixteen were never released in this edition, evidently deemed to be dated beyond repair.[ citation needed ]

Most of the rewrites were motivated by changing technology (automobiles replacing horses and buggies) or changing social standards, particularly in how Sam and Dinah, the black cook and handyman, were portrayed. The Bobbsey Twins and Baby May received the most extreme rewrite; it is a story about the Bobbsey family's adventures searching for the parents of a foundling baby. Since, by the 1960s, sheer numbers of government agencies rendered the original story utterly implausible, an entirely new novel was written about the twins' adventures with a baseball-playing baby elephant (The Bobbsey Twins' Adventures with Baby May). This, however, had a ripple effect, because the original The Bobbsey Twins at Cloverbank was a sequel to the original Baby May. Thus, a second book, The Bobbsey Twins and the Four-Leaf Clover Mystery, was written. It incorporates little material from the original.[ citation needed ]

New Bobbsey Twins

Starting in 1987, a numbered series of paperback originals branded The New Bobbsey Twins were released by Minstrel Books, an imprint of Pocket Books. Featuring all-new stories, the series ended with volume 30, The Mystery of the Mixed-Up Mall, in 1992. [3]

Analysis

In her book The Rhetoric of Character in Children's Literature, Maria Nikolajeva refers to the twins as a "simple duplication of protagonists". [4] Bobbie Ann Mason, in The Girl Sleuth: A Feminist Guide, differs, agreeing the books afford the child-reader an opportunity to imagine "a union with someone just like her, but of the opposite sex", but arguing the distinction between boy-twin and girl-twin "makes a world of difference": Bert "acts out his manhood by winning contests and beating the town bully, Danny Rugg", while his twin Nan – throughout the series "too old for dolls and pranks, too young for boys and barred from their games" – spends most of her time in the books "wagging her finger at Freddie and appearing to enjoy it", acting as "mini-parent, non-child, serious-minded little manipulator". [5]

List of 72 original books and rewrites

KEY: © = copyright renewal only; ET= expanded text; DR= documented revision; UR= undocumented revision; NE= new edition; CR=complete rewrite
VolumeOriginal Published TitleYear of Original PublicationRevision HistoryNew TitleYear of Retitled Publication
1The Bobbsey Twins, or Merry Days Indoors and Out1904ET 1928, NE 1950, CR 1961The Bobbsey Twins of Lakeport1961
2The Bobbsey Twins in the Country1907NE 1950, CR 1961The Bobbsey Twins' Adventure in the Country1961
3The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore1907NE 1950, CR 1961The Bobbsey Twins: The Secret at the Seashore1961
4The Bobbsey Twins at School1913UR 1941, CR 1962The Bobbsey Twins' Mystery at School1962
5The Bobbsey Twins at Snow Lodge1913© 1941, CR 1960The Bobbsey Twins: The Mystery at Snow Lodge1960
6The Bobbsey Twins on a Houseboat1915© 1943, CR 1955
7The Bobbsey Twins at Meadow Brook1915© 1943, CR 1963The Bobbsey Twins' Mystery at Meadow Brook1963
8The Bobbsey Twins at Home1916© 1944, CR 1960The Bobbsey Twins' Big Adventure at Home1960
9The Bobbsey Twins in a Great City1917UR 1945, CR 1960The Bobbsey Twins' Search in the Great City1960
10The Bobbsey Twins on Blueberry Island1917© 1945, CR 1959
11The Bobbsey Twins on the Deep Blue Sea1918The Bobbsey Twins' Mystery on the Deep Blue Sea1965
12The Bobbsey Twins in Washington1919© 1947, CR 1962The Bobbsey Twins' Adventure in Washington1962
13The Bobbsey Twins in the Great West1920© 1948, CR 1966The Bobbsey Twins' Visit to the Great West1966
14The Bobbsey Twins at Cedar Camp1921© 1949, CR 1967The Bobbsey Twins: the Cedar Camp Mystery1967
15The Bobbsey Twins at the County Fair1922CR 1960The Bobbsey Twins: the County Fair Mystery1960
16The Bobbsey Twins Camping Out1923UR 1955
17The Bobbsey Twins and Baby May1924CR 1968The Bobbsey Twins' Adventures with Baby May1968
18The Bobbsey Twins Keeping House1925CR 1968The Bobbsey Twins': The Play House Secret1968
19The Bobbsey Twins at Cloverbank1926CR 1968The Bobbsey Twins: the Four Leaf Clover Mystery1968
20The Bobbsey Twins at Cherry Corners1927CR 1971The Bobbsey Twins: the Mystery at Cherry Corners1971
21The Bobbsey Twins and their Schoolmates1928
22The Bobbsey Twins Treasure Hunting1929
23The Bobbsey Twins at Spruce Lake1930
24The Bobbsey Twins' Wonderful Secret1931CR 1962The Bobbsey Twins' Wonderful Winter Secret1962
25The Bobbsey Twins at the Circus1932CR 1960The Bobbsey Twins and the Circus Surprise1960
26The Bobbsey Twins on an Airplane Trip1933
27The Bobbsey Twins Solve a Mystery1932
28The Bobbsey Twins on a Ranch1935
29The Bobbsey Twins in Eskimo Land1936
30The Bobbsey Twins in a Radio Play1937
31The Bobbsey Twins at Windmill Cottage1938
32The Bobbsey Twins at Lighthouse Point1939
33The Bobbsey Twins at Indian Hollow1940
34The Bobbsey Twins at the Ice Carnival1941
35The Bobbsey Twins in the Land of Cotton1942
36The Bobbsey Twins in Echo Valley1943
37The Bobbsey Twins on the Pony Trail1944
38The Bobbsey Twins at Mystery Mansion1945
39The Bobbsey Twins at Sugar Maple Hill1946
40The Bobbsey Twins in Mexico1947
41The Bobbsey Twins' Toy Shop1948
42The Bobbsey Twins in Tulip Land1949
43The Bobbsey Twins in Rainbow Valley1950
44The Bobbsey Twins' Own Little Railroad1951
45The Bobbsey Twins at Whitesail Harbor1952
46The Bobbsey Twins and the Horseshoe Riddle1953
47The Bobbsey Twins at Big Bear Pond1953
48The Bobbsey Twins on a Bicycle Trip1954
49The Bobbsey Twins' Own Little Ferryboat1956
50The Bobbsey Twins at Pilgrim Rock1956
51The Bobbsey Twins' Forest Adventure1957
52The Bobbsey Twins at London Tower1959
53The Bobbsey Twins in the Mystery Cave1960
54The Bobbsey Twins in Volcano Land1961
55The Bobbsey Twins: The Goldfish Mystery1962
56The Bobbsey Twins: The Big River Mystery1963
57The Bobbsey Twins: The Greek Hat Mystery1964
58The Bobbsey Twins: The Search for the Green Rooster1965
59The Bobbsey Twins: Their Camel Adventure1966
60The Bobbsey Twins: Mystery of the King's Puppet1967
61The Bobbsey Twins: The Secret of Candy Castle1968
62The Bobbsey Twins: The Doodlebug Mystery1969
63The Bobbsey Twins: The Talking Fox Mystery1970
64The Bobbsey Twins: The Red, White and Blue Mystery1971
65The Bobbsey Twins: Dr. Funnybone's Secret1972
66The Bobbsey Twins: The Tagalong Giraffe1973
67The Bobbsey Twins: The Flying Clown1974
68The Bobbsey Twins: On the Sun-Moon Cruise1975
69The Bobbsey Twins: The Freedom Bell Mystery1976
70The Bobbsey Twins: The Smokey Mountain Mystery1977
71The Bobbsey Twins in a TV Mystery Show1978
72The Bobbsey Twins: The Coral Turtle Mystery1979

From Weinstein's Bobbsey Twins Bibliography (list last revised September 18, 1999) [6]

In other media

Re-imagined versions of the Bobbsey twins appear in The CW drama Nancy Drew , an adaptation of another Stratemeyer Syndicate series. In the series, the twins are given the full names of Amanda and Gilbert "Gil" and are respectively played by Aadila Dosani and Praneet Akilla. [7]

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References

  1. ↑ Andrews, Dale (August 27, 2013). "The Hardy Boys Mystery". Children's books. Washington: SleuthSayers.
  2. ↑ "Keeline, James D., The Writers of the Bobbsey Twins". Archived from the original on 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  3. ↑ New Bobbsey Twins (1987–1992) Archived March 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Nikolajeva, Maria (2002). The Rhetoric of Character in Children's Literature. Scarecrow Press. p. 278. ISBN   0-8108-4886-4.
  5. ↑ Mason, Bobbie Ann (1995). The Girl Sleuth: A Feminist Guide. University of Georgia Press. pp. 35–36. ISBN   0-8203-1739-X.
  6. ↑ "Weinstein's Bobbsey Twins Bibliography (The Wayback Machine)". Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  7. ↑ Meszaros, E.L. (March 10, 2021). "Nancy Drew: Bobbsey Twin Aadila Dosani Stirs Up Jazz in the New Season". CBR. Retrieved April 1, 2021.

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