Rover Boys

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The Rover Boys on the Farm, 1908, first edition cover The Rover Boys on the Farm.jpg
The Rover Boys on the Farm, 1908, first edition cover

The Rover Boys, or The Rover Boys Series for Young Americans, was a popular juvenile series written by Arthur M. Winfield, a pseudonym for Edward Stratemeyer. Thirty titles were published between 1899 and 1926 and the books remained in print for years afterward. [1]

Contents

The original Rover Boys were brothers Tom, Sam, and Dick Rover, the sons of wealthy widower Anderson Rover, who entrusted his brother and sister-in-law, Randolph and Martha, with the rearing of the boys. As the series progressed the brothers became smitten with Dora Stanhope and Nellie and Grace Laning, the daughter and nieces of a wealthy widow. [2]

The Rover boys' children (Fred, son of Sam Rover; Jack, son of Dick; Andy and Randy, twin sons of Tom) became the main characters of the "second series" that began with Volume 21, The Rover Boys at Colby Hall, published in 1917. The elder Rovers continued making appearances in the second series.

Additionally, there was a related Putnam Hall series of six books that featured other characters from the first Rovers series, although the Rovers themselves do not appear.

The Rovers were students at a military boarding school: adventurous, prank-playing, flirtatious, and often unchaperoned adolescents who were frequently causing mischief for authorities, as well as for criminals. The series often incorporated modern technology of the era, such as the automobile, airplanes (The Rover Boys in the Air) and news events, such as World War I.

The earliest volumes focused on the boys' travel adventures, but later stories were filled with mystery and suspense. [3]

Publishers

From 1899 to 1906 The Mershon Co. published volumes 1 through 11; from 1906 to 1907 Chatterton-Peck Co. published volumes 1 through 11. Starting in 1907 Grosset & Dunlap began publishing the Rover Boys, eventually printing all 30 volumes. They published the series through at least the 1930s. Starting in the 1940s Whitman Publishing reprinted volumes 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13 and 14. [3]

Legacy

Image appearing on DJVU page 6 (frontispiece) of Rover Boys on Land and Sea. (1903) Rover Boys on Land and Sea pg 6.png
Image appearing on DJVU page 6 (frontispiece) of Rover Boys on Land and Sea. (1903)

More than a million Rover Boys books were sold, and the titles remained in print by Grosset & Dunlap and later Whitman for years after the final title was published. The most commonly encountered are the green and brown cover editions published by Grosset & Dunlap during the 1910s and 1920s. While there are better-known and longer-running juvenile series such as The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Tom Swift, the Rovers were very successful and influential. They established the template for all later Stratemeyer Syndicate series. [1] It was Stratemeyer's first series, and one of his favorites. Stratemeyer did all of the writing himself, rather than hiring ghostwriters. [1]

Titles

  1. The Rover Boys at School , or, The Cadets of Putnam Hall - 1899
  2. The Rover Boys on the Ocean , or, A Chase for a Fortune - 1899
  3. The Rover Boys in the Jungle, or, Stirring Adventures in Africa - 1899
  4. The Rover Boys Out West, or, The Search for a Lost Mine - 1900
  5. The Rover Boys on the Great Lakes, or, The Secret of the Island Cave - 1901
  6. The Rover Boys in the Mountains, or, A Hunt for Fun and Fortune- 1902
  7. The Rover Boys on Land and Sea, or, The Crusoes of Seven Islands - 1903
  8. The Rover Boys in Camp, or, The Rivals of Pine Island - 1904
  9. The Rover Boys on the River, or, The Search for the Missing Houseboat - 1905
  10. The Rover Boys on the Plains, or, The Mystery of Red Rock Ranch - 1906
  11. The Rover Boys in Southern Waters, or, The Deserted Steam Yacht - 1907
  12. The Rover Boys on the Farm, or, Last Days at Putnam Hall - 1908
  13. The Rover Boys on Treasure Isle, or, The Strange Cruise of the Steam Yacht - 1909
  14. The Rover Boys at College, or, The Right Roads and the Wrong - 1910
  15. The Rover Boys Down East, or, The Struggle for the Stanhope Fortune - 1911
  16. The Rover Boys in the Air, or, From College Campus to the Clouds - 1912
  17. The Rover Boys in New York, or, Saving their Father's Honor - 1913
  18. The Rover Boys in Alaska, or, Lost in the Fields of Ice - 1914
  19. The Rover Boys in Business, or, The Case of the Missing Bonds - 1915
  20. The Rover Boys on a Tour, or, Last Days at Brill College - 1916
Second series
  1. The Rover Boys at Colby Hall, or, The Struggles of the Young Cadets - 1917
  2. The Rover Boys on Snowshoe Island, or, The Old Lumberman's Treasure Box - 1918
  3. The Rover Boys Under Canvas, or, The Mystery of the Wrecked Submarine - 1919
  4. The Rover Boys on a Hunt, or, The Mysterious House in the Woods - 1920
  5. The Rover Boys in the Land of Luck, or, Stirring Adventures in the Oil Fields - 1921
  6. The Rover Boys at Big Horn Ranch, or, The Cowboys' Big Roundup - 1922
  7. The Rover Boys at Big Bear Lake, or, The Camps of the Rival Cadets - 1923
  8. The Rover Boys Shipwrecked, or, A Thrilling Hunt for Pirates Gold - 1924
  9. The Rover Boys on Sunset Trail, or, The Old Miner's Mysterious Message - 1925
  10. The Rover Boys Winning a Fortune, or, Strenuous Days Ashore and Afloat - 1926
Putnam Hall series
  1. The Putnam Hall Cadets, or, Good Times In School and Out - 1901
  2. The Putnam Hall Rivals, or, Fun and Sport Afloat and Ashore - 1906
  3. The Putnam Hall Champions, or, Bound to Win Out - 1908
  4. The Putnam Hall Rebellion, or, The Rival Runaways - 1909
  5. The Putnam Hall Encampment, or, The Secret of the Old Mill - 1910
  6. The Putnam Hall Mystery, or, The School Chums Strange Discovery - 1911

Some of these books are available for download free at Project Gutenberg.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Andrews, Dale (2013-08-27). "The Hardy Boys Mystery". Children's books. Washington: SleuthSayers.
  2. Ackworth, William, Horse and Buggy Stuff, The Iola Register (Iola, Kansas), October 13, 1947, page 4
  3. 1 2 Axe, John, All About Collecting Boys’ Series Books, pages 18-20, Hobby House Press, Inc., 2002