GHOST OF THE HARDY BOYS

Toronto, New York: Methuen / Two Continents, 1976. First printing. Near fine in a very good plus jacket.. Uncommon first edition of this memoir from the ghostwriter of the early Hardy Boys books, the original Franklin W. Dixon - Leslie McFarlane. Part of the popularity and endurance of the Hardy Boys can be directly attributed to the original writer behind the house pseudonym "Franklin W. Dixon," ghostwriter Leslie McFarlane. As he writes in this book: "It was still hack work, no doubt, but did the new series have to be all that hack? There was, after all, the chance to contribute a little style. It seemed to me that the Hardy Boys deserved something better than the slapdash treatment [...] I opted for Quality."

In this, his down-to-earth memoir of his writing life published the year before his death, McFarlane describes his early years as a journalist, through his years with the Syndicate, and beyond. An enduringly uncommon book - which speaks both to the ongoing popularity of the series and McFarlane - it was recently republished by Godine after years of being out-of-print. A foundational Hardy Boys document and an under-appreciated writing memoir in its own right. 9'' x 5.5''. Original blue quarter cloth over boards. In original unclipped ($8.95) color pictorial dust jacket designed by Alan Daniel. 212 pages. Some minor edgewear to jacket, small closed tear to rear panel. Touches of rubbing and some faint sunning to book extremities.