Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew H.
Apparently the original "Hardy Boys" series was a lot more complex than the versions we have now; when they were rewritten in the 50's, they were dumbed down because they had to compete with TV. (They also took out a lot of racist bits, too.)
The books used to be advertised as being "For boys aged 10-14" - I had read pretty much all of the ones in the library by the time I was 10; I wonder if the age range was carried along from the older books. I don't see many 14 year olds being interested in Hardy Boys books.
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They were indeed. I collect turn of the 20th century children's books, and have all the original Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Tom Swift, etc, books. The original versions are written for a much more literate audience than the 1950s rewrites, although what you say about the (from a modern perspective) unpleasant racial stereotyping in the original books is very true.