Click each title for cover images, plot summaries, and other information.

1. The Tower Treasure 2. The House on the Cliff 3. The Secret of the Old Mill 4. The Missing Chums 5. Hunting for Hidden Gold 6. The Shore Road Mystery 7. The Secret of the Caves 8. The Mystery of Cabin Island 9. The Great Airport Mystery 10. What Happened at Midnight 11. While the Clock Ticked 12. Footprints Under the Window 13. The Mark on the Door 14. The Hidden Harbor Mystery 15. The Sinister Signpost 16. A Figure in Hiding 17. The Secret Warning 18. The Twisted Claw 19. The Disappearing Floor 20. Mystery of the Flying Express 21. The Clue of the Broken Blade 22. The Flickering Torch Mystery 23. The Melted Coins 24. The Short-Wave Mystery 25. The Secret Panel 26. The Phantom Freighter 27. The Secret of Skull Mountain 28. The Sign of the Crooked Arrow 29. The Secret of the Lost Tunnel

30. The Wailing Siren Mystery 31. The Secret of Wildcat Swamp 32. The Crisscross Shadow 33. The Yellow Feather Mystery 34. The Hooded Hawk Mystery 35. The Clue in the Embers 36. The Secret of Pirates' Hill 37. The Ghost at Skeleton Rock 38. Mystery at Devil's Paw 39. The Mystery of the Chinese Junk 40. Mystery of the Desert Giant 41. The Clue of the Screeching Owl 42. The Viking Symbol Mystery 43. The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior 44. The Haunted Fort 45. The Mystery of the Spiral Bridge 46. The Secret Agent on Flight 101 47. Mystery of the Whale Tattoo 48. The Arctic Patrol Mystery 49. The Bombay Boomerang 50. Danger on Vampire Trail 51. The Masked Monkey 52. The Shattered Helmet 53. The Clue of the Hissing Serpent 54. The Mysterious Caravan 55. The Witchmaster's Key 56. The Jungle Pyramid 57. The Firebird Rocket 58. The Sting of the Scorpion

Detective Handbook

The Hardy Boys series began in 1927, when Grosset & Dunlap released the first three volumes, known as "breeders." At first, the books were bound in a plain cloth cover, with cover art printed on the paper dust jacket. In 1962, Grosset & Dunlap dropped the dust jackets and switched to the more durable "picture cover" format, in which the cover art was printed directly on the book's cover. Over the years, the graphic design of the covers has changed several times. For more information, go to the cover formats page.

Endsheets

The inside front and back covers of a book are called the endsheets (or endpapers). The format of the Hardy Boys endsheets has changed several times -- see the endsheets page for more information.

The revised editions

Beginning in 1959, the first 38 volumes were systematically revised. This massive project, completed in 1973, was directed by Harriet Adams, Edward Stratemeyer's daughter. The revision project had numerous results:

• Shorter books (180 pages instead of 225, 20 chapters instead of 25)
• Streamlined writing style (at the cost of humor, charm, and believability!)
• Elimination of racial stereotypes (for the most part)
• Modernization (no more roadsters and automats)
• Consistency of premises (Frank and Joe no longer gradually age from 15/16 to 17/18)
• Consistency of interior layout (the same typeface is used in all revised books)
• Newfound respect for officers of the law
• Deflation of Aunt Gertrude's character (see the Aunt Gertrude page)

1. Same story, same text: Most of the original text remains intact, with pieces cut or slightly altered here and there (example: The Phantom Freighter).
2. Same story rewritten: The basic framework of the plot is the same, but the text has been completely (or almost completely) rewritten (example: The Tower Treasure).
3. New story, old ideas: The book has been completely rewitten, and the plot is not the same, but some elements are retained, such as names, capers, episodes, or locations. (Examples: The Twisted Claw retains many elements, such as the Parrot freighters, the pirate empire, and the Caribbean island. The Sinister Signpost retains the racehorse named Topnotch and Aunt Gertrude's inheritance of a stable of racehorses, but their relevance to the story is completely changed.)
4. New story, new ideas: The book has been completely rewitten and shares no elements with its predecessor (example: The Flickering Torch Mystery).

Information about the revision of specific books can be found on the book pages (click on the titles in the list at the top of this page).

The original series today

In 1979, Grosset & Dunlap lost the Hardy Boys publishing contract, as the Stratemeyer Syndicate switched to the greener pastures of Simon & Schuster. However, after a battle in the courtroom, Grosset & Dunlap won the right to continue publishing volumes 1-58.

In 1987, the books were switched to a laminated plastic cover format, which is more durable than the former picture covers (and also more gaudy). A beam of light from a flashlight has been adopted as the new symbol for the Hardy Boys, and for this reason, the laminated covers are often referred to as "flashlight covers."

Although Simon & Schuster went on to publish many more Hardy Boys books than Grosset & Dunlap did, something was lost in these modern editions, and many fans feel that only the original 58 Grosset & Dunlap books are "real" Hardy Boys stories. Collectors often refer to the G & D volumes as the Hardy Boys "Canon," but I've avoided this usage here, because the Simon & Schuster editions (even the Casefiles) are undeniably canonical, despite their arguable shortcomings.