Ghost of the Hardy Boys

“Ghost of the Hardy Boys is an elegant book, full of charm and pathos and whimsy. The writing is restrained, the characterizations deep and rich, the humor nuanced.”—Washington Post“Written with the same fluid, energetic, and humorous style that brought life to the sleuthing Hardy siblings, this is an enjoyable memoir from a writer who loved his job.”—Library Journal“A must read by all fans of the Hardy Boys and even other Stratemeyer Syndicate series.”—The Hardy Boys Wiki“Leslie McFarlane has written more fiction than most authors on the North American Continent—lord knows how many millions of words. In this book, is not only a ghostwriter of the immortal Hardy Boys who speaks to us: it is a sensitive man who delights in recollection. McFarlane’s memoirs have a special romance, lyrical and profound.”—MacKinlay Kantor, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Andersonville

Leslie McFarlane was a Canadian journalist and author who, under the famous pseudonym, Franklin W. Dixon, wrote the original Hardy Boys mysteries for the Stratemeyer Syndicate (also the creators of Nancy Drew, Tom Swift, and the Bobbsey Twins). McFarlane wrote twenty-one tales of Frank and Joe Hardy, as well as many other novels under both his name and various pennames. He had a long and award-winning career with the Canadian National Film Board and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation—his script for the documentary Herring Hunt was nominated for an Academy Award. McFarlane died in 1977.

Marilyn S. Greenwald is the author of Secret Of the Hardy Boys: Leslie McFarlane & the Stratemeyer Syndicate and a professor of journalism at the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University.