Tom Swift Jr. is the central character in a series of 33 science fiction adventure novels for male adolescents, following in the tradition of the earlier Tom Swift ("Senior") novels. The series was titled The New Tom Swift Jr. Adventures . Unlike the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys titles that were also products of the prolific Stratemeyer Syndicate , the original Tom Swift stories were not rewritten in the 1950s to modernize them. It was decided that the protagonist of the new series would be the son of the earlier Tom Swift and his wife, Mary Nestor Swift; the original hero continued as a series regular, as did his pal Ned Newton. The covers were created by illustrator J. Graham Kaye. Covers in the later half of the series were mostly by Charles Brey. A total of 33 volumes were eventually published.
31-519: For the Tom Swift Jr. series the books were outlined mostly by Harriet (Stratemeyer) Adams , head of the Stratemeyer Syndicate , attributed to the pseudonymous Victor Appleton II , and published in hardcover by Grosset & Dunlap . Most of the books (Titles #5-#7 and #9-#30) were written by James Duncan Lawrence , who had an interest in science and technology and was faithful to the canon of
62-502: A 1981 poll of 17 detective story writers and reviewers, his novel Nine Times Nine was voted as the ninth best locked room mystery of all time. White was born in Oakland, California , and went to college at the University of Southern California . He later received a master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley . After a friend told him that "William White" was too common
93-543: A list of Best Crime Fiction of the Year from 1949 to 1967, listing from 12 to 15 titles each year. He published his list as Anthony Boucher. Boucher was a poker player, a political activist, a sport fan (football, basketball, track, gymnastics and rugby), a Sherlockian in The Baker Street Irregulars and a chef. He was also an expert collector of recordings of early operatic singers. In 1964-1965 Boucher worked as
124-458: A name, he used "H. H. Holmes" to write and review mysteries and "Anthony Boucher" for science fiction and fantasy. He pronounced Boucher phonetically, "to rhyme with voucher". Boucher (as he was more commonly known) wrote mystery, science fiction, and horror. He was also an editor, including science fiction anthologies, and wrote mystery reviews for many years in The New York Times . He
155-506: A very busy and productive decade for Boucher. In 1945 he launched into a spectacular three-year radio career, plotting more than 100 episodes for The Adventures of Ellery Queen , while also providing plots for the bulk of the Sherlock Holmes radio dramas. By the summer of 1946 he had created his own mystery series for the airwaves, The Casebook of Gregory Hood . ("I was turning out three scripts each week for as many shows," he stated. "It
186-499: Is also something of a roman à clef about the Southern California science fiction culture of the time, featuring thinly veiled versions of personalities such as Robert A. Heinlein , L. Ron Hubbard and rocket scientist / occultist /fan Jack Parsons . Boucher also scripted for radio and was involved in many other activities, as described by William F. Nolan in his essay "Who Was Anthony Boucher?": The 1940s proved to be
217-487: The Hugo Award for Best Professional Magazine in 1957 and 1958. Boucher also edited the long-running Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction anthology series, from 1952 to 1959. Among Boucher's critical writing was also contributing annual summaries of the state of speculative fiction for Judith Merril 's The Year's Best SF series; as editor, he published the volumes in E. P. Dutton 's The Best Detective Stories of
248-848: The New York Times Book Review , while also writing crime-fiction reviews for The New York Herald Tribune as Holmes (he also reviewed SF and fantasy (as H. H. Holmes) for the Herald Tribune ) and functioning as chief critic for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine . He edited True Crime Detective , supervised the Mercury Mystery Line and (later) the Dell Great Mystery Library; hosted Golden Voices , his series of historical opera recordings for Pacifica Radio , and served (in 1951) as president of Mystery Writers of America. As part of his reviews of mystery novels, he published
279-579: The Stratemeyer Syndicate after her father Edward Stratemeyer 's death in 1930. Edna ran the daily business operations, while Adams dealt with publishers and wrote; Edna became inactive when she married in 1942, and Adams took over the business. Adams is credited with keeping the Syndicate afloat through the Great Depression , and with revising the two most popular series, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, in
310-560: The Tom Swift/Linda Craig Mystery hour was aired in 1983, the only one of several proposed Tom Swift versions (including an elaborate "road show" movie) to actually appear before the public. The televised "Tom Swift" was unrelated to the character as depicted in any of the published series. Criticism similar to that of the Nancy Drew Mysteries was leveled by writers Anthony Boucher and J. Francis McComas , who found
341-407: The "boards" and wrapping around the spine, rather than as a removable dust jacket. The "blue spine" editions lasted about a year and then the entire run of Tom Swift Jr. books was reproduced in yellow spine versions and all later titles were released in this format. The Hardy Boys books (another series from the Stratemeyer Syndicate ) was also released in a blue spine version; this may have prompted
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#1732854553094372-537: The 1950s and 1960s, removing stereotypes and streamlining plots and characters. She ran the Syndicate for 52 years. The extremely popular Nancy Drew books were the brainchild of Adams's father, who created the characters of a sixteen-year-old sleuth, her lawyer father, and their housekeeper. Later, Nancy's age was increased to eighteen to give her more independence. Adams came up with plot ideas and hired ghostwriters to flesh them out. The best-known books were written primarily by Mildred Wirt Benson , all published under
403-817: The Year annual volumes published in 1963–1968, succeeding Brett Halliday and followed, after his death, by Allen J. Hubin in that task. Boucher's first short story saw print when he was fifteen years old in the January 1927 issue of Weird Tales . Titled "Ye Goode Olde Ghoste Storie," it was the only story to appear under his real name, William A. P. White. Boucher went on to write short stories for many pulp fiction magazines in America, including Adventure , Astounding , Black Mask , Ed McBain's Mystery Book , Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine , Galaxy Science Fiction , The Master Detective , Unknown Worlds and Weird Tales . His short story " The Quest for Saint Aquin "
434-454: The atomicar. The first invention of the series and the one making the most frequent appearances in subsequent stories, the Flying Lab (named Sky Queen ), was a giant VTOL research airplane the size of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet. The Tom Swift Jr. stories had stronger science-fiction elements than the earlier series, particularly in the later volumes. One subplot, beginning on the first page of
465-553: The change in color. A few of the early titles of the Tom Swift Jr. series were re-released in the 1970s in paperback with new illustrations. In 1972, four (#14, #15, #16, and #17) were released as trade paperbacks. #14 was retitled Tom Swift in the Jungle of the Mayas and #15 was renamed Tom Swift and the City of Gold . In 1977, six (#1–4, #6, and #8) were released as mass market paperbacks. One of
496-956: The family business only after her father's death. She resided in Maplewood, New Jersey , and in Pottersville, New Jersey , an area within Tewksbury Township . She lived in Pottersville at her estate, Bird Haven New Jersey and died of a heart attack while watching The Wizard of Oz for the first time. Adams was interred in the Stratemeyer crypt in Fairmount Cemetery in Newark. Anthony Boucher William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher ( / ˈ b aʊ tʃ ər / ),
527-478: The first installments of the series "a most misguided venture, well below juvenile TV or comic book average in crudity of prose, construction, character and ideas." Nonetheless, the series sold a respectable 6 million copies in its 17-year run, and spawned at least four subsequent Tom Swift series. Harriet Adams Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (December 12, 1892 – March 27, 1982) was an American juvenile book packager , children's novelist , and publisher who
558-418: The first volume and running the length of the series, is Tom's communication, via mathematical "space symbols", with beings from " Planet X ". This mystery is never completely resolved, despite the beings sending a sample of life forms from their planet in book #7 and an artificial "energy brain" to occupy a robot body built by Tom in book #17 (see illustration above). The stories offered science that
589-550: The ground in 1949 and saw it take hold solidly by 1950. This was a major creative challenge and although I was involved in a lot of other projects, I stayed with F&SF into 1958." Throughout his years with the magazine, Boucher was involved in many other projects. He wrote fiction for the SF and mystery markets (primarily short stories). He taught an informal writing class from his home in Berkeley. He continued his Sunday mystery columns for
620-443: The original series, the basic locale is the quaint town of Shopton, New York, on Lake Carlopa. Typical story elements include Tom's loyal and quip-prone friend Bud Barclay, his comic-relief cook "Chow" Winkler, a spy (typically from Soviet stand-ins Brungaria or Kranjovia), use of a wonder-material called Tomasite that did anything the story needed, the amazingly versatile force-ray repelatron, and atomic-powered everything, including
651-489: The previous Tom Swift series. Title #7, Tom Swift and His Diving Seacopter , has several references to the first series, including a visit with Mrs. Baggert, who was Tom Sr.'s housekeeper, and other volumes feature a rocket named after the old family retainer Eradicate "Rad" Sampson, a radiation-detector (the Damonscope) named after Tom Sr.'s friend Mr. Damon, and a planetoid named in honor of Tom Swift Sr.'s father Barton. As in
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#1732854553094682-540: The pseudonym Carolyn Keene . Adams outlined a few in the Hardy Boys series, which were published under the pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon . Although Adams claimed to write all the Nancy Drew books entirely by herself during her lifetime, it is well established that Wirt and 28 other authors did the actual writing, following Adams's ideas and embellishing on them. Adams touched up the completed manuscripts. Harriet Stratemeyer
713-497: The stories, #6 Tom Swift and His Outpost in Space was renamed Tom Swift and His Sky Wheel and repositioned as #5. There exist a number of foreign reprints of Tom Swift Jr. titles, including British, Japanese, Icelandic, and Dutch (#1-3, adapted by the Dutch author Willy van der Heide ). There is also a Tom Swift Jr. activity/coloring book and a rare Tom Swift Jr. board game. One episode of
744-462: The two Toms' office secretary and the lone female among recurring Swift Enterprises characters. The first 18 titles were released in a blue tweed cloth cover with a full color paper jacket. Volumes 1–18 were also published in a blue-spined picture cover edition with Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung (in its first printing only) the only title with the picture cover imprinted directly on
775-481: Was a mix of hard work and great fun.") With respect to his scripting of the Sherlock Holmes radio dramas, Nigel Bruce , who played Dr. Watson, said that Boucher "had a sound knowledge of Conan Doyle and a great affection for the two characters of Holmes and Watson." Boucher left dramatic radio in 1948, "mainly because I was putting in a lot of hours working with J. Francis McComas in creating what soon became The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction . We got it off
806-601: Was among the stories selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one of the best science fiction short stories of all time. As such, it was published in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929–1964 . Boucher was the friend and mentor of science-fiction writer Philip K. Dick and others. His 1942 novel Rocket to the Morgue , in addition to being a classic locked room mystery ,
837-568: Was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio dramas . Between 1942 and 1947, he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle . In addition to "Anthony Boucher", White also employed the pseudonym " H. H. Holmes ", which was the pseudonym of a late-19th-century American serial killer; Boucher would also write light verse and sign it "Herman W. Mudgett" (the murderer's real name). In
868-578: Was born in Newark, New Jersey , on December 12, 1892, the daughter of Edward Stratemeyer and Magdalena Van Camp. At a young age, Adams wanted to break free from being a "proper, young lady who should stay at home". She climbed trees, made friends with local boys, and loved books from an early age. Adams graduated from Wellesley College in 1914. Her father forbade her to work outside the estate, so she edited manuscripts at home. In 1915, she married Russell Vroom Adams, and raised four children, becoming involved in
899-537: Was more intriguing than accurate. Yet, the characters and titles are well-remembered and lovingly regarded, and a number of scientists, researchers, and engineers, including Apple's Steve Wozniak , profess to having been set on their courses by Tom Swift Jr. The series also offers a good many recurring characters of lesser rank, in contrast to the original series. Most are Swift Enterprises employees, such as Harlan Ames, Phil Radnor, Hank Sterling, Arvid Hanson, Slim Davis, George Dilling, Art Wiltessa, and Miss Trent —
930-660: Was one of the first English translators of Jorge Luis Borges , translating " The Garden of Forking Paths " for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine . He helped found the Mystery Writers of America in 1946 and, in the same year, was one of the first winners of the MWA's Edgar Award for his mystery reviews in the San Francisco Chronicle . He was a founding editor (with J. Francis McComas ) of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction from 1949 to 1958, and attempted to make literary quality an important aspect of science fiction. He won
961-513: Was responsible for some 200 books over her literary career. She wrote the plot outlines for many books in the Nancy Drew series, using characters invented by her father, Edward Stratemeyer . Adams also oversaw other ghostwriters who wrote for these and many other series as a part of the Stratemeyer Syndicate , and oversaw the rewriting of many of the novels to update them starting in the late 1950s. With her sister, Edna, Adams took over control of