Laura Lee Hope made a series of children’s books featuring Bobbsey Twins as the protagonists, written between 1904 and 1992 for publication through Stratemeyer Syndicate. This long-running series consisted of multiple authors’ writing.
Nan and Flossie had just graduated kindergarten class but would soon advance to primary school, where Bert would join them.
Characters
The Bobbsey Twins series of children’s books began in 1904. Nan and Bert, along with their younger siblings Freddie and Flossie, spend their summers exploring the seashore, meeting relatives from other towns, and getting involved with family-friendly mysteries. Always ready to lend a helping hand when someone needs assistance, Nan and Bert often find themselves involved in some surprising or unusual circumstances that involve themselves as much.
The characters in The Bobbsey Twins books are highly engaging to young readers, depicted as honest do-gooders living an idyllic world of ideal parents and plenty of creature comforts. Academics attribute the popularity of this series of books to Sigmund Freud’s theory of “family romance,” in which children create imaginary substitute families that provide more loving parental figures for themselves.
As the twins age, their books become more sophisticated, including references to actual events around them. For example, The Bobbsey Twins: or Merry Days Indoors and Out (1904) mentioned visiting Colonial Williamsburg; subsequent books included The Bobbsey Twins and the Great City (1917) and The Bobbsey Twins and Baby May (1924), in which automobiles replace buggies while Mrs. Bobbsey begins working part-time jobs.
Though times have changed over time, these stories never feel outdated or outmoded; instead, they reflect an increasing focus on social reform and children’s welfare – two issues that have also increased. Furthermore, this series remains one of the longest-running in print.
Minstrel Books, an imprint of Pocket Books, published The New Bobbsey Twins as paperback originals between 1987 and 1988 under this moniker. Although this numbered series found some success among readers, its initial set of seventy-two volumes did not.
Season 2 of Nancy Drew features twin characters as the driving force of its plotline; one offers her a clue to help break a curse while adding some street smarts and relationship potential with Gil. It will be exciting to witness their dynamic evolve during Season 2.
Plots
The Bobbsey twins are fraternal twins who live with their parents in a wealthy upper-middle-class family. They enjoy many adventures and solving mysteries together while spending a lot of time with one another and their neighbors, usually ending their adventures without anyone becoming hurt in the process. Their experiences tend to be safe and harmless, and they usually manage to solve them before anyone gets hurt!
Like other Stratemeyer Syndicate series, the Bobbsey Twins books by Stratemeyer Syndicate were targeted towards young children; dust jackets of these books typically indicated they were meant for ages 5 to 8. However, these titles failed to have the same nostalgic allure as Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys, likely due to differences in reading levels and interests among audiences of their target ages.
Bobbsey Twins books offered an escape from more severe and complex children’s mystery series published during this era, such as Sherlock Holmes or Little League Detective Stories. It followed two twin boys aged twelve years, Flossie and Freddie, who were six, living together in a large house with an expansive backyard filled with games and toys – often breaking windows with snowballs or getting involved with minor misadventures along the way – but ultimately this tale focused on an idyllic American family living the American dream.
The Bobbsey Twins series began publication under Laura Lee Hope in 1904 and quickly became one of Edward Stratemeyer’s longest-running syndicated novel series until overtaken later by the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series. While each book later in this series was written by multiple authors, its initial 72 novels were all written by Edward himself.
The CW’s Nancy Drew series recently brought their twin characters up-to-date for more modern times. Aadila Dosani and Praneet Akilla star as Amanda and Gil Bobbsey, respectively; these newcomers add street smarts to Nancy Drew’s group and may help break any curse on Nancy that she may be under. Their inclusion also speaks volumes about changing times, as twin characters are increasingly sought-after character types.
Authors
The Bobbsey Twins were featured as main protagonists in one of Stratemeyer Syndicate’s longest-running children’s novel series: 72 books were published between 1904 and 1979 — beginning with Nan and Bert at 12 years old and continuing through to Flossie and Freddie’s adventures at six.
Original editions of the Twins books by Stratemeyer Syndicate followed an orderly chronology, showing their characters growing over time. For instance, in book one (“The Bobbsey Twins: Merry Days Indoors and Out”), Nan and Bert are eight years old, while Flossie and Freddie are four. Book two (‘The Bobbsey Twins in the Country”) saw Nan and Bert at nearly nine, with both having almost five. Book three, “The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore,” explored their summer adventures; it served as an indirect successor novel that connected various stories and plotlines between books one and three – perfect!
As the Bobbsey Twins aged, their books gradually evolved from being predominantly accounts of home life and travel adventures to featuring more mysteries. Later editions also made more frequent references to real places than earlier ones, such as Colonial Williamsburg being featured prominently in one of these later publications: for instance, ‘The Bobbsey Twins at Pilgrim Rock’ in 1971.
As various ghost writers wrote the Bobbsey Twins books under contract with Stratemeyer Syndicate, their authorship remains uncertain; however, Edward Stratemeyer may have written their initial adventure himself.
The Bobbsey Twins have long been an enjoyable part of childhood for both boys and girls alike. Their tales are harmless and humorously written, never too scary or dangerous; most adventures end in laughter or with an embrace from Mr. and Mrs. Bobbsey, who fulfill traditional gender roles.
Publishers
The Bobbsey Twins were first introduced as central characters of Stratemeyer Syndicate’s long-running children’s book series in 1904. As fraternal siblings, their adventures are similar to those of fellow teenage detectives like the Hardy Boys, often sharing mystery-solving missions and occasionally crossing over into television programs as well.
Grosset and Dunlap was the original publisher of this series until 1979 when they sold off the rights to another publishing house. Grosset and Dunlap published 72 books until 1979 when their rights were sold off; at least two attempts were made afterward, but neither managed to regain the same level of success as did its initial run.
At the time of their sale, The Twins had become an indispensable part of American culture for children reading. So popular were these original series that they were eventually translated into many languages and distributed around the globe – still enjoyed today by both children and adults alike!
Early editions of the Bobbsey Twins series followed a precise chronology, and as time passed, characters became older; for instance in The Bobbsey Twins at School, Nan and Bert were nearly nine years old, while Freddie and Flossie were nearly five. But as editors from Stratemeyer Syndicate realized their young heroes might outgrow readers’ ability to relate, subsequent books in this series took place with less chronological progression – instead staying within an established timeline.
The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore provides an exemplary case of this. While searching for driftwood and clams on Ocean Cliff beach, two twin brothers discover an anonymous bottle containing clues that may hold the key to solving a murder case. As dangerous as their mission might be, the twins remain dedicated to solving it as quickly as possible.
As with the other books in the Bobbsey Twins series, this high-quality hardcover book boasts a green cloth cover with orange endpapers and is printed on good paper stock; the frontispiece and three internal pages have glossy surfaces; overall condition are very good with only minor wear to spine ends and slight bumping at the rear corner of cover.
