Table of Contents' Contents: An Analysis of Hardy Boys #11, Red and Blue spine editions

by Kenneth Maage

The fact that Franklin W. Dixon rewrote his works from the 1920s, updating them for 1962 can be categorically confirmed, while some in the Hardy Boys Literary Society and other Hardy Boys scholars believe the rewrite to be performed by a third party. Many attribute both works to the hand of Franklin W. Dixon. This second view is the one taken by this author for the purpose of comparison in this essay. To examine the main differences between Dixon’s 1932 version and his 1962 work, one needs look no further than the first few pages, to the table of contents.

The first thing one notices is the confident spacing Dixon uses between lines, as if he knows that his readers, in their leisure of the late 1920s and early 30s, have time to peruse the offerings. Readers in this time have defeated the aggressors of World war I and have yet to experience the rest of the Great Depression and World War II. Dixon is saying in the spacing of the table of contents--”take time to peruse
the contents of this book.” In his 1962 version Dixon has compressed the lined spacing. In the anxiety of the cold war, Dixon has chosen a line spacing for the table of contents that reflects both the decrease in leisure time as well as a desire to conserve natural resources.

The second thing one observes is that in both versions Dixon has chosen Roman numerals to represent the chapter numbers. While this might be viewed as a unifying aspect, one can see that Dixon is saying two different things, in a more detailed analysis. In 1932 he is saying “Remember the fall of Rome because of their drunkenness and debauchery.” In this he’s encouraging the moral thrust of prohibition. In 1962, he’s reminding readers of how Rome spread its culture and democratic principals to the ends of the then known world. In this he’s encouraging readers to stand firm in the global struggle against communism.

The third thing we notice is the 1932 table of contents is split into two pages, while in 1962 it’s contained on one page. In this, Dixon is reminding the 1932 readers that the world reamins undiscovered. We must continue to explore by “turning the page,” as it were. In 1962 Franklin W. Dixon is reminding readers that the next great step in exploration is to leave the confines of the page entirely and travel to
the moon. As the Russians have shown, they had the lead in space exploration.

In conclusion, we see the masterful hand of a brilliant artist when we examine any part of the Hardy Boys books, even the table of contents.