Leslie McFarlane
Encyclopedia
Leslie McFarlane was a Canadian journalist
, novelist, screenwriter
and filmmaker. McFarlane is most famous for ghostwriting many of the early books in the very successful Hardy Boys series using the pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon
.
in 1936.
This period is described in his 1975 book A Kid in Haileybury.
.
, publisher of such titles as Nancy Drew, Tom Swift and the Bobbsey Twins. As a result, he freelanced in 1926 and 1927 as one of the authors using the pseudonym Roy Rockwood
to write seven of the Dave Fearless serialized mystery novels.
This led to his involvement with the Hardy Boys, a project on which he was a large contributor, writing 19 of the first 25 books between 1927 and 1946, and 21 overall. He also wrote books in several other juvenile series, published in pulp magazines, novellas or novels over his fifty year career, at one point writing six novels in one year. McFarlane earned as little as $85 per book during the Great Depression
, yet he continued because he had a growing family.
According to his son, McFarlane regarded the Hardy Boys books as a nuisance. "In his diaries, my father talks about having to write another of those nuisent books, in order to earn another $85 to buy coal for the furnace. And he never read them over afterward. It was only much later that he accepted plaudits for the work."
His daughter, Norah McFarlane Perez, said in an interview that "They'd give him an outline, but to make it palatable, he'd come up with different characters and add colour and use large words, and inject his wonderful sense of humour. And then he'd finish and say, 'I will never write another juvenile book.' But then the bills would pile up and he'd start another."
However, McFarlane was not bitter about not earning a cut of the enormous revenues generated by his work. "He was very philosophical about it. His attitude was, 'Look, I took these on and I was glad to get the deal.' There was no rancour," according to his daughter.
McFarlane also wrote the first four volumes of The Dana Girls series for the Stratemeyer Syndicate under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene
, which he used for the Nancy Drew
series of books. Although there are claims that his last Hardy Boys book, The Phantom Freighter, was actually written by his wife Amy, his biographer Marilyn Greenwald concluded that this was unlikely.
In his 1976 autobiography Ghost of the Hardy Boys, McFarlane says that The Phantom Freighter "was written in 1946 in motel rooms at night on a location in Nova Scotia when I was directing a film".
(NFB). As part of the NFB in Montreal
, he wrote and directed documentaries and short dramas including the 1951 documentary Royal Journey
, Here's Hockey, a 1953 documentary about ice hockey
featuring Montreal Canadiens
star Jean Beliveau
. He also wrote the documentary titled Herring Hunt, nominated for an Academy Award for Live Action Short Film. Moving to Toronto he wrote for CBC
television and at the suggestion of his friend Lorne Greene
.
, is well known as a former commentator on Hockey Night in Canada
.
He was the subject of the 2004 book The Secret of the Hardy Boys: Leslie McFarlane and the Stratemeyer Syndicate by Marilyn Greenwald.
In 2006, McMaster University
in Hamilton, Ontario, acquired Leslie McFarlane's diaries, correspondence, and early material, along with first editions of The Secret of the Caves and The Tower Treasure. The University plans to acquire early first editions of all of McFarlane's books. The archive donated to McMaster is estimated to have a value of $150,000.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, novelist, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and filmmaker. McFarlane is most famous for ghostwriting many of the early books in the very successful Hardy Boys series using the pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon
Franklin W. Dixon
Franklin W. Dixon is the pen name used by a variety of different authors who wrote The Hardy Boys novels for the Stratemeyer Syndicate...
.
Early life
The son of a school principal, McFarlane was raised in the town of Haileybury, Ontario. He became a freelance writer shortly after high school. He and his family moved to Whitby, OntarioWhitby, Ontario
Whitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region...
in 1936.
This period is described in his 1975 book A Kid in Haileybury.
Journalist
As a young man he worked in Sudbury, Ontario, as a newspaper reporter, then for a weekly paper in Toronto, before taking a job at the Springfield Republican newspaper in Springfield, MassachusettsSpringfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
.
Stratemeyer Syndicate and the Hardy Boys
While in the U.S., he replied to a want ad placed by the Stratemeyer SyndicateStratemeyer Syndicate
The Stratemeyer Syndicate was the producer of a number of mystery series for children, including Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, the various Tom Swift series, the Bobbsey Twins, the Rover Boys, and others.- History :...
, publisher of such titles as Nancy Drew, Tom Swift and the Bobbsey Twins. As a result, he freelanced in 1926 and 1927 as one of the authors using the pseudonym Roy Rockwood
Roy Rockwood
Roy Rockwood was a house pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate for boy's adventure books. The name is most well-remembered for the Bomba the Jungle Boy and Great Marvel series.- Series :...
to write seven of the Dave Fearless serialized mystery novels.
This led to his involvement with the Hardy Boys, a project on which he was a large contributor, writing 19 of the first 25 books between 1927 and 1946, and 21 overall. He also wrote books in several other juvenile series, published in pulp magazines, novellas or novels over his fifty year career, at one point writing six novels in one year. McFarlane earned as little as $85 per book during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, yet he continued because he had a growing family.
According to his son, McFarlane regarded the Hardy Boys books as a nuisance. "In his diaries, my father talks about having to write another of those nuisent books, in order to earn another $85 to buy coal for the furnace. And he never read them over afterward. It was only much later that he accepted plaudits for the work."
His daughter, Norah McFarlane Perez, said in an interview that "They'd give him an outline, but to make it palatable, he'd come up with different characters and add colour and use large words, and inject his wonderful sense of humour. And then he'd finish and say, 'I will never write another juvenile book.' But then the bills would pile up and he'd start another."
However, McFarlane was not bitter about not earning a cut of the enormous revenues generated by his work. "He was very philosophical about it. His attitude was, 'Look, I took these on and I was glad to get the deal.' There was no rancour," according to his daughter.
McFarlane also wrote the first four volumes of The Dana Girls series for the Stratemeyer Syndicate under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene
Carolyn Keene
Carolyn Keene is the pseudonym of the authors of the Nancy Drew mystery stories and The Dana Girls mystery stories, both produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate...
, which he used for the Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew is a fictional young amateur detective in various mystery series for all ages. She was created by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate book packaging firm. The character first appeared in 1930. The books have been ghostwritten by a number of authors and are published...
series of books. Although there are claims that his last Hardy Boys book, The Phantom Freighter, was actually written by his wife Amy, his biographer Marilyn Greenwald concluded that this was unlikely.
In his 1976 autobiography Ghost of the Hardy Boys, McFarlane says that The Phantom Freighter "was written in 1946 in motel rooms at night on a location in Nova Scotia when I was directing a film".
Film and television work
While still writing for the series for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, McFarlane returned to Canada to work for the National Film Board of CanadaNational Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
(NFB). As part of the NFB in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, he wrote and directed documentaries and short dramas including the 1951 documentary Royal Journey
Royal Journey
Royal Journey is a National Film Board of Canada documentary film chronicling a five-week Royal visit by then-Princess Elizabeth and the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh to Canada and the United States in the fall of 1951...
, Here's Hockey, a 1953 documentary about ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
featuring Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
star Jean Beliveau
Jean Béliveau
Jean Arthur "Le Gros Bill" Béliveau, is a former professional ice hockey player who played parts of 20 seasons with the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens. As a player, he won the Stanley Cup 10 times, and as an executive he was part of another seven championship teams, the most Stanley...
. He also wrote the documentary titled Herring Hunt, nominated for an Academy Award for Live Action Short Film. Moving to Toronto he wrote for CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
television and at the suggestion of his friend Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene , was the stage name of Lyon Himan Green, OC, a Canadian actor.His television roles include Ben Cartwright on the western Bonanza, and Commander Adama in the science fiction movie and subsequent TV Series Battlestar Galactica...
.
Legacy
The Leslie McFarlane Public School in Whitby, Ontario is named in his honor. His son, Brian McFarlaneBrian McFarlane
Brian McFarlane is a Canadian television sportscaster and author. He is also the Honorary President of the Society for International Hockey Research. He is the son of the prolific writer Leslie McFarlane who wrote many of the early Hardy Boys books.-Early life and career:Brian McFarlane attended St...
, is well known as a former commentator on Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
.
He was the subject of the 2004 book The Secret of the Hardy Boys: Leslie McFarlane and the Stratemeyer Syndicate by Marilyn Greenwald.
In 2006, McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
in Hamilton, Ontario, acquired Leslie McFarlane's diaries, correspondence, and early material, along with first editions of The Secret of the Caves and The Tower Treasure. The University plans to acquire early first editions of all of McFarlane's books. The archive donated to McMaster is estimated to have a value of $150,000.