Carolyn Keene, Laura Lee Hope, Franklin W. Dixon ... these names are synonymous with some of the best-loved books of any American child: the Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins, and Hardy Boys series. Yet these names are as much fiction as are the books on which their names appear, because those books - and hundreds more - are actually the brain child of one Edward Stratemeyer.

Born in 1862, this man was one of the most prolific children's writers in the United States, and he exploited the market to its fullest potential. After some publishing successes himself in the 1890s, he developed the Stratemeyer Syndicate - a type of production factory for series books. Stratemeyer would conceive ideas for series, draft an outline for each book, and hire writers to turn the outlines into full-length manuscripts, all published under pennames. The syndicate kept between 19 and 31 series in progress until Stratemeyer's death in 1930, when his daughters assumed control, publishing over 480 books. Not all the books were popular, but by experimenting with different types of series, using timely material, and reflecting prevailing social values, Edward Stratemeyer and the Syndicate offered readers vicarious wish fulfillment.

Deidre Johnson has examined both the life and work of this astute businessman-writer, getting to the bottom of his phenomenal achievement. In addition to defining the practices of the syndicate, identifying some of its authors, and examining the evolution of many of the series, Johnson provides a comprehensiveness and succinctness in analyzing the viability and respectability of the Stratemeyers' considerable accomplishments.