DON STURDY WITH THE BIG SNAKE HUNTERS By VICTOR APPLETON Grosset Dunlap HC 1925 [Hardcover] Victor Appleton

Don Sturdy #2

by Victor Appleton

This rare and vintage book is a perfect addition to any bibliophile's collection

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1925

About the author

Victor Appleton was a house pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate and its successors, most famous for being associated with the Tom Swift series of books.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_...

The character of Tom Swift was conceived in 1910 by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, a book-packaging company. Stratemeyer invented the series to capitalize on the market for children's science adventure. The Syndicate's authors created the Tom Swift books by first preparing an outline with all the plot elements, followed by drafting and editing the detailed manuscript. The books were published under the house name of Victor Appleton. Edward Stratemeyer and Howard Garis wrote most of the volumes in the original series; Stratemeyer's daughter, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, wrote the last three volumes. The first Tom Swift series ended in 1941.
In 1954, Harriet Adams created the Tom Swift, Jr., series, which was published under the name "Victor Appleton II". Most titles were outlined and plotted by Adams. The texts were written by various writers, among them William Dougherty, John Almquist, Richard Sklar, James Duncan Lawrence, Tom Mulvey and Richard McKenna. The Tom Swift, Jr., series ended in 1971.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Don Sturdy series continued with this second volume in 1925, picking up right after Desert of Mystery ended. Produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate and published by Grosset & Dunlap, the books were credited to Victor Appleton, a house name that was used on all of the better known Tom Swift books. All of the books save one were actually written by John Duffield. Don is still a presumed orphan at the start of this book, his family having been lost while sailing around Cape Horn, and he is being raised by one maternal and one paternal uncle. Captain Frank Sturdy is an explorer and adventurer, and Professor Amos Bruce is a famous scientist, and they frequently accompany one another on expeditions all over the globe. In the company of "Brick" Allison, who is Don's chum and comrade in arms throughout the series, they have learned from Allison's father, whom they rescued in the first book, that Don's parents may have survived after all, and they head for Brazil to start the search. The book is subject to the casual prejudices that one would expect from a book of the time, and there are occasional eyebrow-raising bits (Don is subject to exclaiming "That's bully!" for example), but the series was overall better written than many such from that era. The adventures were interesting, the plots exciting, and the characters not at all one-dimensional.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something about these books that I absolutely love. I really think my son would enjoy these books. I am hoping to collect the series.

[Josephine · Rating 2 out of 5]

An amusing example of the Stratemeyer Syndicate's work but hardly original. Or botanically (or herpetologically) correct.