Victor Appleton Books In Order

Publication Order of Don Sturdy Books

Publication Order of Tom Swift I Books

Publication Order of Tom Swift Jr. Books

Publication Order of Tom Swift III Books

Publication Order of Tom Swift IV Books

Publication Order of Tom Swift, Young Inventor Books

Publication Order of Tom Swift Invention Books

Publication Order of Tom Swift: Inventors' Academy Books

Victor Appleton is the house pen name that was used by the production house of Stratemeyer Syndicate as well as its successors. This name is most famously associated with the books of the Tom Swift series. Under the pseudonym, a number of Tom Swift books and its sequel have been written and published. The ghostwriters included for writing these books were Howard Garis, Debra Doyle, Robert Vardeman, James Lawrence, James Macdonald, Bert Foster, Gwynplaine MacIntyre, etc. One among these writers is the American author named Howard R. Garis. He was particularly popular for writing the Uncle Wiggly series. This series typically featured the gentleman rabbit that had long floppy ears and wore a hat and a top coat. Author Howard Garis also penned down a number of the Tom Swift stories under the pen name of Victor Appleton. Tom Swift’s character was first conceived under this pseudonym by Edward Stratemeyer in the year 1910. He was the founder of the production house called the Stratemeyer Syndicate. This book packing company started the children’s series in order to become the leader in the market of the science adventure for children. Subsequently, the Syndicate gathered a few popular authors of that time and asked them to develop the series. The company gave the guidelines to the authors to first prepare the outlines of all the plot elements and then draft and edit the manuscript in detail. It was also directed to the authors that they should not use their original names for writing the books. Rather, all of them were asked to write under the Victor Appleton’s house name. Most of the volumes of the original Tom Swift series were written by Howard Garis and Edward Stratemeyer. The last 3 volumes of the popular series were written by the daughter of Edward Stratemeyer named Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. With the contribution of the various authors working for the company, the initial Tom Swift series was completed in the year 1941. Due to the tremendous response that the series received from all over the world, the company decided to develop a sequel of the series.

Eventually, Harriet Stratemeyer started the creation of the Tom Swift Jr series in the year 1954. This series was released under the name of Victor Appleton II. Most of the novels from the sequel series were outlined as well as plotted by Harriet Stratemeyer herself. The texts were once again written by the various authors which included John Almquist, James Duncan Lawrence, William Dougherty, Richard McKenna, Richard Sklar, and Tom Mulvey. This series eventually ended in the year 1971. Following its success, the company created 3 more series featuring Tom Swift as the lead character. All the 5 Tom Swift book series were released under the pen name of Appleton. The name was also used to publish a few other famous novel series over the years, including the Don Sturdy series. Under Appleton’s pen name, Tom Swift has been described as the central character in all the 5 juvenile adventure and science fiction novel series of America of the same name. The books in all the five series emphasize invention, technology, and science. In all, the series is believed to have a total of over a hundred volumes, starting from the year 1910. The newest titles in the series were released as lately as 2007. The various novels lay emphasis on the numerous inventions that Tom Swift is depicted to make throughout the series. Generally, the novels describe the positive effects of science & technology. These inventions are depicted as wholly beneficial to the society and the role of Tom Swift as a dedicated inventor is shown as heroic and admirable. After being originally written in the English, the books have been translated into numerous foreign languages over the years. The Syndicate has successfully sold over 30 million printed copies of the adventure series across the globe. Due to the immense success of the 5 novel series, Tom Swift’s character was also adapted into a television series and a board game. A number of prominent personalities, including Isaac Asimov and Steve Wozniak, have cited the character as an inspiration.

The first novel series featuring Tom Swift is comprised of 40 titles, the first of which is titled as ‘Tom Swift and His Motorcycle’. It was originally released by the Grosset and Dunlap publishers. The novel is also known by the name Fun and Adventure on the Road. In the introductory part of this novel, Tom Swift is depicted as purchasing a motorcycle. Immediately after buying it, he gets busy in modifying it according to his own liking. In the eagerness to test the enhancements made in the motorcycle, Tom decides to transport the plans of the revolutionary turbine design of his father to Albany. But, he appears to be completely unaware of the intentions of the evil investors from the outside corporate world, who look to steal his invention for their own benefit. Eventually, he gets trapped in their evil plan and is forced to face the greatest peril of his life at a very young age. But, Tom decides to undo all the wrongs by retrieving the turbine prototype and blueprints of his invention. While doing so, he also intends to bring the thugs to justice and make them serve a considerable amount of time in prison for their crime.

The next book in the large volume series is titled as ‘Tom Swift and His Motor Boat’. This book is also called as The Rivals of Lake Carpola. The book was also published by the Grosset & Dunlap publishers. At the beginning of the story, the father of Tom Swift is described as a world famous scientist. He is shown to have been robbed of one of the greatest inventions of his life. Once again, it is up to Tom Swift to retrieve his father’s important invention and make the criminals before justice, without getting himself killed or injured in the process. But, more unfortunate events take place in Tom’s life that make him the target of the deadly anger of the rogues. He goes on to purchase a motor boat in which the rogues had hidden their costly stolen diamond. But, Tom is not aware of this fact. Therefore, he gets targeted by the rogues so as to give away the boat. They even try to kill him. But, he does not seem to lose hope and with the use of all his wit and intelligence, he outplays the hardened gang of felons and remains ahead of them all the time.

One Response to “Victor Appleton”

1. Doug Pruner: 2 years ago

   A nice site. As a Hardy Boys fan from childhood I was shocked to learn as an adult of the Stratemeyer Syndicate and its ghosts. I survived that.

   I hadn’t known of Howard Garis as a Stratemeyer author. He figures peripherally in one of American lit’s great stories. . Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut was the title of a salinger short story which was also the first (I believe) that he sold to Hollywood. Also the last, after he saw what they did with it. (I saw the film; Salinger was right.)

   I have your page for future use.

   Reply