Judy Bolton Series

Cover of Judy Bolton book, illustrated by Pelagie Doane

The Judy Bolton detective series, created by Margaret Sutton, follows a realistic young woman who solves mysteries. Although the series was not quite as popular as Nancy Drew, Judy Bolton has been called a more complex and believable role model for girls. Judy was also unique in that halfway through the series, she married (something series book heroines rarely, if ever, did).

Characters

The mainstays of the series were Judy Bolton, auburn-haired girl detective; her brother, news reporter Horace Bolton; her parents, Doctor and Mrs. Bolton; her loyal black cat, Blackberry. She was torn for most of the early volumes between suitors, the wealthy Arthur Farringdon-Pett and the upstanding lawyer Peter Dobbs before finally choosing Peter in volume 10. Her best friend was Peter's sister, Grace Dobbs, also known as Honey; her rival for Arthur's affections was Lorraine Lee; she was friends with Arthur's sister, Lois Farringdon-Pett, and one of her archenemies in High School was the snobbish Kay Vincent. She also befriended a mill worker, Irene Lang, who later became Irene Meredith.

Critical assessment

Judy Bolton has been called a better feminist role model than Nancy Drew because "Nancy Drew is more likely to uphold the ideological status quo, while Judy Bolton is more likely to restore moral rather than legal order, because her mysteries tend to emphasize human relationships over material possessions." Unlike Nancy Drew, Judy Bolton often enlists the aid of family members and friends in solving mysteries; she "works in a collaborative way that subverts dominant values."

Judy is emotional and self-doubting; for this reason she has been called a "more believable" role model.

Judy is often defined in relation to men: as Dr. Bolton's daughter or later, as Peter Dobbs' wife.

Publication history

There were 38 titles in the original Judy Bolton series, all copyrighted between 1932 and 1967. The final 12, particularly the last one, had limited printings and as a result are hard to find. Collectors often find themselves paying upwards of $200 for a volume in good condition. The series ended before the 39th book, The Strange Likeness, could be published. According to author Margaret Sutton, the series was killed due not to poor sales, but to pressure from the Stratemeyer Syndicate. The Stratemeyer Syndicate wished to lessen competition for the Nancy Drew series. Pelagie Doane illustrated many of the early books in the Judy Bolton.

In 1997, three decades after the last Judy Bolton title was issued by Grosset & Dunlap, author Linda Joy Singleton completed a book that series creator Margaret Sutton had begun writing several years before. Once the first draft was finished, Singleton submitted it to Sutton for revisions, and the book that emerged from their collaboration carries the name of both co-authors. Chronologically, The Talking Snowman takes place during the Christmas season between the events described in volume 3 and volume 4, and thus is known to collectors as "volume 3.5".

Another title, The Whispering Belltower, was written by Kate Emburg with the encouragement of Margaret Sutton.

Titles

1. The Vanishing Shadow (1932)
2. The Haunted Attic (1932)
3. The Invisible Chimes (1932)
4. Seven Strange Clues (1932)
5. The Ghost Parade (1933)
6. The Yellow Phantom (1933)
7. The Mystic Ball (1934)
8. The Voice in the Suitcase (1935)
9. The Mysterious Half Cat (1936)
10. The Riddle of the Double Ring (1937)
11. The Unfinished House (1938)
12. The Midnight Visitor (1939)
13. The Name on the Bracelet (1940)
14. The Clue in the Patchwork Quilt (1941)
15. The Mark on the Mirror (1942)
16. The Secret of the Barred Window (1943)
17. The Rainbow Riddle (1946)
18. The Living Portrait (1947)
19. The Secret of the Musical Tree (1948)
20. The Warning on the Window (1949)

21. The Clue of the Stone Lantern (1950)
22. The Secret of Fog Island (1951)
23. The Black Cat's Clue (1952)
24. The Forbidden Chest (1953)
25. The Haunted Road (1954)
26. The Clue in the Ruined Castle (1955)
27. The Trail of the Green Doll (1956)
28. The Haunted Fountain (1957)
29. The Clue of the Broken Wing (1958)
30. The Phantom Friend (1959)
31. The Discovery at the Dragon's Mouth (1960)
32. The Whispered Watchword (1961)
33. The Secret Quest (1962)
34. The Puzzle in the Pond (1963)
35. The Hidden Clue (1964)
36. The Pledge of the Twin Knights (1965)
37. The Search for the Glowing Hand (1966)
38. The Secret at the Sand Castle (1967)
39. The Strange Likeness (unpublished)

References

• Carpan, Carolyn. Sisters, Schoolgirls, and Sleuths: Girls' Series Books in America. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2009.
• Ghent, Janet. "The Mysterious Demise of Judy Bolton." (Oakland, CA) Tribune. 25 May 1987. Page C1. Accessed through Access World News on 10 April 2009.
• Macleod, Anne Scott. American Childhood: Essays on Children's Literature of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1995. ISBN 0820318035.
• Mason, Bobbie Ann. The Girl Sleuth. Revised edition. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1995. ISBN 082031739X.
• Moske, Jim. Stratemeyer Syndicate records, 1832-1984. The New York Public Library, 2000. Accessed 6 April 2009.
• Nash, Ilana. American Sweethearts: Teenage girls in twentieth-century popular culture. Indiana University Press, 2006. ISBN 0253218020.
• Parry, Sally. "The Secret of the Feminist Heroine: The Search for Values in Nancy Drew and Judy Bolton." In Nancy Drew and Company: Culture, Gender, and Girls’ Series. Edited by Sherrie A. Inness. Popular Press 1, 1997. ISBN 0879727365.
• White, Diane (20 May 1996). "Clueless on Nancy Drew". The Boston Globe. 

External links

• Judy Bolton home page