Accidental symbolism

[SDLagent]

Everyone knows Laura Hardy is the mother of the Hardy boys. Except, it would seem, John Button. In The Mystery of the Flying Express, book ghostwritten by him, Laura is, for some unknown reason, called Mildred! In the next book of the series, The Clue of the Broken Blade, as if to make-up for his earlier gaffe, Mildred is revealed to be Laura's middle name. Laura Mildred.

And after a strange error and a quick fix, the mother - the "co-creator" - of the Hardy boys has the initials "L.M." The same initials as another co-creator of The Hardy Boys, the first ghostwriter Leslie McFarlane. If Edward Stratemeyer was the "father" of The Hardy Boys then Leslie McFarlane was certainly the "mother".

[MacGyver]

Interesting connection. Intended or not, it does make a neat little tribute to Leslie McFarlane.

[SDLagent]

I noticed it last year and thought it was pretty cool. And a little weird. What are the chances, eh?

[tomswift2002]

Well you also have to remember that in the 1941 version of Mystery of the Flying Express, Dr. Button also called Police Chief Ezra Collig, Police Chief Finch.  What a lynch!.   

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

Well you also have to remember that in the 1941 version of Mystery of the Flying Express, Dr. Button also called Police Chief Ezra Collig, Police Chief Finch.  What a lynch!.   

Who was that?

[SDLagent]

And Chief Collig was called Clint Collig at least once.

Who was that?

What?

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

Well you also have to remember that in the 1941 version of Mystery of the Flying Express, Dr. Button also called Police Chief Ezra Collig, Police Chief Finch. What a lynch!.   

And Chief Collig was called Clint Collig at least once.

What?

*Sighs* What was tomswift2002 talking about?

[MacGyver]

Just what he said. In the 1941 version (i.e. original text version) of Mystery of the Flying Express, a character named Dr. Button mistakenly called Police Chief Ezra Collig by the name of Police Chief Finch.
(Although I'm sure it wasn't presented as a mistake within the text on the part of Dr. Button- it was probably just a random typo on the part of the typesetter or the ghostwriter.) And honestly- I can understand how such mistakes can happen- you get your mind thinking on one thing while still typing something else and sometimes you wind up putting something else different from what you meant to say.

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

Just what he said. In the 1941 version (i.e. original text version) of Mystery of the Flying Express, a character named Dr. Button mistakenly called Police Chief Ezra Collig by the name of Police Chief Finch.
(Although I'm sure it wasn't presented as a mistake within the text on the part of Dr. Button- it was probably just a random typo on the part of the typesetter or the ghostwriter.) And honestly- I can understand how such mistakes can happen- you get your mind thinking on one thing while still typing something else and sometimes you wind up putting something else different from what you meant to say.

Okay. Now I get it.

[MacGyver]

Good.

[Olivia]

If Edward Stratemeyer was the "father" of The Hardy Boys then Leslie McFarlane was certainly the "mother".

Very interesting and concise way of putting it.

[SDLagent]

Just what he said. In the 1941 version (i.e. original text version) of Mystery of the Flying Express, a character named Dr. Button mistakenly called Police Chief Ezra Collig by the name of Police Chief Finch.
(Although I'm sure it wasn't presented as a mistake within the text on the part of Dr. Button- it was probably just a random typo on the part of the typesetter or the ghostwriter.) And honestly- I can understand how such mistakes can happen- you get your mind thinking on one thing while still typing something else and sometimes you wind up putting something else different from what you meant to say.

Dr. Button wasn't a character. He was the ghostwriter. And I'm guessing it was his mistake considering he also called Laura "Mildred" and had Fenton with a full beard among other strange departures from continuity.

Very interesting and concise way of putting it.

I don't think I ever thought of it that way until I found out Laura and McFarlane shared initials. But it works. If it wasn't for Stratemeyer the boys wouldn't have come into existent but if it wasn't for McFarlane they wouldn't be the same boys. He really shaped the characters much like a mother shapes the lives and characters of her young children.

[MacGyver]

Dr. Button wasn't a character. He was the ghostwriter. And I'm guessing it was his mistake considering he also called Laura "Mildred" and had Fenton with a full beard among other strange departures from continuity.

Oh, okay- thanks for the correction.

[hardygirl847]

Very interesting! I find it kind of silly that an editor would allow such a typo but this was many decades ago and I'm sure their processes for that were much different.

Either way, that is still a cool little tidbit.

[tomswift2002]

Very interesting! I find it kind of silly that an editor would allow such a typo but this was many decades ago and I'm sure their processes for that were much different.

Well, if you ever get a chance to read the 1937 version of The Secret Warning, you'll see just how much editing the editors at the Syndicate had to do inorder to get Dr. Button's manuscript upto an acceptable level, but also needing to "marry" it into an already exisiting script from another, more professional author (possible Leslie McFarlane).

But then at the same time, it would appear that the editor or editors who worked on Dr. Button's script of The Disappearing Floor (1940) just didn't care.