Collectible Juvenile Fiction: Judy Bolton Series

By: Bev at A Turned Page

Margaret Sutton's girl detective Judy Bolton was a little more realistic and possibly a better role model for young girls than the better known Nancy Drew. Judy actually gets married about half way in the series. Something that is very uncommon for a heroine in a juvenile series.

Main characters in the series were Judy Bolton, girl detective; her brother, Horace Bolton; her parents, Doctor and Mrs. Bolton; her cat, Blackberry. She was undecided for most of the early volumes between affections of two young men, Arthur Farringdon-Pett and the Peter Dobbs before finally choosing Peter in volume 10. Her best friend was Peter's sister, Grace Dobbs, also known as Honey; her competitor for Arthur's devotion was Lorraine Lee; she was friends with Arthur's sister, Lois Farringdon-Pett, and nemesis in High School was the snobby Kay Vincent. She also was friends with a mill worker, Irene Lang, who later became Irene Meredith.

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. Each story was based on an actual event from the author Margaret Sutton's life.

In 1997, three decades after the last Judy Bolton title was printed by Grosset and Dunlap, author Linda Joy Singleton worked on a book that series creator Margaret Sutton had started several years before. Once the first draft was finished, Miss Singleton submitted it to Mrs. Sutton for revisions, and the book that materialized from their efforts 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".

If you have some interest in a collection of this series, you might find the following list helpful in your search:

1. The Vanishing Shadow
2. The Haunted Attic
3. The Invisible Chimes
4. Seven Strange Clues
5. The Ghost Parade
6. The Yellow Phantom
7. The Mystic Ball
8. The Voice in the Suitcase
9. The Mysterious Half Cat
10. The Riddle of the Double Ring
11. The Unfinished House
12. The Midnight Visitor
13. The Name on the Bracelet
14. The clue in the Patchwork Quilt
15. The Mark on the Mirror
16. The Secret of the Barred Window
17. The Rainbow Riddle
18. The Living Portrait
19. The Secret of the Musical Tree
20. The Warning on the Window
21. The Clue of the Stone Lantern
22. The Secret of Fog Island
23. The Black Cat's Clue
24. The Forbidden Chest
25. The Haunted Road
26. The Clue in the Ruined Castle
27. The Trail of the Green Doll
28. The Haunted Fountain
29. The Clue of the Broken Wing
30. The Phantom Friend
31. The Discovery at the Dragon's Mouth
32. The Whispered Watchword
33. The Secret Quest
34. The Puzzle in the Pond
35. The Hidden Clue
36. The Pledge of the Twin Knights
37. The Search for the Glowing Hand
38. The Secret at the Sand Castle

Article Source: https://www.collectibles-articles.com

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