The House on the Point: A Tribute to Franklin W. Dixon and the Hardy Boys

For those who read the Hardy Boys in their youth-particularly the editions prior to the 1970s rewritings, and the originals composed in the 1930s-1950s--the sense has always endured that there was something solid and memorable there that is the cause of our enduring memories. Benjamin Hoff validates this hunch in expanding the original 1927 The House on the Cliff to a longer form, casting it as a full-scale genre mystery novel. Hoff demonstrates that in the underlying situations and characters there was indeed an interaction among vital individuals on the page that made the books so worthy. In expanding, but retaining fealty too, the original outline by Edward Stratemeyer, Hoff proves that these stories were more than "juvenile" literature; they were a stepping stone for young readers to such detective classics as A. Conan Doyle and Dorothy Sayers. Only in slightly updating the setting, from the pre-Depression to the immediate post-WWII, might one quibble with Hoff; but the significant fact is that he has retained the essential period nature of the stories, rather than a futile attempt to make them current or, gawd-help-us, hip-as perpetrated by the rewrites since the 1970s. The original premise and characterizations, filled with "chums" and "roadsters," did have a certain mythic quality, and for any devotee of the originals, Hoff's book will allow one to both relive, yet experience for the first time, part of what made them great.

A rewrite of a classic Hardy Boys mystery novel, carefully researched and beautifully written by a devoted fan. Hoff gives personality and flair to the boys - who all too often suffered from factory-style writing. This was a pleasant read; part trip down memory lane, part new adventure.

Hoff set out to rewrite a classic Hardy Boys tale (#2 in the series), fleshing out the plot and making the characters more real. He scaled down the plot of the original House on the Cliff to the bare bones and built up from there. He succeeded. These are the Hardys as you've never seen them - real. These Hardys are not perfect (even Frank!). Joe jokes and teases more, Chet is known by the Bayport police as a prankster, Tony Prito has a NY accent and works in his father's produce business and Callie Shaw and Iola Morton actually help solve the case!The biggest difference in this version of House on the Cliff is that the Hardys use step-by-step logic and 1940s methods to figure things out and solve problems along the way, just as their father would have taught them. When they dust for prints and pick locks, the reader is right there with them. No sleight of hand glossing over these things, the Hardys' methods are spelled out for the reader.Callie & Iola are real girls. Iola makes Joe very nervous until she cries, thus making her human in his eyes. She's a smart-aleck. The boys talk over their plans with each other and the girls. The girls volunteer to talk to the house's owner under the guise of working on a project for school. While they're in the house, they figure out where the secret passageways are (because the windows aren't placed correctly inside the house), sketch various things (including a tire track that amazes Frank later in the story) and find an important clue that wasn't in the original book.The story is infused with 1940s slang and music. The boys like cars and talk about them - Chet's coupe scrapes bottom going over the rutted roads, because he fixed it up as a low rider (lead sled) "to impress girls". Chet and Tony even talk about asking girls out on dates. The biggest change comes at the end of the book, but I won't ruin it for you. :-)The book includes the re-written version of The House on the Cliff (renamed The House on the Point), an epilogue describing all the changes the author made to the original story, and an essay on the differences in American culture since 1947, the year in which the book was set.Great attention to detail. Highly recommended!

Their father is a private detective and it's no secret in the northeastern city of Bayport that his sons Frank and Joe want to follow in his footsteps. In 1947, they and their friends take a motorcycle ride ending up at the abandoned Polucca house. They take shelter inside and notice some footprint in the dust and fingerprints on the staircase. They run out screaming when they hear strange noises from upstairs.Their father is working on a smuggling case and the Hardy Boys think the Polucca house is the smugglers' base of operations. The boys snoop and find a cave near the house only accessible by boat. When Alex Polucca moves in, Frank and Joe sneak into the garage and find a secret door that leads them down in to a catacomb, which eventually takes them to the cave. Before they can report their findings to the police, their father disappears, his hat in Alex's car. The boys think their father is being held by the smugglers in the catacombs but are afraid if the police search the place, he will be killed. They need a plan.Benjamin Hoff, author of THE TAO OF POOL, has had a love affair with the Hardy Boys books since he was a youngster. He has rewritten the classic THE HOUSE ON THE CLIFF making it attractive to older readers as well as the teenage set. The Hardy boys use inductive and deductive reasoning as they follow the clues so the audience really believes these high school students have enough insider knowledge to solve the case. Mr. Hoff deserves Kudos for his delightful reinterpretation of a cherished novel.Harriet Klausner