Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow :

First introduced in 1927. The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories are a series of books about the adventures of brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, teenaged detectives who solve one baffling mystery after another. The Hardy Boys were so popular among young boys that in 1930 a similar series was created for girls featuring a sixteen year old detective Nancy Drew. The cover of volume of The Hardy Boys states that the author of the series is Franklin W. Dixon; the Nancy Drew mystery stories are supposedly written by Carolene Keene. Over the years, though, many fans of both the series have been surprised to find out that Franklin W. Dixon and Carolene Keene are not real people. Who then wrote these books?

The books were written through a process called ghost writing. A ghost writer writes a book according to a specific formula. While they are paid for writing, their authorship is not acknowledged and their names do not appear on the published books.

The initial idea for both The Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew series was developed by Edward Stratemeyer, who owned a publishing company that specialized in children's books. Stratemeyer noticed increasing popularity of mysteries among adults and surmised that children would enjoy reading mysteries about younger detectives with whom they could identify themselves. He first developed each book with an outline describing plot and setting. Once that is completed he hired a ghost writer to convert it into a book slightly over 200 pages. Once Stratemeyer approved the book, it went to the print.

Both the series ran for so many years and that is why, both of them had a number of different ghost writers. However the first writer for each series proved to be the most influential. He was a Canadian journalist by the name of Leslie McFarlane. A few years later Mildred A. Wirt, a young writer from Iowa, began writing the Nancy Drew books. Although they were using prepared outlines both developed character themselves. Wirt had been a star college athlete and gave Nancy a similar ability. McFarlane used elements of his small Canadian town to create Bayport, the Hardy Boys' fictional hometown. Although both the books were popular with children, not everyone approved of them. Critics thought the plots were unrealistic. Many teachers and librarians objected to the ghost-writing process, claiming it was designed to produce books quickly rather than create quality literature. Some libraries - including the New York Public Library even refused to include the books in their children's collection. Ironically this decision actually triggered the sales of the books.

Regardless of the controversies about their literary merit, each series of books has exerted an undeniable influence on American and even global culture.