The Adventurous Allens Series in Dust Jacket

I finally acquired a copy of The Adventurous Allens Marooned in dust jacket, which means that I now have all five Adventurous Allens books in dust jacket.

I know what some of you are thinking.  You recall that my reading of this series was akin to torture and that I will never read another book by Harriet Pyne Grove.  That is true.  However, I am also fondly attracted to these books, even though I keep no other books by Harriet Pyne Grove in my collection and avoid all of her books like the plague.

The reason is quite simple.  I own the original cover art to the fifth Adventurous Allens book.  Read "A Mystery Solved" from December 28, 2008.

I can't help but feel a fondness for the series when the cover art to the fifth book hangs on my wall.

The premise of the Adventurous Allens series is excellent.  The first three books are pretty good, even though reading Harriet Pyne Grove's prose is difficult.  The last two books are the ones that tortured me.  Below are links to my reviews of the series.

"The Adventurous Allens" from September 15, 2010
"The Adventurous Allens Part 2" from September 16, 2010
"The Adventurous Allens Find Mystery" from October 1, 2010
"The Adventurous Allens Afloat" from October 8, 2010
"The Adventurous Allens Marooned" from October 23, 2010
"The Adventurous Allens' Treasure Hunt" from October 25, 2010
"Adventurous Allens Final Thoughts" from October 26, 2010

The series was revised and reprinted as the Penny Allen series. 

"Penny Allen and the Mystery of the Haunted House" from October 31, 2010
"Penny Allen and the Mystery of the Hidden Treasure" from November 2, 2010

The revised books are much better than Harriet Pyne Grove's original text.  If you are interested in reading the story of the Adventurous Allens, then consider reading the Penny Allen books.  They are very good. 

The Girl Scout's Problem Solved

I have very little regard for the books of Harriet Pyne Grove after I endured all five volumes of the Adventurous Allens series.  I actually liked the first three books in the series, despite the terrible writing.  The characters were very likable, and Grove had a good story to tell.  Grove's writing deteriorated further in the final two volumes, which were torturous to read, so I was completely turned off from ever reading another book by Grove.

Edith Lavell wrote 10 books in the Girl Scouts series published by A. L. Burt.  Harriet Pyne Grove supplied two additional titles, The Girl Scout's Problem Solved and The Girl Scouts of the Cardinal Patrol, which Burt tacked to the end of the list of Lavell titles.  The Grove titles have nothing to do with the Lavell books, so far as I can tell, aside from the fact that Burt added them to the list.  The Lavell books are quite good.

The two Grove Girl Scouts titles are very scarce.  As I write this, no copies of either title are available for sale online.  These books are about as scarce as those two elusive Linda Carlton books.  While I have a strong aversion to Harriet Pyne Grove, I can appreciate a scarce book when I see it.

Recently, a seller listed a copy of The Girl Scout's Problem Solved on eBay in a Buy It Now listing, and the book had the original dust jacket.  I decided to buy it, since I know how scarce the book is, especially in dust jacket.

I doubt that I will keep the book, but I'm going to hold onto it at least temporarily.  The dust jacket is unbelievably scarce.  I think I will place the book on the shelf by the Lavell books just to see how it displays.

I cannot stomach reading the book.  I tried when I had another copy that lacked a jacket months ago, but I could not get past the first three or so pages.  It is that bad.  I sold that book, and so I expect I will sell this one eventually.

Presentation Is Everything

Recently a seller listed two of the Adventurous Allens books in their original dust jackets on eBay.  The Adventurous Allens books are quite scarce, and the dust jackets are significantly more scarce than the bare books. Unfortunately, the seller's presentation left a lot to be desired.

These photos are the photos that were provided in the listings.

 

 

The jackets appear to be in rough shape.  Most importantly, the seller did not picture the spines nor mention anything about the condition of the spines.  Since the spines are what I see when the books are shelved, I am very concerned about the condition of the spines of the books in my collection.  Because of my past unfortunate experiences, I now assume that dust jackets are badly faded on the spine whenever the spines are not pictured. 

I have also asked sellers about fading.  I once had a seller tell me that the dust jacket was not faded at all, and when I received the book, I was unhappy to discover that the jacket's spine had lost around 25% of the color.  Many sellers do not understand the fading issue, so photos are important so that the buyer can decide. 

The seller priced one of the books at around $160, and the other one at around $80.  While I enjoyed the first three Adventurous Allens books, I did not like them enough to pay that much for the dust jackets.  I also thought the jackets were not in good enough condition to pay that much.  

I did not purchase the books, but I checked on them every couple of days to see if they were still listed.  I was, after all, interested but did not wish to pay that much.  After around a week, I noticed that the prices had been lowered to $59 each.  Additionally, the seller had added a picture of the spines to the listings.  I assume that someone had asked for more information.

 

The spines did not look too bad, and the prices were much better.  I thought about it for around ten minutes, as I was still not certain.  Finally, I purchased both books, deciding that the scarcity made the purchases worthwhile.

When I received the books, I was rather pleased with the condition of the dust jackets.

The spine of The Adventurous Allens has better color than what the seller's picture showed.  Both dust jackets look much better enclosed in mylar covers. 

This serves as a good example of how presentation can affect how easily a book sells and how much the seller is able to get for the book.

Penny Allen and the Mystery of the Hidden Treasure

Penny Allen and the Mystery of the Hidden Treasure is the second and final Penny Allen book. It was written by Jean McKetchnie and published in 1950. The first Penny Allen book tells the story of the Allen family and is a greatly condensed version of volumes 2 and 3 from the Adventurous Allens series by Harriet Pyne Grove. This second Penny Allen book tells the story of the fifth and final Adventurous Allens book, The Adventurous Allens' Treasure Hunt.

It is just as well that McKetchnie ignored The Adventurous Allens Marooned when she created these two Penny Allen books. The Adventurous Allens Marooned is a horribly boring book. Unfortunately, The Adventurous Allens' Treasure Hunt is even more awful.

While many details are the same and many quotes are intact, McKetchnie completely rewrote much of the text. Around two-thirds of the first Penny Allen book contains text written by Grove. Probably only around one-third of the text of the second Penny Allen book is text written by Grove. McKetchnie added many new details to the plot which make it interesting.

The Allens receive multiple warning messages telling them to leave the property immediately. False clues are planted around the property by the villains in hopes of distracting the Allens into digging fruitlessly for treasure so that the villains have time to make off with the real treasure. None of this is in Grove's book.

I was happy to see that the Allens had far fewer named guests. The Adventurous Allens' Treasure Hunt tossed names at the reader constantly, and I was never able to keep up with any of them. This book just has a few guests who are mentioned by name and an unknown number of other guests who are referred to only as "the guests." This made the Penny Allen book much less confusing and easier to read.

If I had not already been tortured by reading five books by Harriet Pyne Grove, I might have greatly enjoyed this book. Since I was still traumatized by my previous experience, I did not enjoy it as much as I could have. I do feel that the two Penny Allen books are worth reading and are pretty good books. In fact, the Penny Allen books are a great way to experience the better parts of the Adventurous Allens series without acquiring temporary dementia. Just make sure you avoid Harriet Pyne Grove.

I think I have now thoroughly killed any chance I had of selling the two Adventurous Allens books that are in my Bonanza booth. Darn.

Penny Allen and the Mystery of the Haunted House

The Penny Allen series is about the adventures of the Allen family: Philip, Penny, Jimmy, and Marjorie. Sound familiar? The Adventurous Allens are Philip, Nancy, Jimmy, and Marjorie Allen.

The Adventurous Allens Find Mystery, which was written by Harriet Pyne Grove and published in 1932 begins as follows:

Almost too greatly surprised to believe in their good fortune, the four Adventurous Allens stood at the door of what had long been denominated by their uncle as his "Michigan Shack," while Philip, now the actual legal proprietor, tried to fit a key in the lock. It was well, perhaps, that none of them knew all which would attend their present adventure; but their anticipation was as keen as their surprise was pleasing.

Penny Allen and the Mystery of the Haunted House written (more like "edited") by Jean McKetchnie and published in 1950 begins like this:

It was almost unbelievable to the four Allens to be standing on the doorstep before Uncle John's "Michigan Shack." For, in spite of its name, the shack in the Michigan woods appeared to be quite a large house. It was built of logs, but it was such a cabin as money builds, with all the beauty that can be given to it, primitive only in the sense of unfinished timbers, a product of skill, artistic in its fitness to the surroundings. Large, strong, with a wide, hospitable porch in front, it welcomed them, a home for the adventurous Allens! Nineteen-year-old Philip, who had inherited the property from their uncle, stood fumbling to fit the key in the lock.

We have a clear case of plagiarism here, even though the wording has been changed. In this case, the plagiarism much improved upon the mess that Harriet Pyne Grove wrote. It is helpful that McKetchnie placed the proper explanatory information in the first paragraph. She then placed all of the information needed to understand the Allens' past history in next few pages of text.

Some of the explanatory information is copied from Grove's first Adventurous Allens book. Page 18 of The Adventurous Allens states:

Philip Allen was a well set up young collegian of nineteen years. Dark brown hair curved back in the latest college style from a good broad brow. This was equipped with very nearly straight black eyebrows, which separated at a proper distance from a very respectable nose, neither too large nor too small. That with clear, dark, blue-grey eyes and a pleasant mouth which could be quite firm when occasion demanded, gave character to Philip's young face. His height was above medium, probably five feet ten, and possibly he might yet reach the six feet he found desirable. He was brown from the summer's exposure and the usual hatless idiocy of fall days about college. At his uncle's, and about the little city, which numbered about fifty thousand inhabitants, he was accustomed to wear a hat. His face beneath it was rather long than round.

Pages 13 and 14 of Penny Allen and the Mystery of the Haunted House describe Philip as follows:

Philip Allen was a well set up young man. Dark brown hair curved back from a broad brow. This was equipped with very nearly straight black eyebrows, which separated at a proper distance from a rather respectable nose, neither too large nor too small. That, with clear, dark, blue-gray eyes and a pleasant mouth which could be quite firm when occasion demanded, gave character to Philip's young face. His height was above medium, probably five feet ten, and possibly he might yet reach the six feet he found desirable. He was brown from the summer's exposure. His face was rather long than round.

The content is remarkably similar. Even though the content is not original, it greatly improves upon the original form. I can understand the text without getting confused! When I wrote about The Adventurous Allens Find Mystery, I mentioned my confusion when the Allens decided to go for a ride in their uncle's boat. In this book, the conversation and events flowed nicely, and I knew exactly what was happening and when! It was so nice!

Some minor details are different, and the text has been greatly condensed. One detail that stands out is when Patrick Ryan has to leave unexpectedly. In Grove's original story, he leaves to look after a drunk relative who has gotten into trouble. In this revised story, Pat has to guide four men on a fishing expedition.

At around page 135, the story begins to deviate from Grove's original story, and the change matches up with around five pages before the end of the original story. The Allens plan to stay in Michigan for the winter, whereas in Grove's book, they decide to take a cruise. The final five pages of the original story concern getting ready for the cruise.

In the Penny Allen book, Philip gets a job, and Jimmy and Marjorie attend school. None of the young people attend school during the five Adventurous Allens books. Around page 147, the winter comes to a close, and the Allens decide to take a cruise on their boat during the summer to check out their Florida property. Once again the plot begins to converge with the original story, except the text appears to have been completely rewritten during this part.

At page 151, the Penny Allen book resumes copying Grove's narrative, this time from the beginning of The Adventurous Allens Afloat. The book diverges from the plot of the Grove book at page 183, and the mystery about Adra is solved through a slightly different means, although with the same result. After a few pages of different text, the book resumes copying the text of the Grove book.

Most of the last 150 pages of The Adventurous Allens Afloat is not used in the Penny Allen book. The book concludes with the Allens preparing to cruise the Caribbean in their boat.

Adventurous Allens Final Thoughts

After I finished the fifth Adventurous Allens book, I felt traumatized and like I had dementia. It was agony forcing myself to read the final book. All five books are poorly written, but the first three are still pretty good stories in spite of that fact. The fourth and fifth books are very weak and difficult to get through. I skimmed parts of both books, especially the fifth book, since all I wanted by that point was to put an end to reading a series that I no longer enjoyed.

I searched the archives of the Girls' Series Group on Yahoo! Groups, and I was a bit horrified that years ago someone stated that Harriet Pyne Grove was a pseudonym of Mildred Wirt Benson. The writing of Harriet Pyne Grove is nowhere near the level of that of Mildred Wirt Benson. In fact, I suspect that Mildred Wirt Benson's practice writing from back when she was very young would have been much better than the books of Harriet Pyne Grove.

To make clear to anyone who is not aware of who wrote what in series fiction, Harriet Pyne Grove had no connection to Mildred Wirt Benson. All of the books written by Mildred Wirt Benson are listed on this page. Benson was one of the very best writers of juvenile series fiction, and all of her books are very good.

On a funny note, someone read one of Grove's books years ago (The S.P. Mystery, I believe) and thought it was so awful that he suggested an annual Harriet Pyne Grove Award for Mediocre Writing. Ha. That's actually a good idea. I nominate Roy J. Snell for the award since I have read just one of his books, Jane Withers and the Phantom Violin, which is an awful story.

I will probably never read another one of Harriet Pyne Grove's books after this experience. I have this idea that the Adventurous Allens series might be Grove's best work. The reason I think this is because someone took the Adventurous Allens series and edited the books into a two book series called Penny Allen, which I will review shortly. Wouldn't some of Grove's better books be chosen rather than some of her worst?

If the Adventurous Allens books are Grove's best, I cannot stomach the thought of reading her other books. Fortunately, I have held back from buying any other books by Grove due to a suspicion that the books might not be good. Some of the dust jackets are pretty, but I like to collect books that are good, not just books that have pretty artwork. As always, if anyone has read any of Grove's other books, I would love to read your opinion.

Does anyone wish to mention a series book that is so bad that it messes with your mind?

The Adventurous Allens' Treasure Hunt

The Adventurous Allens' Treasure Hunt begins with the Allens' return to their Michigan lodge after spending many months marooned on an uncharted island. The Allens plan to take in many guests this summer as a means for raising money so that they can keep the lodge, the ship, and many other possessions which they inherited from their uncle.

The Allens take out advertisements in newspapers to let people know about the lodge.

The reply to their advertisement had been surprising. "Exclusive, references, families, no young children, rates reasonable but not low, cruiser and boats," and some other catch-words had been prominent in the notice which they had sent to several papers on their way to New York from Miami.

The Allens advertise in multiple newspapers around the country, and they think the response is "surprising." What did they expect? Of course they are going to get people if they advertise everywhere!

Not only do the Allens get guests from their advertisements, they invite everybody they know. What I cannot figure out is whether all of their friends are also paying guests like the people who responded to the advertisements.

The Allens have so many people staying at their lodge that it is impossible to keep track of them. I have to wonder exactly how big this lodge is. Grove never describes the size other than stating that it has two stories. How large is it? Grove also never states how many people are at the lodge, but I gather that they have at least two dozen guests. The lodge must be some kind of mansion if the Allens can entertain so many guests comfortably.

Like the last book, this book was also excessively boring for large portions of the text. I did not find it that interesting to follow Nancy around as she performs mundane chores and makes plans for her guests.

Not too long into the story, a prowler is chased off soon after he begins digging a hole in the Allens' garage. The Allens wonder whether he might have been digging for something valuable. They park their vehicle over the hole so that the prowler cannot come back to dig. The Allens fail to think about the hole again and seem to have no curiosity about it. Hey, if someone were to come dig a hole in my yard in the middle of the night for no reason and then run off when spotted, I'd be a bit concerned about it. Wouldn't you?

The last 50 or so pages of the book was the most interesting part of the story. A treasure is finally found, but with no effort on the part of the Allens. It is kind of like the Allens' rescue from the island in the previous book. By no means can the content of this book be described as a "treasure hunt" as the title states. The title of this book should have been The Adventurous Allens' Vacation Resort.

The Adventurous Allens Marooned

In The Adventurous Allens Marooned, the Allens travel around in the ocean in the vicinity of Florida. During one of their jaunts, a storm blows up unexpectedly. The Allens are pushed ahead of the storm, and the Nancy Allen is at the storm's mercy.

After the storm, the yacht comes to rest near an uncharted island. The ship is not damaged, but is nearly out of gas. The Allens have no choice but to anchor and explore the island.

The Allens soon discover that the island was once the site of a plantation. The plantation house has burned down, and there appears to be no sign of human life on the island, at least at first. The Allens have a couple of narrow escapes from snakes and mongooses as they explore the island.

I greatly enjoyed the first half of the book, but in the middle of the book, it began to lose me. The Allens explore the island on several excursions, and they cut through the brush, look through the sugar house, see a few snakes, see some of the old crops, explore again, look through the sugar house, see a few snakes, see some of the old crops, repeat, repeat. Boring!

We even get an entire chapter where Marjorie writes a long entry in her diary telling of their adventures up to that point in a rambling fashion. Meaning, Marjorie tells the story of the book over again in a chapter but in a rambling disjointed conversational fashion. I confess that I began skimming the book at that point. Boring!

We then get another chapter later where Marjorie tells of one day's events in her journal in the same fashion as above, then the next chapter gives the events from the perspective of the other characters. The trouble is that none of it is that interesting. I skimmed a lot of that part of the book as well.

The book was true to life as far as how events would actually transpire if one were to land on an island in the ocean and then explore it. Except this is a book, and the events need to be a little more exciting than in real life. Cutting through the brush over and over again did not do much for me.

Ah, but the book had so much potential. There was mention of cannibals, but nothing came of that. The Allens were never in any real danger, aside from the snakes.

I was annoyed that it takes months for the Allens to get around to making sails out of sheets so they can sail back to Florida. Seriously... the Allens are stranded for months, and all they do is cut through the brush over and over again and explore the sugar house, and so on and so forth. So little happens that it feels like no more than a week or so, but it is actually supposed to be months. (!)

The next paragraph spoils how the Allens get rescued from the island, so skip it if you don't want to know. I hardly think it matters, since the frontispiece and the title of a chapter give it away.

And then, in the end, the Allens do not need to make sails because an airplane crashes into the ocean right by the Allens' boat. The Allens rescue the pilot, tie his plane to the boat, and transfer his fuel to their boat. They then take off for Florida. I expected for the Allens to have to work to be rescued. It is not acceptable for them to miraculously obtain fuel without any effort. Lame!

I got confused during some of the excursions because the events were poorly described. There is an earthquake, and then Pat tells the others, "We can look for the sea, folks. We'll have to risk the hills!" I did not realize at first what the statement meant. After reading a bit further, I finally realized that that they were going to higher ground in case of a tsunami as a result of the earthquake. It was awful trying to interpret the poor writing at times. I'd quote a bunch of it so you can see, but it is not worth my time. Ugh.

I really enjoyed the first three Adventurous Allens books, but this one was a bit mediocre. This is why I'm afraid to buy any additional books by Harriet Pyne Grove.

The Adventurous Allens Afloat

At the beginning of The Adventurous Allens Afloat, the Allens hasten their departure from Michigan in their new yacht in order to protect a runaway girl. Adra Spencer has amnesia and believes that mean Mr. Spencer is not her real father. Adra remembers being in the hospital due to some type of accident but has no other memories of her past.

Under the cover of darkness, the Nancy Allen departs for its ultimate destination of Florida. On board are Philip, Nancy, Jimmy, and Marjorie, who are the four Adventurous Allens. Adra Spencer is hidden in one of the cabins. Newlyweds Pat and Ann Mary Ryan also depart on the yacht as the Allens' crew.

The Allens remain cautious, assuming that Mr. Spencer is suspicious about what happened to Adra. Shortly into the journey, Nancy and Marjorie purchase a wig and new clothes for Adra so that she can leave the ship on excursions. The Allens soon learn that their fears are well-founded. Not only has Mr. Spencer hired some men to shadow the Allens, Mr. Spencer himself soon appears. Later, the Allens discover Adra's real father, and Adra is reunited with him.

In time, the Allens arrive in New York City where they visit some friends of the Curtis family. They find themselves still followed by Mr. Spencer's henchmen and are constantly on the alert.

The Allens soon have a dilemma when they find that too many of their acquaintances expect to travel south to Florida on the yacht. Even worse, some of the hopeful travelers are not well liked by the Allens.

This story is suspenseful with the constant worry about Mr. Spencer and whether he or one of his men will catch up with the Allens. I also found the Allens' discomfort while visiting the Curtis' friends to be interesting. From pages 177-178:

From Mary's "ravings" by letter Nancy had expected to find the family that Mary was visiting one of the old aristocratic families of New York, not prominent in the gayer affairs, perhaps, but of a truer culture. Nancy's ideals of culture were built on Uncle John's ideas and those of the Allen family in general.

But instead of people like the Curtis family they found a noisy, pretentious group, friendly enough, indeed, but it all took Nancy's breath in surprise. The large apartment, to which Charles escorted them from the hotel, was decorated in the newest and most brilliant array of forms and colors in the "new art," admiringly explained to Nancy by Mary. It was "very effective," Nancy said, in wise evasion. The eldest daughter, whom Mary had met at school, was "devoted to art," her mother said, and Nancy played the part of the responsive and unsophisticated girl from the "Middle West" to perfection, though it was really only her natural desire to be responsive, while inwardly disliking the whole display and wondering at Charles and Mary. They had known people like this in the Middle West. Why be impressed and think it New York?

The room is "full of a blue smoke, the effect of too many cigarettes." Nancy declines a cigarette that is offered to her. Later, one of the young people at the party gets drunk. The Allens, of course, do not touch the cigarettes or the wine. They are shown to be very upright young people and are relieved to get away from the party.

I also greatly enjoyed this story. This book seems to have fewer errors than the first two books, although many of the same errors are still present. Grove continues to use quotation marks excessively, as can be seen above in the portion I quoted. While it is true that the quotation marks are often used for brief quotes made by others, I find it very annoying. It was not necessary to include brief quotes all through the entire book.

I could not help but think of Beverly Gray as I read this book due to the cruise connection. Could Clair Blank have read these books prior to writing her books? I also noticed that Nancy has multiple suitors. She receives a marriage proposal in this book and turns it down much for the same reasons that Beverly Gray turns down Jim's marriage proposal. Hmm.

The Adventurous Allens Find Mystery

As I read the last couple of chapters of the first book in this series, The Adventurous Allens, I felt like the content was filler in order to increase the length of the book. The interesting part of the book ended with Chapter 18, and I was not much interested in the events that transpired during Chapters 19 and 20.

The early Beverly Gray books have similar filler content, and I know that the A. L. Burt Company asked Clair Blank to increase the length of her manuscripts. I assume that a similar request was made of Harriet Pyne Grove with respect to the first book in this series.

I was uninterested in the final two chapters until just a few pages before the end of the story, when I sensed that something interesting was about to happen. The Adventurous Allens quite literally leads directly into the second book, The Adventurous Allens Find Mystery. The Adventurous Allens ends as follows:

Philip helped down an excited Marjorie, who ran like Jimmy, to the porch. But something came over Nancy, who put her hands to her face and cried softly, with a sob or two, reaching for her handkerchief in a moment, while Philip, who had started with his keys, came back to pat her on her shoulder in silent understanding. Then he joined the others, springing up the steps to unlock the door.

And beyond that locked door lay discovery, such discovery as led to further undreamed of adventures for the Adventurous Allens.

This is the beginning of the second book, The Adventurous Allens Find Mystery:

Almost too greatly surprised to believe in their good fortune, the four Adventurous Allens stood at the door of what had long been denominated by their uncle as his "Michigan Shack," while Philip, now the actual legal proprietor, tried to fit a key in the lock. It was well, perhaps, that none of them knew all which would attend their present adventure; but their anticipation was as keen as their surprise was pleasing.

The Adventurous Allens step out of the first book and right into the second. It is not too often that consecutive volumes in a series end and begin during the same moment.

The Adventurous Allens, Philip, Nancy, Jimmy, and Marjorie, just spent their entire summer traveling in two delivery vans. Now that summer is over, they have arrived at their uncle's cabin on Lake Superior in Michigan. Much to their surprise, they find a very nice two-story log cabin that is fully furnished. The Allens had not expected a place nearly so nice, or they would have come to the cabin before traveling west in the delivery vans.

The Allens plan to make the cabin their new home, although the trouble of finances still weighs heavily upon Philip and Nancy. They are not certain how long they will have enough money to maintain the cabin, but for now, they have a nice place to live.

The young people soon learn that the cabin is reputedly haunted, and Marjorie thinks she sees a glimpse of the "Green Lady" shortly after their arrival. The others assume that Marjorie is mistaken, but Marjorie continues to think that she did indeed see something. Later, Jimmy sees a strange intruder, and wonders whether Marjorie was right. The Allens learn of a missing girl and deduce that their mysterious intruder could be that person.

I find it refreshing that the Allens quickly make the connection between their ghost and the missing girl. Many of the Stratemeyer Syndicate books have missing individuals who turn out to be people who appear in the story. Yet in the Syndicate books, the author pretends that no connection exists, until shockingly, the connection is revealed near the end. I like how the Allens are smart enough to see the connection fairly quickly. My intelligence is insulted each time I read a book in which the author pretends that a ghost has nothing to do with a missing person known to be in the vicinity. Thank you, Harriet Pyne Grove!

The openness as to who the ghost likely is does not take away from the suspense of the book. Sure, we know that the ghost will turn out to be the girl, but we would have known that anyway even if the author had the characters act stupid about it. The mystery is still compelling because we do not know the girl's story or exactly where she has been hiding.

This book has the same errors as the first book, with extra quotation marks, omitted quotation marks, and misspelled words. I had a few instances of not quite understanding what I was reading and kept going rather than trying to figure it out.

A big problem with Grove's books is that important explanatory information is left out. For instance, on page 18, the young people find their uncle's boat and discuss going for a ride in it. They get in the boat, but nothing is mentioned about taking off. It is not until the end of page 19 that I figured out that the Allens are already on the lake in the boat. I was disoriented by thinking they were talking at the dock before taking off to discovering that they were well en route.

Despite minor annoyances with not quite understanding parts of the text, I enjoyed this second Adventurous Allens book even more than I did the first book. This book had no boring parts, except perhaps some of the story at the very beginning. Once I got into the story, the plot developed nicely, and I greatly enjoyed the story.

The Allens come into possession of a yacht partway through the book. The yacht is described to be "a thirty-eight-foot family cruiser." Wow-whee! Guess what the Allens decide to do? Why take a cruise, of course! Now onward to The Adventurous Allens Afloat.

The Adventurous Allens Part 2

I gave the premise for the first book in the Adventurous Allens series in my previous post. I was unable to get into this book the first time I tried reading it due to the poor writing style. I was successful this second time, probably because I had already previously read the first 60 pages and remembered what I had read.

This book has about the most mistakes of any of the old juvenile series books that I have read. I have to wonder whether the book was even edited at all. Perhaps Burt published Grove's manuscript as it was sent to them. The book has misspelled words and missing quotation marks. Not only that, but Grove was overly fond of using unnecessary quotation marks.

I had to read some passages multiple times in order to understand them, because of the poor writing. In some cases, I had to ignore the fact that I did not understand what I was reading so that I could keep going.

This sentence on pages 50-51, reproduced exactly as it appears in the book, is confusing:

The two boys used the vacuum cleaner for Nancy as director of household affairs; and when everybody was tired, dishes and everything else could go, Nancy said, though they were "still there," when at last attention had to be turned in their direction!

Say what? I guess they put off doing the dishes when they were tired, but the dishes were still there, and then they had to do them after their other work was done.

From page 150:

Jimmy and the "bike" which was not a bike scurried around, gathering up various good things to eat and was warned not to lose the list which Nancy had given him.

Ignoring the fact that the sentence is very poorly structured, how am I supposed to know what a " 'bike' which was not a bike" is supposed to be? I had no idea, so I kept reading. It was a few chapters later that I finally figured out that the bike was the vehicle that Jimmy drove in the book, which was a small delivery van. At least, I think it was a small delivery van. Grove did not adequately explain the large and small delivery vans, so I really do not know exactly what the young people were using. It also did not help that Grove kept calling the large one a car.

I was taken aback on page 130 when Charles Curtis appeared. I did not know who he was, yet all of the Allens knew him quite well. I knew he had to be one of the Curtises from earlier in the book, so I went back and saw his name mentioned in passing on page 88, not enough to be remembered by the reader, which is why his appearance on page 130 nonplussed me.

Innuendos are always fun, and this book delivers a few good ones. From page 139:

Philip refused the offer to have him meet some young lady and join Charles and William with their ladies in dinner and later pleasures.

Yikes. I thought this was a children's book.

I had trouble understanding what Uncle John's business was, since the word "firm" was used repeatedly. I kept thinking that it was a law firm until I finally learned that it was a department store. How about calling it a department store from the beginning?

In spite of the bizarre punctuation and failure to explain basic parts of the premise, I actually enjoyed this book a lot. My favorite books tend to be books that were published during the 1930s, so this book fits right in. Despite the faults, I enjoyed this book more than I enjoyed several of the Billie Bradley books. I had trouble getting through a few of those. This book turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

Perhaps the reason I enjoyed this book so much is because of how enjoyable it was to follow along with the adventures of the Allens, who are very likable young people. Philip, Nancy, Jimmy, and Marjorie have mutual respect for each other and get along quite well. Perhaps they get along better than one might expect of most siblings, but nevertheless, it made for very pleasant reading.

The Adventurous Allens

I became interested in the Adventurous Allens series when I came into possession of the original artwork for one of the books. The Adventurous Allens series is a five volume series written by Harriet Pyne Grove. The author's name sounds like a bad pseudonym, but Harriet Pyne Grove was apparently a real person, and that was her real name.

1. The Adventurous Allens, 1932
2. The Adventurous Allens Find Mystery, 1932
3. The Adventurous Allens Afloat, 1932
4. The Adventurous Allens Marooned, 1932
5. The Adventurous Allens' Treasure Hunt, 1933

Like the other lesser-known A. L. Burt books, the Adventurous Allens books are extremely scarce and hard to find. It is difficult just to find the books, let alone the dust jackets. For comparison, these books are harder to find and scarcer than the first five Girl Scouts books by Virginia Fairfax. These books are probably equally scarce as the sixth volume in the Fairfax series.

I have been in-between series for a few weeks now and have been at a loss for what to read. I did not think I had any complete sets of unread books, until I realized that I had all five Adventurous Allens books.

I had not read any of them yet since Harriet Pyne Grove's writing style is a bit odd and kind of like that of Lilian Garis. I read some of the first Adventurous Allens book awhile back, but I had trouble getting into it because Grove's expository information is poorly written, making it difficult to understand. The most important part of a book is the beginning in which the author gains the reader's attention. Bungle that part, and the book will never be read.

This is how the book begins:

That first great adventure of the Adventurous Allens, the odd undertaking that led to all the rest of the adventures sought, enjoyed, endured, or met by them, was, from an adult standpoint, adventurous indeed. But it happened because at the time nothing else offered which seemed either profitable or endurable. It was a happy, if temporary solution of present evils; in other words it appealed to them as a great lark, in which they might forget sore hearts and all that had meant to them the security of home, the friendships and fun of school like, and their future dim, but expected opportunities.

That paragraph would scare off most readers. That would be why I had not read these books yet. Since I am somewhat desperate to have a set of books to read, I am ready and willing to deal with it right now.

The Adventurous Allens series tells the story of the four Allens: Philip, Nancy, Jimmy, and Marjorie. Philip is 19 and in his third year of college. Nancy is 18, and Jimmy is 15. Marjorie is around 12. Their parents died six years before the beginning of the story. Their Uncle John became their guardian and cared for them for the last six years. Uncle John recently died in a car accident, leaving the young people orphaned.

An employee of Uncle John's company stole a large sum of money, and much of the Allens' inheritance has to be used to pay off the debts. Actually, the Allens choose to use their inheritance because they want to do the right thing in their uncle's name, which just shows what upstanding young people they are. How can the reader not like them? They set a good example.

Since the Allens use much of their inheritance to pay off someone else's debt, they find themselves in need. They arrange for the sale of their uncle's property and decide to set off on an extended camping trip in two old delivery vans found on their uncle's property. The Allens explore the West and visit several national parks, including Yellowstone. They have a few harrowing adventures along the way.

I have too many thoughts for one post, so I will continue with my thoughts on Grove's writing style and the quality of the text in my next post.

A Mystery Solved

Awhile back, I posted about two original illustrations from the 1930s that I had purchased on eBay. One of the illustrations was unidentified, and I had never seen the dust jacket before. Both the top and bottom parts of the artwork have been cut off, so the title of the book is missing. Here is the illustration:


I made three guesses about this artwork based on what I knew about the other artwork that the seller had sold and my own observations about this particular one.

1. The artwork was probably for a dust jacket from an A. L. Burt book. The seller had sold lots of original art for various A. L. Burt series books.

2. The artwork was for a book written by someone named Grove, since the name appears in what would have to be the spine area of the dust jacket. My guess was Harriet Pyne Grove.

3. The book probably had to do with treasure, since the main object of the illustration is treasure.

I have been searching online on eBay and in other venues for several months hoping to find a book with this dust jacket up for sale. I have been searching for both A. L. Burt books with dust jackets and for books by Harriet Pyne Grove. It has been difficult because A. L. Burt books are all scarce in dust jacket, and the majority of the books by Harriet Pyne Grove are scarce in dust jacket. Finally, I found it.

I was right in all three of my guesses. The book is The Adventurous Allens' Treasure Hunt by Harriet Pyne Grove and was published by A. L. Burt.

The dust jacket is darker, and I think that the publisher changed some of the colors, probably so that the illustration would reproduce in the desired fashion. We know that Grosset and Dunlap did this, because some of Russell Tandy's original paintings still exist, and obvious changes were made to the dust jackets (see the September/October 2007 issue of The Sleuth for the article by David Farah). It is likely that A.L. Burt also altered the illustrations for the dust jackets. Regarding this dust jacket, a bag and some gold coins are on the table. In the original art, a bright yellow line is used to highlight the edges of the bag and coins. On the dust jacket, the bright yellow is changed to orange.

I carefully compared both the dust jacket and the artwork. Both the dust jacket and the artwork have suffered damage over the years, so I ignored those differences. Aside from the damage, the artwork and dust jacket are exactly the same, so I have no doubt that the artwork is the original used to produce the image on the dust jacket. I was even able to find a few light paint smudges in the artwork that must have occurred as it was painted that were exactly reproduced on the dust jacket.

I have no idea whether The Adventurous Allens' Treasure Hunt is a good book, but the original artwork is already one of my favorite items in my collection. It is really neat. The image is stunning, and the dust jacket does not even come close in quality.

Harriet Pyne Grove's Books

I have never read good comments about Harriet Pyne Grove and her books. The dust jackets are pretty, so I would like to collect the books. I have searched the archives of the Girls Series Group, and the only comments that I find make fun of her name or state that her books ramble. Has anyone actually read her books, and do they have any redeeming qualities? Has anyone read them and not liked them?

I have the book The Girl Scout's Problem Solved, which more correctly should be The Girl Scouts' Problem Solved, since the book appears to be about several Girl Scouts. Everybody makes errors in grammar and punctuation at times, but to do it in the title of a book? Please. Getting past that and the funny name, Harriet Pyne Grove, I have read a few pages. On page eight, I found this horrible sentence:

In spite of the girls' desire to reach Mrs. Farleigh before Cordy, all prostrated, as they thought should be brought home, the big car, which had been used to drive the two girls from the dock where the yacht landed them, was standing in front of the house.

WHAT??? I had to reread the sentence quite a few times and read past it before I fully grasped the meaning. Actually, I fully grasped the intended meaning, but I did not even then grasp how the words formed the meaning. Around half an hour later, I revisited the sentence, and I think I get it now—maybe.

Let's see if I can rewrite the sentence so that it makes a little more sense.

In spite of the girls' desire to reach Mrs. Farleigh and tell her about Cordy's accident before the man bringing Cordy home arrived with her, the girls arrived at the Farleigh home to discover that the man's vehicle had arrived first.

My version of the sentence is still rough, but at least it conveys the meaning a little better. It would help if I knew the man's name, but I do not believe it was given in the previous pages. Is this what Harriet Pyne Grove's books are like? If so, no wonder I cannot find any good comments about them.

Girl Scouts Series #11 and #12

The Girl Scouts series by Edith Lavell consists of ten volumes. The A. L. Burt Company also published two additional Girl Scouts books that were written by Harriet Pyne Grove and added to the end of the Lavell series. Since the tenth title of the Lavell books ends with Marjorie thinking of her future and appearing to live happily ever after, the end of the story of Marjorie Wilkinson definitely ends with volume 10.

I have always thought that the two books by Harriet Pyne Grove are unrelated to the Lavell books. I now have a copy of volume 12, The Girl Scout's Problem Solved. I have not read it but have flipped through it. I recognize none of the names of the different characters, so I am confident that the story is unrelated to the Lavell books. I do not have a copy of volume 11, The Girl Scouts of the Cardinal Patrol, so it is possible that some link could be made in that volume, but at this point in time, I feel that it is highly unlikely.

It is not unheard of for publishers to link books together in a series when in fact the books are unrelated to each other. The Moving Picture Girls series by Gertrude W. Morrison consists of seven titles. When the series was reprinted by World Syndicate and Goldsmith, a title named The Moving Picture Girls' Holidays was added to the set and even has the author stated as Laura Lee Hope on the dust jacket, yet that title has no relation to the other seven books. The Moving Picture Girls' Holidays is a book from the Ethel Morton series by Mable S. C. Smith.

Seen below is the copyright page of The Girl Scout's Problem Solved in which the two books by Harriet Pyne Grove are listed as part of the series by Edith Lavell.


The Girl Scouts of the Cardinal Patrol and The Girl Scout's Problem Solved are only listed on the books and jackets of those two titles. The ten books by Edith Lavell have no mention of volumes 11 and 12 on any of the books or jackets. The Lavell series is just the ten volumes, and the books by Harriet Pyne Grove are a short two-volume series that are packaged as part of the Lavell series.