Meg Duncan facts for kids

The Meg Duncan books are a series of six exciting mystery novels for young readers. They were first published between 1967 and 1972 and then reprinted in 1978. These books were written by an author using the pen name Holly Beth Walker. The cool illustrations were done by Cliff Schule. The series was created by an editor named Dorothy Haas. The books first came out as hardcovers and later as paperbacks.

The main character is a girl named Margaret Ashley Duncan, but everyone calls her Meg. She solves mysteries with her best friend, Kerry Carmody. Four of the books are set near Meg's home in Hidden Springs, Virginia. The other books take place when Meg and Kerry travel with Meg's Uncle Hal.

Meet the Characters

Meg Duncan

Margaret Ashley Duncan is usually called Meg. Her Uncle Hal sometimes calls her "Maggie-me-love." We don't know her exact age, but she's described as a girl, not a teenager. Meg has brown eyes and long, dark brown hair that she wears in braids. She actually wishes she had short hair! Meg lives in the countryside near a village called Hidden Springs, Virginia. She takes ballet lessons, and her Uncle Hal is teaching her to paint. She's an only child, and her mother has passed away. Her Siamese cat, Thunder, helps her feel like she has a bigger family.

Mr. Duncan

Mr. Duncan is Meg's father. He has an important job with the government in Washington D.C., so he's often away from home. But he calls Meg regularly, and they have a very loving relationship.

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are an older couple who live with the Duncans. Mrs. Wilson is the housekeeper, and Mr. Wilson takes care of the yard and does other odd jobs around the house.

Uncle Hal

Harold Ashley is Meg's Uncle Hal. He is her late mother's younger brother and is quite handsome. Uncle Hal works at a small museum in Washington D.C. He drives a really old, cool car called a Duesenberg roadster and even flies his own plane! He has an apartment in Washington D.C. and a cabin in Maine.

Kerry Carmody

Kerry Carmody is Meg's best friend. She lives on a farm near Meg's home with her parents, five brothers, and one sister. Kerry has a pony named Chappie. She has short blonde hair and blue eyes. She and her siblings call their parents "Ma'am" and "Sir."

Constable Hosey

Constable Hosey is the police officer in Hidden Springs. He's always on duty and will arrive quickly if called, even in the middle of the night!

Who Wrote the Books?

The first book, Meg and the Disappearing Diamonds, was written by Gladys Baker Bond. She was a very busy author who wrote at least 35 books! Many of her books were based on popular TV shows. Mrs. Baker also wrote some books under other pen names, like Jo Mendel and Kathryn Kenny.

It's a bit of a mystery who wrote the other five Meg Duncan books. There are some small differences in the stories that suggest more than one author was involved. For example:

• In The Disappearing Diamonds, Kerry has red-blonde hair. In most books, her hair is just blonde, but it's red-blonde again in The Ghost of Hidden Springs.
• In The Mystery of the Black-Magic Cave, Hidden Springs is called a small city instead of a village. Also, Meg is described as having "olive-tinted skin" in that book.
• In The Treasure Nobody Saw, Constable Hosey is sometimes called "Mr. Hosey," which doesn't happen in other books.
• In The Ghost of Hidden Springs, the Carmody children call their dad "Father" instead of "Sir."

A former editor named William Larson said that if a series had more than one book published in the same year, they were usually written by different people. Since two Meg Duncan books came out in both 1967 and 1970, it's very likely that different authors wrote books two through six. Each author might have had their own ideas about small details.

How the Books Were Published

The Meg books were first published from 1967 to 1972 by Western Publishing. They came out in two different hardcover styles.

A Whitman Mystery

These Meg books had colorful covers made of strong board, so they didn't need a paper dust jacket. They were about 7¾ inches tall and 5 inches wide. Each book had about 138 pages. Cliff Schule created the illustrations, which were in a single color. These books had numbers on their spines and were published in this order:

• Meg and the Disappearing Diamonds (1967)
• Meg and the Secret of the Witch's Stairway (1967)
• Meg and the Mystery of the Black-Magic Cave (1971)
• Meg and the Ghost of the Hidden Springs (1970)
• Meg and the Treasure Nobody Saw (1970)
• Meg and the Mystery in Williamsburg (1972)

A Whitman Tween Age Book

These books also had illustrated board covers without dust jackets. They were a bit larger, about 8⅜ inches tall and 5½ inches wide. They had more pages, around 156, and more space between the lines of print, making them easier to read. Cliff Schule's illustrations in these books had more shading and detail. Some even spread across two pages in full color! These Tween Age Books did not have numbers.

In 1978, Western Publishing reprinted the entire series as paperbacks. The price printed on the covers changed over time, from 95 cents to $1.25.

Golden Press Paperbacks

These Meg paperbacks were about 7⅜ inches tall and 4⅞ inches wide, with about 138 pages. The covers had a bright yellow background and new illustrations by Olindo Giacomini. However, Cliff Schule's original illustrations were still used inside the books. These inside illustrations were in one color and were the same line drawings from the "A Whitman Mystery" books. The Golden Press books had numbers on their spines and front covers, and they were published in this order:

• Meg and the Disappearing Diamonds (1967, 1978)
• Meg and the Secret of the Witch's Stairway (1967, 1978)
• Meg and the Treasure Nobody Saw (1970, 1978)
• Meg and the Ghost of the Hidden Springs (1970, 1978)
• Meg and the Mystery of the Black-Magic Cave (1971, 1978)
• Meg and the Mystery in Williamsburg (1972, 1978)

Books Around the World

The Meg Duncan books were also translated into other languages, like Spanish and Portuguese. These foreign versions were hardback books with white covers. They used the same Olindo Giacomini cover pictures that were on the Golden Press paperbacks. Cliff Schule's illustrations were still inside these books. The Spanish and Portuguese translations came out in 1978, the same year as the Golden Press paperbacks.

In 1979, Dutch translations of the books were published as paperbacks. They also used Cliff Schule's original illustrations.

Images for kids

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  cover of first Meg Duncan mystery