The House on the Cliff facts for kids
Original 1927 edition
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| Author | Franklin W. Dixon |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Hardy Boys |
| Genre | Detective, mystery |
| Publisher | Grosset & Dunlap |
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Publication date
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| Pages | 192 |
| ISBN | 9780448089027 |
| OCLC | 1281229 |
| Preceded by | The Tower Treasure |
| Followed by | The Secret of the Old Mill |
The House On The Cliff is the second exciting book in The Hardy Boys mystery series. These popular books were first published by Grosset & Dunlap. This particular book is very famous, selling over 1.7 million copies by 2001. It's one of the first ten Hardy Boys books ever written. It also shows the special writing style used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. This group created many other popular adventure series for young people, like the Nancy Drew mysteries and the Tom Swift adventure series.
The story was first written in 1927 by Leslie McFarlane for the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Later, in 1959, the book was rewritten by Harriet S. Adams, who was Edward Stratemeyer's daughter. This means there are actually two different versions of the story with the same title!
Contents
The Mystery Begins
Fenton Hardy, a famous private detective, is also the father of Frank and Joe Hardy. He asks his sons, Frank and Joe, to help him with a new case. This case involves a criminal named Felix Snattman and a smuggling operation. Mr. Hardy tells the boys to go to a house on a cliff. This house has a great view of Barmet Bay, which is perfect for watching out for smugglers.
Trapped and Tricked
When they arrive, Frank and Joe hear cries for help. They are tricked into going inside the house. Soon, they find themselves trapped in the attic for a short time! While they are stuck, someone damages their telescope and motorcycles. They think it might be the smugglers. From the house, they see a man in a boat on Barmet Bay being chased by another motorboat. The man's boat suddenly explodes in flames! Joe and their friend Biff Hooper swim out to help. Frank and their friend Chet Morton get a rowboat to rescue the man. When they bring him to shore, the man wakes up and says his name is Mr. Jones. The Hardy Boys think this is a fake name.
Uncovering the Smugglers
The next day, both Mr. Hardy and Mr. Jones disappear. Frank and Joe decide to find Mr. Hardy's helper at the docks, a man named Pretzel Pete. They hope he knows something about the smugglers. Frank and Joe go back to the Shore Road area. Inside a house near the cliff house, Frank spots his father's hat. With their friends Chet Morton, Biff Hooper, and Tony Prito, they use a boat to look for a secret tunnel at the bottom of the cliff.
Frank and Joe try to rescue their father, but they also get captured at gunpoint! Luckily, Chet and Tony go to the United States Coast Guard for help. They find Biff Hooper, Jerry Gilroy, and Phil Cohen there and lead them to the smugglers' secret cave. It turns out that Mr. Jones was actually a secret helper working for the Coast Guard. In the end, the Hardy Boys escape into the house on the cliff. They manage to capture Snattman while he is talking with the police. Snattman explains that his life has been hard. He wants the house to be used as a home for boys who need help.
It's interesting to note that the front cover of the revised book shows three boys in a boat. But in the story itself, four boys are described as being in the boat: Joe Hardy, Frank Hardy, Chet Morton, and Biff Hooper.
A New Take on the Story
In 2002, a writer named Benjamin Hoff wrote a book called The House On The Point. This book was a special tribute to "The House on the Cliff." Hoff loved the Hardy Boys books when he was young. He took the original 1927 story and changed many parts of it. He reimagined the characters and their personalities. For example, in his version, Callie Shaw and Iola Morton play a much bigger part in solving the mystery. Callie even shows she cares for Frank with a kiss. This kind of scene probably wouldn't have been in the original books. The original writers wanted the girls to be friends with the boys, but nothing more.
The Story Comes to Life
The House on the Cliff has been adapted into different forms over the years:
- Walt Disney published a shorter version of the story in Walt Disney's Magazine between 1957 and 1958.
- Filmation Associates made an 11-minute cartoon of the story for The Hardy Boys animated TV show.
- Seattle Children's Theatre put on a play called "The Hardy Boys in the Mystery of the Haunted House." This play was based on the book. You can even find the script online.
- An episode of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries called "The House on Possessed Hill" shares many ideas from this book.
- The second part of The Hardy Boys serial for the Mickey Mouse Club also used some elements from this book.
