The Three Investigators

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Maggie Knows
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The Three Investigators

Post by Maggie Knows »

Hi

I never owned any of the Three Investigators books but my primary school library had a few of them - maybe about 6 - which I very much enjoyed when I was about 8 or 9.

Anyone else encounter them, and are they worth revisiting I wonder

Cheers

Steve
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Keith Robinson
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Re: The Three Investigators

Post by Keith Robinson »

Ooh, definitely!

I have several original hardbacks, which you can obtain from eBay, and I think for the most part they're extremely well written with good characters. Some are better than others, but generally speaking people rate the first 15 or so as the best, written by Robert Arthur.

Jupiter Jones is an American Fatty, although he speaks like a walking encyclopedia. Pete and Bob are, I guess, Larry and Pip. The mysteries are on a somewhat larger scale than those set in Peterswood, but the Investigators are slightly older and have a Rolls Royce at their disposal. In America, it's too much to hope that the kids can get about on bicycles! There's also the fact that Alfred Hitchcock himself is in each story, playing himself, in his office in Hollywood, and passing on small-time mysteries to the Investigators when the police need to be kept out of it, or when the police can't help.

If you like the Three Investigators and are an eBay member, you should also check out the Brains Benton mysteries. There are only six of these, and are not available in paperback as the Three Investigators are. But these six books are gems, and far closer to the Five Find-Outers. They're set in America, in a small town called Crestwood, and there are two boys, Brains Benton and Jimmy Carson. And they have genuine mysteries that have to be solved using their bicycles to get about. I have a couple of reviews here:
Brains Benton

(I actually have all six now; this page is a little out of date.)
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Susie
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Re: The Three Investigators

Post by Susie »

I used to read them along time ago. There was I think Jupe Bob and Pete. They were always working at the salvage yard to earn some money. It was always the holiday season, and they had some sort of contraption that somehow went underground which they called the office?
They were suspensful mysteries, less fighting in them, more brain work needed.
Has anyone read the "new ones" they are written by other authors, the characters are much older and have girl friends! They don't have much time for them always dashing off to a mystery, just when they all plan to go somewhere fun for the day. (Not worth reading)
Last edited by Susie on 13 Jun 2008, 16:29, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Three Investigators

Post by Viking Star »

I used to read thoese books. I think all the ones I read were called 'Alfred Hitchcocks' three investigators'. Is there a difference?

I can't really remember much about them, although the Rolls Royce that Keith mentions sounds familiar! :)

My brother and I were school librarians, and made sure we got the first read of any Three Investigators, Jennings, Hardy Boys, Asterix and Tin Tin books! :roll: :D
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: The Three Investigators

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I only discovered the "Three Investigators" books a few years ago and read the first nine titles. My favourite was The Mystery of the Screaming Clock (number 9), a brilliant and quite quirky story, full of intriguing puzzles. Also liked Stuttering Parrot and Fiery Eye.

Anita
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Re: The Three Investigators

Post by RDMorrell »

The Three Investigators is one of my favourite series. I've got most of the books.

Although the series was cancelled after 43 books, it's still going strong in Germany - more than 80 new German-language original Three Investigators books have been written over there! :shock:

Among my various little projects is a translation of one of the German books. Some of this translation is online here:

http://www.hardyboys-uk.com/islandofdeath/" target="_blank

You need a password to read it (this is to avoid copyright problems), but if you're interested in reading what's been done so far, send me a private message and I'll let you know the password.

Special thanks to Ian Regan for hosting it. :) I haven't done much on that recently, but I definitely plan to if only I can get some time (work's been crazy for a while now).

With regard to the original series: it was created by Robert Arthur and the first book, The Secret of Terror Castle, was published in 1964. Arthur wrote ten books in the series (Nos. 1-9 and 11), before sadly passing away in 1969. However, the series was continued on by about six other authors until the late 1980s, when it was terminated with No. 43, The Mystery of the Cranky Collector. As I say though, it has carried on in Germany, and the Three Investigators are extraordinarily popular there - much more so than in the US. There have been some pretty nasty legal wrangles between the German publisher and Robert Arthur's children though, but they're getting sorted now, I think.

Anyway, it is definitely very well worth checking out this series. The Arthur books in particular are superb, and it's generally strong up to about No. 30, but gets a little weak after that. Still, the later books are quite sought after as they're pretty rare. They've been published widely in the UK as well as the USA, and Armada paperback versions are plentiful, with Collins hardbacks slightly less common but still quite easily obtainable.
Best Regards

ROWAN M.

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Susie
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Re: The Three Investigators

Post by Susie »

Viking Star wrote: I can't really remember much about them, although the Rolls Royce that Keith mentions sounds familiar! :)
Yes I remember that too, I think they went in for a competition or something and won a Rolls Royce complete with a shaffer for 30 days.
Anita wrote: The Mystery of the Screaming Clock (number 9), a brilliant and quite quirky story, full of intriguing puzzles.
That one was frightening I remember reading it late at night. :wink:
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: The Three Investigators

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

RDMorrell wrote:With regard to the original series: it was created by Robert Arthur and the first book, The Secret of Terror Castle, was published in 1964. Arthur wrote ten books in the series (Nos. 1-9 and 11), before sadly passing away in 1969.
Funnily enough, I began reading book 10 (The Mystery of the Moaning Cave) but it didn't hold my interest and I came to a halt less than halfway through. I didn't realise at the time that it had been written by a different author but there seemed to be something lacking.

Anita
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Maggie Knows
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Re: The Three Investigators

Post by Maggie Knows »

Thanks for those responses. They have jogged a few memories about specific book titles. I certainly remember reading Stuttering Parrot and Fiery Eye.

I'll have to track the first few books down and see how I get on

Thanks again
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Re: The Three Investigators

Post by Viking Star »

The Fiery Eye definitely rang a bell with me too. It's interesting how important a catchy name or title can be.

Would the Secret Seven have been so popular if they didn't have such a catchy name? And what if the Five find-outers and dog were called the Famous Five - and the Famous Five had been called The Four Find-outers and dog? Would the gap in popularity (by public perception at least) be the same?!
This is a Green Knight Book which means that it is a book by one of the most popular authors of all.
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Re: The Three Investigators

Post by Lucky Star »

I also read many of The Three Investigator books and enjoyed them immensely. I remember Stuttering parrot, Fiery Eye, Silver Spider and Vanishing Mummy though I certainly read many more. The scrapyard was owned by Jupiter's parents and they had a particularly cool HQ in a camper van which could only be reached by a secret way through the piles of scrap. I had the Armada paperback editions and really must hit ebay to buy a few again.

Interesting point from VS about catchy names. The names Famous Five , Secret Seven etc do definitely conjure up certain images and atmospheres. Would they have worked with different names? Possibly. The Famous Five in Germany are known as The Five Friends, a more mundane moniker to my mind but they were still enormously successful in Germany and continue to be so. I guess its the quality of the storytelling that counts and which endures.
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Re: The Three Investigators

Post by Viking Star »

Good point about the Five Freunds LS.

Ooh! The Vanishing Mummy rings a bell too! :)
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Re: The Three Investigators

Post by RDMorrell »

I think one of the major reasons why they're called the Fünf Freunde (Five Friends) in German is that the alliteration and even the same number of syllables are retained, whereas the more literal Die berühmten 5 (which has also been used by one publisher) doesn't roll off the tongue nearly as well.

When it comes to a good "brand" name, sound can be just as important as meaning. In that respect, I've always thought Fünf Freunde was a great "translation" of Famous Five.
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Re: The Three Investigators

Post by Viking Star »

Many thanks R D Morrell. Very interesting. And yes, I agree that Funf Freunde sounds very catchy.
This is a Green Knight Book which means that it is a book by one of the most popular authors of all.
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Re: The Three Investigators

Post by danae-jupiter »

the three investigators are my favorite books 4 ever!!!!!! :?: :?: :?:
:mrgreen: i own 22 books!!!!! :?: :?: :?:
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