Boys' Series by Charles A. Fosdick (as Harry Castlemon)
Alphabetical by series title;
Series order from Henry T. Coates ads
AFLOAT AND ASHORE
1. Rebellion in Dixie 1897
2. A Sailor in Spite of Himself 1897
3. The Ten-Ton Cutter 1897
BOY TRAPPER
1. The Buried Treasure 1877
2. The Boy Trapper 1878
3. The Mail-Carrier 1879
FRANK AND ARCHIE
see GUNBOAT
FRANK NELSON
1. Snowed Up; or, The Sportsman's Club in the Mountains 1876
2. Frank in the Forecastle; or, The Sportsman's Club among the Whalers1876
3. The Boy Traders; or, The Sportsman's Club among the Boers 1877
See also GUNBOAT series
GO-AHEAD
1. Tom Newcombe; or, The Boy of Bad Habits 1868
2. Go-Ahead; or, The Fisher-Boy's Motto 1868
3. No Moss; or, The Career of a Roling Stone 1868
GUNBOAT
1. Frank, the Young Naturalist 1864
2. Frank on a Gunboat 1864
3. Frank in the Woods 1864
4. Frank Before Vicksburg 1864
5. Frank on the Lower Mississippi 1867?
6. Frank on the Prairie 1865
At least three titles were also issued as the FRANK AND ARCHIE series by Winston.
Frank's adventures continue in the ROCKY MOUNTAIN series and the FRANK NELSON series.
Frank also appears in vol. 3 of the SPORTSMAN'S CLUB series.
HOUSEBOAT
1. The House-boat Boys 1895
2. The Mystery of Lost River Canyon 1896
3. The Young Game Warden 1896
PONY EXPRESS
1. The Pony Express Rider 1898
2. Carl, the Trailer 1899
3. The White Beaver 1899
ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES
1. Frank among the Rancheros 1867?
2. Frank at Don Carlos' Rancho 1868
3. Frank in the Mountains 1868
The main character first appeared in the GUNBOAT series.
ROD AND GUN
1. Don Gordon's Shooting Box 1883
2. The Young Wild Fowlers 1885?
3. Rod and Gun Club 1883
ROUGHING IT
1. George in Camp; or, Life on the Plains 1879
2. George at the Fort; or, Life among the Soldiers 1882
3. George at the Wheel; or, Life in the Pilot House 1881
SPORTSMAN'S CLUB
1. The Sportsman's Club in the Saddle 1873
2. The Sportsman's Club Afloat 1874
3. The Sportsman's Club among the Trappers 1874
The characters also appear in the FRANK NELSON series, a sequel. See also GUNBOAT series
WAR [Civil War]
1. True to His Colors 1889
2. Rodney, the Partisan 1891
3. Rodney, the Overseer 1892
4. Marcy, the Blockade-Runner 1891
5. Marcy, the Refugee 1892
6. Sailor Jack, the Trader 1893
Also from the Henry T. Coates ads . . .
"How I came to Write My First Book"
"When I was sixteen years old I belonged to a composition class. It was our custom to go on the recitation seat every day with clean slates, and we were allowed ten minutes to write seventy words on any subject the teacher thought suited our capacity. One day he gave out 'What a Man Would See If He Went to Greenland.' My heart was in the matter, and before the ten minutes were up I had one side of my slate filled. The teacher listened to the reading of our compositions, and when they were all over he simply said: 'Some of you will make your living by writing one of these days.' That gave me something to ponder upon. I did not say so out loud, but I knew that my composition was as good as the best of them. By the way, there was another thing that came in my way just then. I was reading at that time one of Mayne Reid's works which I had drawn from the library, and I pondered upon it as much as I did upon what the teacher said to me. In introducing Swartboy to his readers he made use of this expression: 'No visible change was observable in Swartboy's countenance.' Now, it occurred to me that if a man of his education could make such a blunder as that and still write a book, I ought to be able to do it, too. I went home that very night and began a story, 'The Old Guide's Narrative,' which was sent to the New York Weekly, and came back, respectfully declined. It was written on both sides of the sheets but I didn't know that this was against the rules. Nothing abashed, I began another, and receiving some instruction, from a friend of mine who was a clerk in a book store, I wrote it on only one side of the paper. But mind you, he didn't know what I was doing. Nobody knew it; but one day, after a hard Saturday's work -- the other boys had been out skating on the brick-pond -- I shyly broached the subject to my mother. I felt the need of some sympathy. She listened in amazement, and then said: 'Why, do you think you could write a book like that?' That settled the matter, and from that day no one knew what I was up to until I sent the first four volumes of Gunboat Series to my father. Was it work? Well, yes; it was hard work, but each week I had the satisfaction of seeing the manuscript grow until the 'Young Naturalist' was all complete."
--Harry Castlemon in The Writer
Some information about series titles and contents came from from J. Edward Leithead, "Now They're Collector's Items: #1 Edward S. Ellis and Harry Castlemon," Dime Novel Round-Up 35 (July 1966): 66-69.
Copyright 2008 - Deidre Johnson
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