Tom Swift (franchise)

Tom Swift is an entertainment franchise, about the adventures of the titular character, boys genius, inventor and scientist, Tom Swift. Debuting in 1910, The Tom Swift Adventures was a popular young adult novel series throughout the early 20th century, until it was discontinued in 1941, after 40 volumes.

The original series was created by Edward Stratemeyer and published by Grosset &amp; Dunlap. It was written by ghostwriters, working for Stratemeyer's Stratemeyer Syndicate, under the pen name Victor Appleton.

Since 1954 over 50 more Tom Swift novels have been published in five different series, the most recent series, Tom Swift Young Inventor, ended in 2007. Many incarnations of the Tom Swift characters have appeared over the years. In some cases he is updated version of the original character, while in others he is only a relative of the original character. For example in The New Tom Swift Jr. Adventures series, the title character is the son of the first Tom Swift, while in the Tom Swift IV series (1991-1993), the title character is again the son of a Thomas Swift but the continuity has been rebooted, with new supporting characters, new background, etc.

Tom Swift is currently owned by Simon &amp; Schuster, who bought the Stratemeyer Syndicate in 1984.

Writers
The original premise of Tom Swift was thought-up by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate and creator of many other juvenile series books. Like most of his Syndicate produced series, Stratemeyer hired ghostwriters to write the Tom Swift stories. Ghostwriters, writing under the pen-name Victor Appleton, followed plot outlines provided by Stratemeyer, himself.

Even the latest novels, published in 2007, are credited to Victor Appleton, and, in Swift history, the only exception of this is the use of Victor Appleton II on Tom Swift Jr. books from the 1950s.

The Tom Swift Adventures (1910-1940)
The original Tom Swift series, published by Grosset &amp; Dunlap, tells the adventures of a young inventor, who is following in the footsteps of his elderly father, Barton Swift.

Like all the Tom Swifts to follow, the Tom in this series a is brilliant inventor and scientist, however, unlike them, many of his creations seem to be quite possible. In fact, many inventions were not in development at the time the books were published, but have since been developed.

The New Tom Swift Jr. Adventures (1954-1971)
This series started where the first series left off. The title character is the son of the original Tom Swift and Mary Nestor, who Tom Sr. married in volume 32 of the original series. Tom Sr. is now the CEO of Swift Enterprises in Shopton, New York.

This series was also published by Grosset &amp; Dunlap, between 1954 and 1971, and lasted 33 volumes.

Tom Swift III (1981-1984)
Staring a Tom Swift who travels the universe in a faster-then-light starship, and battles alien creatures, the Tom Swift III is probably the most unique Tom Swift series, to date. Although loose continuity references are made, such as the title character being a relative of "the great Tom Swift", this series is seemingly unrelated to the other series.

This was the first Tom Swift series to be published by Simon &amp; Schuster, who gained publication rights to all Stratemeyer Syndicate series in 1979.

Tom Swift IV (1991-1993)
The Tom Swift IV series, while closer to it's predecessors than the third series was, is still set apart from the first two series. Case in point: Swift Enterprises is now based in California, rather then New York.

This series, produced by Byron Preiss Visual Publications, Inc. and published by Archway Paperbacks (a imprint of Simon &amp; Schuster), lasted only 13 volumes, plus two spin-offs with fellow Stratemeyer characters, The Hardy Boys.

Tom Swift Young Inventor (2006-2007)
Tom Swift Young Inventor, although definitely removed from the first two series, has more in common with them than series three and four, and features a Swift Enterprises, once again based out of New York State.

This series is the second shortest-lived Swift series, after the A Hardy Boys and Tom Swift Ultra Thriller series, scrapped after only six volumes were published by Aladdin Paperbacks. Like the current Hardy Boys series, Young Inventor is written in first person narrative style, with Tom as narrator.