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The practice of shipping American editions across the Atlantic for the consumption of British audiences began in the years prior to the introduction of the homegrown Harold Hill editions (in fact, imported Grosset & Dunlap books were still available in Britain well into the Harold Hill era). As the quantity of Hardy Boys novels printed and published in the UK grew in subsequent decades, the market for the US releases dwindled, and presumably all but disappeared.
However, in the mid-1990s, the demise of the Armada Books imprint, plus the cessation of the British Casefiles series, saw a return to the old days of US editions jostling for shelf space in retail outlets all across the UK, Australia and New Zealand. These paperbacks differed in only one fundamental regard to those sold in America – the addition of a label to the reverse cover, on which was printed a new barcode and new price given in Pounds Sterling (or Dollars in the case of Australia and New Zealand).
The exact number of imported titles from both the Original and Casefiles series is extremely difficult to ascertain; however, the British National Bibliography (BNB) does mention many (if certainly not all) of these releases. Therefore, the listings below should be treated only as a general guide, and not an exhaustive or comprehensive record.
Although the first four entries in the relatively new Undercover Brothers series did indeed appear as genuine British editions, Simon & Schuster UK opted not to issue the remainder of the series in a similar manner. As a result, from volume five onwards, consumers in Great Britain and the Commonwealth were again faced with the US paperbacks (complete with the aforementioned reverse-cover labels). Unlike the previous imported paperbacks, these particular books were given new and distinct ISBNs, for reasons that aren't entirely clear.
In addition to the three principal incarnations of the Hardy Boys, other US editions have appeared in the British marketplace in recent years. For example, at least five or four entries in the ill-fated Clues Brothers series for younger readers were imported in the late 1990s. Also, the ongoing series of Undercover Brothers Graphic Novels has been available in the UK since its inception. Listings for both sets of books are not given here due to the extremely incomplete nature of the relevant BNB records.
Currently, the availability of the Original Series in the UK is once again solely reliant on the US Grosset & Dunlap releases – although this time around it is the revised, 'flashlight' editions that are being imported from across the Atlantic.
Original Series
The records held by the BNB include only the following imported Minstrel paperback editions:
Title | Year | ISBN |
130. Sidetracked to Danger | 1997 | 0671872141 |
131. Crusade of the Flaming Sword | 1997 | 067187215X |
132. Maximum Challenge | 1995 | 0671872168 |
133. Crime in the Kennel | 1997 | 0671872176 |
134. Cross-Country Crime | 1997 | 0671505173 |
135. The Hypersonic Secret | 1997 | 0671505181 |
136. The Cold Cash Caper | 1997 | 0671505203 |
137. High Speed Showdown | 1997 | 0671505211 |
138. The Alaskan Adventure | 1998 | 0671505246 |
139. The Search for the Snow Leopard | 1999 | 0671505254 |
140. Slam Dunk Sabotage | 1999 | 0671505262 |
141. The Desert Thieves | 1998 | 0671505270 |
142. Lost in Gator Swamp | 1998 | 0671000543 |
143. The Giant Rat of Sumatra | 1998 | 0671000551 |
144. The Secret of Skeleton Reef | 1997 | 067100056X |
145. Terror at High Tide | 1998 | 0671000578 |
146. The Mark of the Blue Tattoo | 1998 | 0671000586 |
147. Trial and Terror | 1998 | 0671000594 |
148. The Ice Cold Case | 1998 | 0671001221 |
149. Chase for the Mystery Twister | 1998 | 067100123X |
150. The Crisscross Crime | 1999 | 0671007432 |
151. The Rocky Road to Revenge | 1999 | 0671021729 |
152. Danger in the Extreme | 1999 | 0671021737 |
153. Eye on Crime | 1999 | 0671021745 |
Casefiles
After the publication of the last Casefiles title to appear in the UK under the Archway imprint (#70 Rigged for Revenge), a selection of subsequent titles in that series were made available to British consumers in the form of US editions (ironically, many of these higher-numbered Casefiles novels were later published in the UK by Pocket Books)
Title | Year | ISBN |
107. Fast Break | 1997 | 0671504304 |
108. Blown Away | 1997 | 0671504312 |
109. Moment of Truth | 1997 | 0671504320 |
110. Bad Chemistry | 1997 | 0671504339 |
111. Competitive Edge | 1997 | 0671504460 |
112. Cliff-Hanger | 1997 | 0671504533 |
113. Sky High | 1997 | 0671504541 |
114. Clean Sweep | 1997 | 0671504568 |
115. Cave Trap | 1997 | 0671504622 |
116. Acting Up | 1998 | 0671504886 |
117. Blood Sport | 1998 | 0671561170 |
118. The Last Leap | 1998 | 0671561189 |
119. The Emperor's Shield | 1998 | 0671561197 |
120. Survival of the Fittest | 1998 | 0671561200 |
121. Absolute Zero | 1998 | 0671561219 |
122. River Rats | 1998 | 0671561235 |
123. High-Wire Act | 1998 | 0671561227 |
Title | Year | ISBN |
124. The Viking's Revenge | 1998 | 0671561243 |
125. Stress Point | 1998 | 067156241X |
126. Fire in the Sky | 1998 | 0671561251 |
127. Dead in the Water | 1998 | 0671562428 |
-- Collector's Edition: 38. Diplomatic Deceit 39. Flesh and Blood 40. Fright Wave |
1998 | 0671020331 |
-- Collector's Edition: 55. Beyond The Law 58. Spiked! 59. Open Season |
1999 | 0671020188 | -- Collector's Edition: 48. Rock 'n' Revenge 51. Choke Hold 52. Uncivil War |
1998 | 067102034X |
Undercover Brothers
The first four entries in the recent Undercover Brothers series were issued as genuine British editions; however, all subsequent titles released in the Commonwealth are imports. For some reason, these imports were furnished with unique ISBNs, making these releases easily distinguishable from the books sold in the US.
Title | Year / Month | ISBN |
5. Rocky Road | 2007 (May) | 1847381030 |
6. Burned | 2007 (June) | 1847381057 |
7. Operation: Survival | 2007 (July) | 1847381073 |
8. Top Ten Ways to Die | 2007 (August) | 184738109X |
9. Martial Law | 2007 (September) | 1847381111 |
10. Blown Away | 2007 (October) | 1847381138 |
11. Hurricane Joe | 2007 (November) | 1847381154 |
12. Trouble in Paradise | 2008 (January) | 1847381170 |
13. The Mummy's Curse | 2008 (February) | 1847383319 |
14. Hazed | 2008 (March) | 1847383335 |
15. Death And Diamonds | 2008 (April) | 1847383351 |
16. Bayport Buccaneers | 2008 (May) | 1847383378 |
17. Murder at the Mall | 2008 (June) | 1847383394 |
18. Pushed | 2008 (July) | 1847383416 |
19. Foul Play | 2008 (August) | 1847383432 |
20. Feeding Frenzy | 2008 (September) | 1847383459 |
21. Comic Con Artist | 2008 (October) | 1847385605 |
22. Deprivation House | 2008 (November) | 1847385613 |
23. House Arrest | 2009 (January) | 1847385621 |
24. Murder House | 2009 (February) | 184738563X |
25. Double Trouble | 2009 (March) | 1847385648 |
26. Double Down | 2009 (April) | 1847385656 |
27. Double Deception | 2009 (May) | 1847385664 |
28. Galaxy X | 2009 (June) | 1847385672 |
29. X-plosion | 2009 (August) | 1847385680 |