True to Himself

The Stratemeyer Syndicate was established by an American publisher and children's fiction author Edward L. Stratemeyer born on October 4, 1862 and died on May 10, 1930. He was one of the most prolific writers in the world, producing in excess of 1,300 books himself, and selling in excess of 500 million copies. He also created many well-known fictional book series for juveniles, including The Rover Boys, The Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew series, many of which sold millions of copies and remain in publication. Henry Julius Stratemeyer, a tobacconist, and Anna Siegel welcomed their youngest child, Stratemeyer, into the world in Elizabeth, New Jersey. They both originated in Hanover, Germany, and came to America in 1837. He and his siblings were German, but they were schooled in English and communicated in English. As a child, Edward read books by authors like Horatio Alger and William T. Adams, who wrote popular rags-to-riches stories about the devout young American. He was tremendously affected by these tales. In the basement of his father's tobacco store, Stratemeyer ran his own printing press when he was a teen, passing out flyers and pamphlets to his friends and family.