The Darewell Chums
Written by Allen Chapman (pseudonym)
Copyright 1908
This book had me hooked at the first page. A loud thud is heard from Bart Keene’s room,
followed by an explosion. Bart’s sister
Alice runs in to see what happened. As
blood drips from Bart’s hand, he recounts the story. It seems that the gun this young teenager
ordered through the mail has accidentally gone off, grazing his fingers with
shot. Never fear, Bart, for your sister
Alice longs to be a nurse. She’ll go get
the first aid kit and book and learn how to patch you up!
So begins this adventure of Bart and his friends Ned, Fenn,
and Frank, all growing up in the well-to-do town of Darewell at the turn of the
century. This group of young chums has
lots of freedom to find adventures and trouble.
(Helicopter parenting was apparently not invented yet.) They even get to solve a few mysteries along
the way. If this storyline sounds at all
familiar, it may be because this is yet another Stratemeyer Syndicate Series –
written a generation before the more popular Nancy Drew came along.
Like Nancy, the heroes in these stories never lack
money. They are all very nice, very
smart, and are always helping others – even those that have been mean to them
in the past. Each of these chums gets
into trouble at some point - yet they are resourceful and always manage to pull
each other out. They don’t
complain. They are always up for a
challenge. Too perfect, you say? Yes, but still something to strive for.
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