Books
''Beverly Gray, Freshman''
''Beverly Gray, Freshman'' is the first book in the Beverly Gray series. Published concurrently in 1934 with ''Sophomore'', ''Junior'', and ''Senior'', it introduces Beverly as a freshman at Vernon College. Beverly makes her first appearance as she steps off the train carrying her to Vernon College. She is accompanied by her childhood friend, Anne White. They attend Vernon to follow in their mothers' footsteps. Beverly's mother is described as "the patron saint of Vernon College". The two girls settle into life at Vernon College, where Beverly's paternal surname affords her anonymity as she attempts to succeed "on her own merits, not under another's colors." Three of the other four freshmen in her dormitory—Lenora Whitehill, Rosalie Arnold, and Lois Mason—prove friendly, while Beverly's roommate Shirley Parker is "aloof" and "patronizing." These girls variously join Beverly in the seven chapters preceding winter break, where they break curfew to view a movie (chapter 2); are caught (chapter 3); are''Beverly Gray, Sophomore''
''Beverly Gray, Sophomore'' explores the mystery that the series would become known for. Beverly spends most of her year investigating a seemingly haunted mansion used by drug smugglers. She also manages to foil a jewel theft over winter break, survive a plane crash, and solve the theft of a set of history examination questions. Now in their second year at Vernon College, the six main girls reunite in Beverly's room and form a sorority, the "Alpha Delta Sorority". Beverly joins the ''Comet'', the college paper, as an entry into a literary career. The ''Comets editor, Alison Cox, orders Beverly to investigate the strange happenings in the abandoned Horler Mansion, a decaying structure whose last owner was reportedly murdered. In her first trip to the house, Beverly encounters an unkempt man with a "long, evil-looking scar." The man warns Beverly of "ghosts," introduces himself as "the head ghost," and escorts her "roughly" to the door. Beverly gains reentry through a back window and discovers "pink packets filled with a finely ground powder" in the mansion's attic. Beverly leaves without taking a sample, and when she returns three days later "all the boxes regone." The mystery deepens when various Alpha Delta girls observe "a skeleton dance" on successive nights, where ten skeletons move in "queer jerky steps" in the mansion while "making chill-provoking groans and murmurs." Beverly's next trip inside the house finds her face to face with a handsome young man named Larry. He remains mysterious to Beverly, who can't figure out whether he is one of the "ghosts" or not. Nevertheless, she is attracted to him. On Halloween, Larry crashes the sophomore dance—the same one that Beverly herself crashed the previous year—in a Robin Hood costume. He claims to be there to "ask questions about the Horler Mansion," and he shares two dances with Beverly. On Beverly's third visit to the Horler Mansion, she encounters another sinister character. Through the window, she sees the grotesque face of a "Chinaman." Beverly continues exploring when the man does not reappear, but upon making her way back to the attic, she is locked in by "the head ghost." Larry arrives to pull her out through the skylight, and they escape together. Two days later, Beverly's friend Lenora vanishes inside the mansion, and Beverly and Shirley go after her. In the scene depicted on the book's dust jacket, they run from their dormitory to the mansion, where they find Lenora unconscious in the cellar. They determine that she tripped on a broken step and fell, while Larry arrives to aid the girls as they take Lenora back to campus. Thanksgiving comes, and with it a football game between Yale and Jackson College. Beverly and Anne are at the Yale Bowl to witness Jim Stanton, a childhood friend who has a crush on Beverly, score a touchdown. Yale wins, and at that night's celebratory dance Jim suddenly kisses Beverly. The chapter concludes, and Jim is not mentioned again in ''Sophomore''. The girls return to Vernon College to hear that an unidentified man was shot near the Horler Mansion while they were away. Before the mysteries surrounding Horler Mansion can be investigated any further, the six Alpha Delpha girls travel to Shirley's New York home for the Christmas holidays. Shirley's parents prove too distracted with their own lives to pay attention to their daughter and her friends. The girls pass the time by attending a number of upscale parties. At one of these events, Beverly is approached by Charlie Blaine, a reporter for the ''''Beverly Gray, Junior''
Opening on the first day of term, ''Beverly Gray, Junior'' is the story of Beverly's third year at Vernon College, which includes her kidnapping by a group of gypsies. Her rescue does come in time, however, for a few parting adventures: Winter break sees Beverly and Shirley suffer skiing and ice skating injuries, while the attempts by May Norris to sabotage Shirley's role as Hamlet in the school play ultimately effect her redemption. A band of gypsies has set up camp on the outskirts of Vernon. The six Alpha Delta girls visit them to have their fortunes told. They are met at the camp by Orlenda, and Beverly is warned of impending danger. Returning to Vernon College, the girls notice a "dark and swarthy" man, whom they immediately assume is a thief. He denies the accusation but then flees, dropping stolen money and jewelry as he does. That night, after leaving to mail letters from town, Beverly fails to return. Her disappearance is met with alarm, and both her parents and Inspector Dugan are notified. Because of her father's political importance, Beverly's picture is "put in every newspaper in the country." The first purported news is that a "girl matching Beverly's description" was in a Vernon art shop the night of her disappearance, when it was robbed by a man "believed to be a gypsy." He had stolen the girl's wristwatch, and she had given chase. Although the shop owner offers conflicting descriptions, the Alpha Delta girls know Beverly is attached to her watch, which was presented to her at the end of her first year "for extraordinary heroism." Inspector Dugan is "positive" that Beverly has been kidnapped, since "there have been so many kidnappings in the country," and he holds the gypsies responsible. Meanwhile, Jim Stanton and Larry Owens (who were introduced in ''Sophomore'') arrive to aid in the search. Two days later, the boys depart in Larry's monoplane to search the gypsy camp. They land on a nearby road and quickly earn an invitation to the camp, where they observe a sealed wagon protected by two men. Soon after this, Inspector Dugan and his men arrive. Armed with a warrant, they search every wagon, including the sealed one. The gypsies protest that the wagon contains a "sick grandmother" who must not be disturbed. The Inspector agrees to let two gypsies enter first and "prepare the old woman" before he investigates. His search is fruitless, and he returns to Vernon with Larry and Jim. Three days later, Gerry Foster (a friend from ''Freshman'') writes to tell Shirley she has seen Beverly at the County Fair in the company of a strange man. As Larry and Jim fly to the fair, the narration turns back nine days to tell Beverly's side of the story. On her way to mail letters, she stops in the art shop. Suddenly, the "dark and swarthy" man enters, intending to rob the store. He takes the money from the register and steals Beverly's watch as a bonus. She pursues him, but upon catching up, she finds the tables turned. The man pins "her arms to her sides" and throws her into a "gypsy wagon." There she is met by Orlenda, the woman who had warned Beverly earlier about impending danger. Orlenda suggests to Dimiti, Beverly's kidnapper, that they might be able to ransom the girl. They depart with Beverly a hostage in their wagon, and in the morning they attempt to dye her skin with a "mysterious brown substance." As Dimiti explains it, the "liquid is to make your skin darker so, if anyone should see you, you could pass for one of us." Beverly attempts to escape but is quickly subdued. The pair daub her skin with the liquid until it becomes "as dark as any of the gypsies'." Although the gypsies are almost universally described as unpleasant, unkempt and ruthless, there is one that does not fit the mold. Anselo is a "refined" gypsy who carries "the bearing of a gentleman," and "a touch of Old World gallantry." He is also an extraordinary violinist, serenading Beverly from outside the wagon where she is held prisoner. He also reunites Beverly with her wristwatch, which he has somehow obtained from Dimiti. The next day, Anselo takes Beverly for a walk in the woods, during which he suggests she has "the gypsy heart." Beverly admits that "the roving life fascinates me." She nevertheless complains that "Gypsies don't like to work. . . . That is why they are so restless. They roam about, living on what the earth produces." The conversation ends when the pair see Larry's airplane overhead, which Beverly recognizes. Anselo refuses to return to camp, admitting that Dimiti had anticipated a police investigation and ordered him to take Beverly away for a while. Beverly realizes that Anselo's loyalty still lies with the gypsies and not with her. The gypsies migrate to a new camp, and Anselo proposes to take Beverly to the County Fair if she promises not to run away. The other gypsies are unaware of his plan, and they continue their usual pattern of cheating and stealing. At the fair, Beverly is spotted simultaneously by Gerry and Dimiti, who is there trading horses. Anselo takes Beverly back to her wagon, where she is joined that afternoon by an irate Dimiti. He claims to have "slashed" Anselo with a knife, and he attempts to seduce Beverly. In the ensuing struggle, Beverly thrusts Dimiti's knife "deep into the flesh of his upper arm," and he responds by knocking her unconscious. By the next night, the gypsies have moved once again, this time to "a regular camping place in the hills." Beverly, Anselo and Dimiti have all recovered, the latter two with bandaged wounds. Larry and Jim, meanwhile, arrive at the county fair and are directed to the camping grounds. They wait until night to investigate but are caught by the gypsies. Larry and Jim are bound and thrown in "a cave on the hillside." Watching from her wagon, Beverly implores Anselo to help them escape, and he agrees. Anselo enters the cave under cover of darkness and frees the boys. He then reveals where Beverly is being held and asks that they tell her "Anselo wishes her happiness always." Jim and Larry rescue Beverly (who throws herself at Jim), and together they return to Larry's plane. Beverly sprains her ankle in the process, and the boys carry her the rest of the way. Having failed in their kidnapping efforts, the gypsies quickly disappear. The story moves on to winter break, where Larry proposes to Beverly, who declines. Jim leaves to take an engineering job in Wyoming, and Shirley is invited to Renville. Assuring Beverly that (despite being from New York) she will not find Renville dull, Shirley hints at the premise for ''The Adventure Girls at K Bar O'' when she declares that "I spent one summer on a ranch in Arizona." Beverly, Shirley and Anne leave shortly before Christmas for home, where the Lucky Circle (sans Jim) is reunited. The usual celebrations and gaiety intersperse themselves among several close calls. Shirley and Beverly barely avoid crashing into Anne and Joan's "wrecked sled." Shirley learns to ski, only to be knocked unconscious at the bottom of a hill. She is "fit as a fiddle" the next day, and accompanies the Lucky Circle ice skating on "the lake front." When Bucky Harris, "a chubby little fellow" who "lives across the street from" Beverly, falls through thin ice, Shirley inches towards him and also falls in. She pushes Bucky back on the ice before losing consciousness again. Beverly ties a rope to herself and jumps in after Shirley while the Lucky Circle pulls them to safety. Despite their adventure, the girls prove none the worse for wear, and the next afternoon their friends come by to anoint Shirley "an honorary member of the Lucky Circle." Beverly and company return to school in high spirits. The Christmas holidays are "weeks past," when they are next heard from. The six Alpha Delta girls are planning the junior production of Hamlet. Lenora is the director, Lois is cast as Ophelia, Beverly is "in charge of the scenery" with Anne as her assistant, and Rosalie has "charge of the costumes." Shirley is to play the leading role, fulfilling a pledge made in ''Sophomore'' to pursue an acting career. This assignment comes at the expense of May Norris, who is "no friend of any of the Alphas" after Shirley was wrongfully accused of stealing examination questions in the previous year. May has "her heart set on playing the lead" but must settle for understudy. When Josephine Carter breaks her arm falling down a flight of stairs to the storeroom, claiming afterwards that " mebody pushed me," Lenora suspects May. Beverly is tapped to replace Josephine as Hamlet's mother, and "nothing ever''Beverly Gray, Senior''
Beverly's last year at Vernon College forms the basis for ''Beverly Gray, Senior'', the fourth and final work in Clair Blank's 1934 breeder set. Sports-related tribulations, commencement activities, and Shirley's fame-induced snobbishness form an undercurrent to the two main plot pieces: The arrival of a film company on campus, and Shirley's eventual kidnapping. As promised in the previous term, ''Senior'' opens with the arrival of the Forsythe Film Company at Vernon College to shoot a "college picture," in return for which the school will receive money to build "a new indoor swimming pool for the students." "Directors, actors, ndcameramen" all descend upon the town, alongside the star Marcia Lyman, a "dark beauty" and "dazzling figure" fresh from Hollywood. Oddly, the planned film does not have a screenplay, and rather than hire a professional, Mr. Forsythe decides to hold a script-writing contest among the students and film the winning submission. Each of the six Alpha Delta girls put pen to paper, but only Beverly and Lenora following through to completion. Beverly's screenplay, ''Stepping Stone'', takes first place, while Lenora's ''A Senior's Dilemma, or They Shall Not Pass'', "deserves honorable mention." A snag hits Beverly's newfound fame the next day, when Marcia Lyman leaves "the movie company flat" to take "a new contract with a much higher salary" from Cordial Pictures Company. Mr. Forsythe quickly gives up and plans to return to home, but Lenora has a better idea. She suggests that aspiring actress Shirley take over Marcia's role. Forsythe agrees, and with the star and story set, film production begins. The proceeding chapters reveal Shirley's success going to her head, and the remaining Alpha Delta girls butting heads with a group of six juniors: Connie Elwood, Kathleen Ryan, Ada Collins, Evelyn DeLong, Virginia Harris, and Phyllis Tanner. As president of the senior class, it falls on Beverly to govern the juniors. She finds herself repeatedly running afoul of their schemes, much to her frustration. Worse yet, her elected position comes with little power to punish the girls, or otherwise stop their antics. Between dealing with Shirley's ego, and the increasing trouble in their dormitory, Beverly is exhausted. The middle section of ''Senior'' is defined by a series of episodic events. A détente emerges between the six seniors and the six juniors, with Connie promising to "do our part" to "keep things peaceful." Shirley, who has apparently supplanted Beverly as the "shining light on the basketball team," refuses to let the senior-junior game interfere with her filming and subsequently watches from the stands as the seniors lose by a single point. Connie and her friends show up uninvited at the seniors' Halloween "Fiction Dance", copying the Alphas' move from ''Freshman''. Jim Stanton, who was last seen leaving for an engineering job in Wyoming, returns to Renville from a job well done only to have his Christmas Eve proposal declined by Beverly. A movie "camera smysteriously smashed," and the Cordial Pictures Company is suspected of trying to stop Forsythe's production. Beverly and Lenora catch one "Mr. Smith" attempting to "climb in the window" of the Forsythe Film Company's railway coach, and the next day, they find the door "broken open" and "three rolls of film" missing. Having followed Mr. Smith to the Wildon Hotel the previous night, Beverly and Lenora go back and gain entrance to his room through the fire escape. There, they recover the stolen film and elude the hotel authorities. Forsythe is overjoyed and rewards Vernon College with $5,000 and the necessary funds to build a new swimming pool. The "winter turn to spring," and with it comes a new source of trouble: Shirley is kidnapped. While walking back to the college, she is captured by two men and swept away. That night, Beverly receives a ransom note demanding $10,000 from Shirley's parents, the Parkers. She informs Lenora, Rosalie, Miss Wilder, Mrs. Dennis and the Parkers. In two days time, Beverly and Lenora place the ransom money in "a hollow tree stump" near the old Horler Mansion. They then hide in the house, watching the stump from upstairs. The kidnappers arrive, and Beverly hides in the trunk of their car. She is taken to an "old house," "three stories" tall with shades "drawn tight to shut out prying eyes." Beverly waits for the men to enter, then follows through the back door. Inside, she overhears them gloating and planning to "deliver another note demanding twenty-five thousand." Climbing the stairs, she discovers Shirley in a locked room on the second floor. From there, they dash to the car, driving off and leaving the men "dancing like wild Indians." Shirley's kidnappers do not waste much time dancing. Rather, they call the police in a neighboring "little suburban town," telling them to be on the lookout for a "stolen car." Shirley and Beverly are soon pulled over and informed that their "father told us you took the car and were running away," and that the police "are to hold you until he gets here." At the police station, Shirley convinces the policemen to call her real father, but he is unable to arrive before the kidnappers appear, claiming to be friends of the girls. One man talks to the police chief while the other walks to the girls, "a revolver in his hand," and threatens them to back up the story. Beverly speaks the truth instead and narrowly avoids being shot. Shirley's father arrives unseen but is overpowered. Beverly, Shirley, Mr. Parker and the police chief are held at gunpoint, until Beverly edges around the men, takes a flashlight from her pocket, and thrusts "it against the back of the man before her with a stern command to put up his hands." Mr. Parker and the chief use this distraction to throw themselves upon the kidnappers: One is handcuffed, and the other bolts for the exit. The ensuing car chase is shown on the dust jacket. The kidnapper jumps into his car while the girls, along with Mr. Parker, pile into the police chief's car. The chase ends when a truck sideswipes the kidnapper's car, flipping it over. The kidnapper is pulled out of the wreckage and arrested. Mr. Parker then drives the girls back to Vernon, where they regale their classmates with the story of their adventure. Spring term continues, and Shirley gradually makes amends with the girls she had previously "snubbed" and "treated shamefully." Beverly "resign from the tennis team," ostensibly because she does not have "the time to devote to practice." It's implied she's resigning to make Shirley feel better about quitting the basketball team earlier. This interpretation is believed by Shirley herself, and she entreats Beverly not to "make the mistake I made." Beverly changes her tune and her resignation is forgotten. With Beverly on the team, the "championship tennis match between Vernon College and Wayne Seminary" results in a Vernon victory. In the course of the match, Beverly once again injures her ankle and nearly collapses from exhaustion. The six seniors and six juniors have mended their ties by the end of the year. The seniors invite the juniors to join Alpha Delta as "full-fledged members." From there the chapter titles tell the story: The Senior Prom, Senior Dinner, Commencement, and Auld Lang Syne. Jim Stanton and Tommy Chandler (another old friend) appear at the prom festivities, and Beverly again rebuffs Jim's advances. The senior dinner at Weller's features a speech by Shirley, reformed valedictorian, and a paean by Beverly to "the ideals and traditions" of Vernon College. Commencement ensues the following week, marking "the end of Senior Road." Beverly resolves to "devote my time to stories," perhaps "even try to write a play." Shirley's aim is to forsake the "endless teas and . . . boresome people" of society and pursue a career on the stage. "Lois wants to sketch," while Rosalie "would like to go to a conservatory and continue her music." The final chapter, Auld Lang Syne, opens back in Renville. Jim has "unenthusiastically" accepted "a job in South America" to construct a "canal of some sort," a commitment of up to a year that will prevent him from wooing Beverly. The department of love is more gracious to Tommy, who announces to the group that "Anne has promised to marry me." "Three weeks later the little church on the hill was the scene of the simple but impressive ceremony that joined the two young people together for all time." The newly expanded Alpha Delta Sorority, along with the Lucky Circle, all join in the festivities before Anne and Tommy depart on honeymoon to "the Golden west." Lenora declares that she will never settle down, insisting she wants 'the life of a sailor' with a new lover 'in every town.'"''Beverly Gray at the World's Fair''
''Beverly Gray at the World's Fair'', the sixth work by Blank, was issued for a short window from 1935 to 1938 before being dropped from the series. Because of fears that the book's setting would seem dated, publication of ''World's Fair'' was ceased after Grosset & Dunlap acquired the rights to the Beverly Gray books in 1938. Due to this limited printing run it is the scarcest of the 26 books. ''World's Fair'' sees Beverly travel with a coterie of friends to the 1933–34 Chicago World's Fair. After Lois departs to Paris, where she has won "an art contest" with "a year's free study" as the prize, Lenora and Connie travel by train to visit Virginia, who lives in Chicago with her aunt and uncle. Although Beverly initially has to stay behind and work, the very next day her editor assigns her to write "a series of feature articles" on the fair for "the Sunday magazine section." She flies out that day with Larry, who is coincidentally headed to Chicago, "and then points West," for his work with the''Beverly Gray on a World Cruise''
Originally published as the seventh title in the Beverly Gray series, ''World Cruise'' was recast as the sixth work when Grosset & Dunlap acquired the series and halted publication of ''World's Fair''. This cancelled title nevertheless continued to exert its pull on the succeeding books; ''World's Fair'' began a trend towards plots focused on travel as much as mystery, a trend reflected, and intensified, by ''World Cruise''. Beverly and Co. prepare to set sail aboard the yacht ''Susabella'' as ''World Cruise'' opens, embarking upon a four-book circumnavigation of the globe. Mystery and adventure continue to remain important themes—a villainous count threatens the party after Jim comes into possession of one-half of a treasure map, and Beverly suffers the usual barrage of misfortune—yet in most other respects the book resembles a travelogue. From New York to Jerusalem, 251 pages transport Beverly nearly a quarter of the way across the world, while intervening stops, in London, Le Havre, Paris, Flanders Field,Beverly's tribulations
Kidnappings * by Hermit Woman (''Freshman'', ch. 12) * by smugglers (''Sophomore'', ch. 8) * by gypsies (''Junior'', ch. 3) * by ransomers (attempted) (''Senior'', ch. 17) Wild animals * Pawed by bear (''Freshman'', ch. 15) * Clawed by lion (''World's Fair'', ch. 14) * Pursued by shark (''World Cruise'', ch. 4) Injuries * Sprains ankle (''Freshman'', ch. 10) * Knocked unconscious (''Freshman'', ch. 20) * Breaks rib and arm (''Sophomore'', ch. 21) * Twists ankle (''Junior'', ch. 13) * Sprains ankle (''Senior'', ch. 19) Menaced with weapon * Held at gunpoint (''Freshman'', ch. 27) * Held at knifepoint (''Sophomore'', ch. 17) * Dodges throwing knives (''Junior'', ch. 13) * Dodges bullet (''Senior'', ch. 17) * Held at gunpoint (''Senior'', ch. 17) * Dodges knife (''World Cruise'', ch. 7) Assorted assaults * Attacked by thief (''Sophomore'', ch. 16) * Choked unconscious (''Sophomore'', ch. 19) * Knifes gypsy (''Junior'', ch. 11) * Struck unconscious (''Junior'', ch. 11) * Rammed unconscious (''World's Fair'', ch. 11) Elemental misfortune * Lost in blizzard (''Freshman'', ch. 9) * Rescues Shirley from fire (''Freshman'', ch. 23) * Falls through ice (''Junior'', ch. 17) * Lost in blizzard (''World Cruise'', ch. 11) * Lost in sandstorm (''World Cruise'', ch. 17) Other * Trapped in smugglers' den (''Sophomore'', ch. 19) * In plane crash (''Sophomore'', ch. 21) * Arrested (''Senior'', ch. 17) * Witnesses murder (''World's Fair'', ch. 6) * Witnesses murder (''World Cruise'', ch. 7) * Drugged (attempted) (''World Cruise'', ch. 13) * Almost hit by car (''World Cruise'', ch. 17)Publication history
The Beverly Gray series was published in the United States from 1934 to 1955. Four publishers were responsible for the series output during this time: A. L. Burt (1934–1937),A. L. Burt (1934–1937)
A. L. Burt was responsible for publishing the first eight titles in the series, from Beverly Gray, Freshman through Beverly Gray in the Orient. The first four titles were copyrighted on June 1, 1934 and issued concurrently as a "breeder set," a common practice at the time. Books five and six (''Career'' and ''World's Fair'') followed in similar fashion, both copyrighted on June 14, 1934, while the next two works followed in yearly intervals. Although A. L. Burt's president retired and sold the company to Blue Ribbon Books in early March 1937, the copyright for the final book published by A. L. Burt, Beverly Gray in the Orient, was actually issued on April 15 of that year. The A. L. Burt editions had a uniform appearance. Approximately 8 inches tall and 1.5 inches thick, they were composed of gray cloth boards with black lettering, and supplied with light blue endpapers with an etching of buildings. The publisher was denoted on the lower spine as "A. L. BURT/COMPANY."Blue Ribbon Books (1937–1938)
Blue Ribbon Books announced the purchase of A. L. Burt on March 4, 1937. Robert de Graff, president of Blue Ribbon from May 28 of the previous year until February of the next, described the purchase as "supplementary," bringing together "the fiction list of the A. L. Burt Company and the non-fiction books issued under the Blue Ribbon imprint." Taking over approximately 2,000 titles from A. L. Burt, Blue Ribbon indicated its intention to continue "the Burt name" on "fiction and juvenile titles"; each Beverly Gray book was thus referred to as "A Burt Book" on the title page. The company had to that point been a reprint specialist, and, at least vis-à-vis the Beverly Gray series, its specialty did not change. No new titles were commissioned for the series by Blue Ribbon, although from 1937 to 1938 they reprinted the eight works already issued by A. L. Burt. From April 15, 1937 (''Orient'', A. L. Burt) until October 15, 1938 (''Treasure Hunt'', Grosset & Dunlap) it would be seventeen months until another Beverly Gray book was copyrighted. The initial Beverly Gray books issued by Blue Ribbon used the same stock as the A. L. Burt editions. The books were bound in cloth boards of the same color and size, while the copyright remained under the name of A. L. Burt. The only changes were to the spine, where "B U R T" replaced "A. L. BURT/COMPANY," and to the title page, where "''A Burt Book''/BLUE RIBBON BOOKS, Inc./New York" replaced "A. L. BURT COMPANY, ''publishers''/New York Chicago." Blue Ribbon began using colored boards after the initial printing runs with gray boards, perhaps reflecting the exhaustion of binding materials acquired from A. L. Burt. The size and composition of the books remained the same.Grosset and Dunlap (1938–1954)
McLoughlin Bros. (1955)
In June 1954, Grosset & Dunlap purchased "the complete stock and goodwill of McLoughlin Bros," a "publisher of toy books since 1828." McLoughlin thereafter became "a division of Grosset & Dunlap," with the Clover Books imprint used to publish the Beverly Gray series. Clover Books was primarily used as "a reprint line for juvenile titles that were still profitable enough to merit publication in a cheap format but were no longer selling sufficiently well to continue in their original hardback edition," and the switch to this imprint portended the fate of the Beverly Gray series. Only one more book would be published before the series was cancelled. McLoughlin printed Beverly Gray's Surprise, the final work in the series, in 1955. It additionally reprinted the previous nine books (Journey through Scoop), which had originally been issued by Grosset & Dunlap. The ten books were numbered from G-16 (Journey) to G-25 (Surprise), with G-1 through G-15, representing the books not reprinted by McLoughlin, left unassigned.International editions
From 1944 until 1970, translations of several Beverly Gray books were published in Iceland and in Norway. Twelve works were initially published by the Icelandic publisher Norðri. The first of these, Beverly Gray nýliði (''Freshman''), was translated by Gudjon Gudjonsson, with the eleven succeeding titles translated by Kristmundur Bjarnason. The first four translations (''Freshman'' through ''Senior'') were later reprinted by another Icelandic publisher, Iðunn. Either intentionally or mistakenly, both Norðri and Iðunn used the pen name "Clarie Blank" rather than Blank's true first name. Between the publication and republication of these Icelandic translations, seven Norwegian titles were issued by the publisher Forlagshuset.Icelandic titles
Norwegian titles
Notes
References
Bibliography
Works by Clair Blank Beverly Gray * Blank, Clair (1934). ''Beverly Gray, Freshman''. A. L. Burt Company. * Blank, Clair (1934). ''Beverly Gray, Sophomore''. A. L. Burt Company. * Blank, Clair (1934). ''Beverly Gray, Junior''. A. L. Burt Company. * Blank, Clair (1934). ''Beverly Gray, Senior''. A. L. Burt Company. * Blank, Clair (1935). ''Beverly Gray at the World's Fair''. A. L. Burt Company. * Blank, Clair (1936). ''Beverly Gray on a World Cruise''. A. L. Burt Company. * Blank, Clair (1938). ''Beverly Gray on a Treasure Hunt''. Grosset & Dunlap. The Adventure Girls * Blank, Clair (1936). ''The Adventure Girls at K Bar O''. A. L. Burt Company. * Blank, Clair (1936). ''The Adventure Girls in the Air''. A. L. Burt Company. * Blank, Clair (1936). ''The Adventure Girls at Happiness House''. A. L. Burt Company Other * Blank, Clair (1940). ''Lover Come Back''. Gramercy. * Blank, Clair (1941). ''Linda Ross at Hamilton''. Unpublished manuscript. Primary sources * Collier, Price (1911). ''The West in the East from an American Point of View''. Charles Scribner's Sons. * Gautier, Judith (1904). "The Temple of Asakusa". ''Japan as seen and described by famous writers''. Ed. Esther Singleton. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. * Hichens, Robert (1905). ''The Garden of Allah''. London: Methuen & Co. * Hichens, Robert (1911). ''The Spell of Egypt''. New York: The Century Co. * Holmes, Elias Burton (1901). ''The Burton Holmes Lectures Vol V: The Edge of China''. Battle Creek, MI: The Little-Preston Company. * ''Official Guide Book of the Fair, 1933''. (1933). Chicago: A Century of Progress. * Scidmore, Eliza Ruhamah (1903). ''Winter India''. New York: The Century Co. * Thomson, John Stuart (1909). ''The Chinese''. Indianapolis, IN: The Bobbs-Merrill Company. * Urner, Mabel Herbert (July 21, 1935). ''The Married Life of Helen and Warren: A Rainy Day Adventure at London's Famous Rag Market''. Wilmington, DE: The Sunday Morning Star. Secondary sources * Abreu, John E. (May 1984). "Beverly Gray, Juvenile Soap: A Golden Anniversary Retrospective (part 1)". ''Yellowback Library''. * Abreu, John E. (July 1984). "Beverly Gray, Juvenile Soap: A Golden Anniversary Retrospective (part 2)". ''Yellowback Library''. * Allcock, Doug (June 2009). "''A Peek at Beverly Gray''." ''Yellowback Library''. * Axe, John (July 2000). ''The Secret of Collecting Girls' Series Books''. Hobby House Press. . * Axe, John (July 2002). ''All About Collecting Girls' Series Books''. Hobby House Press. . * Bourke, Sean (July 1995). "American Juvenile Series Books in European Editions". ''Yellowback Library''. * Chenu, Julius "Bob" (Jan 1982). "Beverly Gray Series, by Clair Blank". ''Yellowback Library''. * Enright, John M. (Mar 1990). "It's Gray, It Has Two Legs, And It Travels Around the World". ''Mystery & Adventure Series Review''. * Grossman, Anita Susan (Jan 1989). "Mystery of Clair Blank". ''Yellowback Library''. * Grossman, Anita Susan (Dec 1989). "Clair Blank and Her Publishers: A Look at the Written Record". ''Yellowback Library''. * Grossman, Anita Susan (April 1994). "A Note on McLoughlin Brothers and Clover Books". ''Yellowback Library''. * Grossman, Anita Susan (October 1998). "Lover Come Back: A Synopsis Of Clair Blank's Forgotten Novel". ''The Whispered Watchword''.External links