Skip to main content

Alfred Hitchcock’s Three Investigators Series

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Reassessing the Hitchcock Touch
  • 364 Accesses

Abstract

In an attempt to capitalize on the Hitchcock name and cachet to sell a series of juvenile books, Random House launched the popular Three Investigators series, created by Robert Arthur Jr. in 1964. Although the early volumes bore Hitchcock’s name, he had, in fact, very little to do with the series. At the same time, the Hitchcock brand was indispensable for the success of Arthur’s novels, for it was extremely popular in the USA at that time because of his various films and television efforts. This chapter assesses the role which Hitchcock and the Hitchcock Touch played in the creation and marketing of the Three Investigators.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Works Cited

  • Arthur, Robert. The Secret of Terror Castle. New York: Random House, 1964.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, David. “On the Trail of the Three Investigators.” The Guardian 23 Sept. 2010, https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/sep/23/three-investigators-detective-fiction. Accessed 14 March 2017.

  • Chandler, Charlotte. It’s Only a Movie: Alfred Hitchcock. A Personal Biography. London et al.: Pocket Books, 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cochran, Keith. “Leo Edwards Borrowers.” Yellowback Library 111 (1993): 8–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelland, Clarence Budington. Mark Tidd. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1913.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mattson, E. Christian, and Thomas B. Davis. A Collector’s Guide to Hardcover Boys’ Books. Newark: Mad Book, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morley, Michael. “Dennis Lynds: An Interview with a Juvenile Series Author.” Yellowback Library 138 (1995): 4–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morley, Michael, and Janice Morley. “An Interview with Gayle Lynds.” Yellowback Library 149 (1996): 5–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pickrell, Alan. “The Power of Three.” The Boy Detectives: Essays on the Hardy Boys and Others. Ed. Michael Cornelius. Jefferson: McFarlane, 2010. 132–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, Kevin Burton. “The Three Investigators: Jupiter Jones, Bob Andrews, and Pete Crenshaw (also known as ‘The Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Series’).” The Thrilling Detective n.d., http://www.thrillingdetective.com/3investigators.html. Accessed 14 March 2017.

  • “Startling Discoveries: The Biography of Robert Arthur, Jr., the Creator of the Three Investigators Series.” Three Investigators Headquarters n.d., http://threeinvestigators.net/SD.html. Accessed 14 March 2017.

  • Truffaut, François. Hitchcock. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  • “Vintage Letters from the Random House T3I Files.” Three Investigators Books n.d., http://www.threeinvestigatorsbooks.com/Robert-Arthur-Random-House-letters.html. Accessed 14 March 2017.

  • Wawrzenski, Mark. “The Three Investigators: Then and Now.” Yellowback Library 79 (1991): 5–8.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Pickrell, H.A. (2017). Alfred Hitchcock’s Three Investigators Series. In: Schwanebeck, W. (eds) Reassessing the Hitchcock Touch. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60008-6_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics