Long shot - trying to trace a book series from childhood.
Discussion
When I were a young lad my mother used to get me books from the library and there was a series that I enjoyed very much at the time which I'd love to read again (needless to say, she has no idea now what the books were - it was 35 years or more ago).
The stories were about a very clever boy who lived in the country in the midwest, USA (I think) I guess in the late 19th/early 20th century.
The stories were about the things this boy got up to, normally to trick or con his school friends, and were very much along the Huckleberry Finn style and era.
One example I recall clearly was that he was given a horse, but because the family didn't have much money it wasn't (in his view) a very good horse because it wasn't as fast as his friend's horse. Upon bemoaning this to his father, his father pointed out that his horse had much more stamina than his friend's faster horse, which gave him an idea.
He bet his friend that his horse would beat his friend's horse in a race. Obviously his friend readily agreed, having got a clearly faster animal, but he set the course over 10 miles. His friend took off and he rode steadily. After six miles or so the friend's horse was exhausted and he easily passed it, winning the race and the wager.
Then he bet his friend that if they swapped horses he could still beat him over the same distance. Having seen the result, his friend couldn't see how so agreed. On the faster horse our hero out paced his own horse but after a mile he stopped and waited for the slower horse to catch up. Once he had (and with the faster horse he was riding fully recovered) he did it again over another mile and again and again until it was the last mile and he easily won.
There were loads of books and loads of really clever and amusing stories along similar lines but I've no idea who the author was or what the books were called.
A very long shot, but does anyone have the faintest idea what I'm on about?
The stories were about a very clever boy who lived in the country in the midwest, USA (I think) I guess in the late 19th/early 20th century.
The stories were about the things this boy got up to, normally to trick or con his school friends, and were very much along the Huckleberry Finn style and era.
One example I recall clearly was that he was given a horse, but because the family didn't have much money it wasn't (in his view) a very good horse because it wasn't as fast as his friend's horse. Upon bemoaning this to his father, his father pointed out that his horse had much more stamina than his friend's faster horse, which gave him an idea.
He bet his friend that his horse would beat his friend's horse in a race. Obviously his friend readily agreed, having got a clearly faster animal, but he set the course over 10 miles. His friend took off and he rode steadily. After six miles or so the friend's horse was exhausted and he easily passed it, winning the race and the wager.
Then he bet his friend that if they swapped horses he could still beat him over the same distance. Having seen the result, his friend couldn't see how so agreed. On the faster horse our hero out paced his own horse but after a mile he stopped and waited for the slower horse to catch up. Once he had (and with the faster horse he was riding fully recovered) he did it again over another mile and again and again until it was the last mile and he easily won.
There were loads of books and loads of really clever and amusing stories along similar lines but I've no idea who the author was or what the books were called.
A very long shot, but does anyone have the faintest idea what I'm on about?
toohangry said:
What's inaccessible about the Tortoise and the Hare?
Some people might find it easier to imagine it with horses. I don't know. Maybe that was a poor choice of word. If you live on a farm in the middle of nowhere in the 1920s and have never seen a hare or a tortoise, but have seen many different kinds of horses, it might make it easier to imagine. Granted, the timeframe would suggest that people were more into making kids learn properly than changing stories to make them more accessible, but I clearly didn't think it through before posting.I can see what you mean but I think that's just a coincidence. There were loads of different stories and they were all based around this lad's ability to think up strategies that gave him the advantage.
Anyway, complete long shot, I didn't expect anyone to know it but thought it worth a punt.
Anyway, complete long shot, I didn't expect anyone to know it but thought it worth a punt.
I don't think it is, but what about Tom Swift? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift.
Even if that's wrong, there are some series links and categories at the bottom of that page which might help.
Even if that's wrong, there are some series links and categories at the bottom of that page which might help.
Could it have been about Bevis and Mark?
I remember (dimly) some stories about them that may be the ones you mean
No idea without Googling who was the author, I loved the story when I was a kid because they made their own gunpowder and said HOW TO
With a recipe, oh yessss said the kid I was
(Never got round to it though
)
happy days
I remember (dimly) some stories about them that may be the ones you mean
No idea without Googling who was the author, I loved the story when I was a kid because they made their own gunpowder and said HOW TO
With a recipe, oh yessss said the kid I was
(Never got round to it though
)happy days
Sounds a bit like The Great Brain series by John D. Fitzgerald, created a character Tom Fitzgerald who would swindle stuff out of other people in Adenville.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Brain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Brain
Du1point8 said:
Sounds a bit like The Great Brain series by John D. Fitzgerald, created a character Tom Fitzgerald who would swindle stuff out of other people in Adenville.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Brain
I just remembered this thread, thought I'd come back and update it as I did eventually track down the books, and found your post. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Brain
You're dead right, it was indeed The Great Brain!
I bought the first two as still in print, and they were just as good as I remember. I've eventually tracked down all of them, a few I had to buy secondhand from America as no longer in print.
Enjoying them immensely, mostly as books in their own right but also as a trip down memory lane.
Not come to the horse race scam yet!
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