Frank V. Webster

Frank V. Webster was not a real person but a collective pen name used by the American Stratemeyer Syndicate for boys' adventure novels. According to available records, the actual books were mostly written by Howard Garis and others, while Webster was presented to the public as a signed author. Between 1909 and 1915, Cupples & Leon published 25 titles in the Webster Series for Boys, of which 19 are held here. The works center on boys' adventures, with settings including warships, pony express riders, lake flying, Alaska treasure hunting, firefighting, and coastal rescue; the plots are fast-paced and stress courage and honor. Representative titles include Two Boys of the Battleship, Jack of the Pony Express, and The Boy Pilot of the Lakes. Public information is limited, and biographical details cannot be verified, but the series behind this pen name is a typical example of early twentieth-century American assembly-line publishing for juvenile adventure fiction.