Tom Quest

Tom Quest

Volume 1
Author	Fran Striker
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Adventure
Publisher	Grosset & Dunlap (#1-6) Clover Books (#7-8)
Published	1947-1955
Media type	Print

Tom Quest is the central character in a series of eight adventure novels for adolescent boys written by Lone Ranger series author Fran Striker. The first six novels were published by Grosset & Dunlap between 1947 and 1952. The series was later reprinted by Clover Books, when #7-8 were published. The six Grosset & Dunlap titles were issued in dust jacket; the Clover Books reprints and their two original titles have picture covers and no dust jackets.The plot of volume #8 was lifted from Striker's Gene Autry and the Redwood Pirates.^[1]

Tom Quest, the son of a famous scientist and explorer, finds adventure with newspaperman Whiz Walton and a gargantuan Texan named Gulliver. A double spiral symbol, designed by Tom's father, appears on the spine of the books, and sometimes figures in the plot. In the first book, Tom discovers that his father, long believed dead, may still be alive, and, in the second, Tom, Whiz, and Gulliver travel to Central America in search of him. The third and fourth books are also loosely connected, after which each book stands alone. The plots usually involve some kind of criminal activity thwarted by Tom and his pals.

List of titles

1. The Sign of the Spiral (1947)
2. The Telltale Scar (1947)
3. The Clue of the Cypress Stump (1948)
4. The Secret of the Lost Mesa (1949)
5. The Hidden Stone Mystery (1950)
6. The Secret of Thunder Mountain (1952)
7. The Clue of the Inca Luck Piece (1955)
8. The Mystery of the Timber Giant (1955)

References

1. Axe, John. All About Collecting Boys' Series Books. Hobby House Press, Inc., 2002.

External links

• Tom Quest at The Series Bookcase