Jane Withers and the Phantom Violin - the third Whitman Authorized Edition

This third, and final, Whitman Authorized Edition to feature actress Jane Withers is so far removed from the previous two books - the title character, while referenced in the book as "an actress," is completely and utterly different than the version featured in the previous two books.  Thus, for three stories claiming to star the same person, the characterization in all three books, as well as the tone of the overall stories, are completely different.  Obviously, the fact that three different authors wrote the books plays some part in the variation; however, one would think if Whitman was going to produce more than one book on a particular actor or actress, they would put some effort into keeping the character consistent throughout the stories.  This was clearly not the case for poor Ms. Withers.

 

Jane Withers and the Phantom Violin was written by Roy J. Snell, who wrote a number of books for young readers.  His books were mostly aimed at boys, but he did write eighteen books advertised as "Mystery Stories for Girls," or sometimes as "Adventure Stories for Girls."  A number of those books featured a color in the title (such as The Blue Envelope, The Purple Flame, The Crimson Thread, and so on).  As far as I can tell, this book was the only "Authorized Edition" that Snell wrote for Whitman, although he did write three books from the "Fighters for Freedom Series" for Whitman.  I have heard a lot about Roy J. Snell over the years, but I believe this is the first books I've ever read that was written by him.

 

As indicated above, the Jane Withers of this novel, who is at one point identified as "an actress" (p. 206), is quite different from the Jane Withers portrayed in the previous two books.  In fact, the Jane Withers of this story is but one of three main characters, and so she shares the spotlight with her character's two friends - Greta Bronson (a gifted violinist) and Petite Jeanne (a young French gypsy girl).  The story alternates between the three girls, with the point of view shifting often, particularly when Jeanne separates from her friends to join her gypsy family as they travel the area to perform for locals.  The story takes place in Michigan, on the shores of Lake Superior.  Jane, Jeanne, and Greta are staying on an old wreck of a ship on the shore line of Isle Royale (which, by the way, is a real island in the Great Lakes, just northwest of Lake Superior).  The girls also make their way over to Greenstone Ridge (also a real location!) on the island, which is where the "phantom violin" comes into play - literally.  Greta is the first to hear its soft notes being played, but Jane also eventually hears it, leading the girls to seek out the "phantom" who is playing the instrument.

 

The mystery does go beyond just the phantom violin; there is also a strange black schooner that the girls see around their wrecked ship, as well as a diver who seems to be searching for something under the water around their ship.  In addition, there is a poacher on the island who is none too happy with the girls' interference with his attempts to bag a wild moose for its antlers.  On top of that is the isolated cabin deep in the woods, where a plane is seen dropping off a person.  Is it a victim of foul play or something else?  And, probably the most important one of all to Jane, Jeanne, and Greta is the possible "barrel of gold" they believe to be buried somewhere on the island.  The girls definitely have plenty to keep them busy, and unlike most children's series books, the mysteries do not eventually connect - they are all completely separate, and the one (the black schooner and diver) is left unsolved.  As Snell writes at the end, "Just who the men were on the schooner, with the diver on board, will probably never be revealed ... No one ever found out just who they were" (p. 247).  Very odd to leave something open-ended like that.

 

The story contains some very unusual names for the characters (although, perhaps for the time, the names were not as odd as they seem now).  Greta Bronson ... Swen Petersen ... Percy O'Hara ... Mr. Van Zandt ... Bihari (one of the gypsies) ...  definitely not very common names by any means.  Snell also uses some lyrics from "a half forgotten poem" (p. 180) titled Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyl, by John Greenleaf Whittier, a poem first published back in 1866.  On top of that, Snell also has Greta recognize the notes of "Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana (p. 139), a one-act opera from the late 1800s.  Snell's use of real locations and actual poems and musical compositions gives the story a bit of grounding so as to not make it too overly fantastic and unbelievable.  

 

Now, as for the story itself ... well, Snell actually recycled a book he had previously written in his own "Mystery Stories for Girls" titled - you guessed it! - The Phantom Violin!  Originally published by The Lee & Reilly Co. in 1934, the story in this book is identical in nearly every word to the original Snell novel published nearly a decade prior - the only changes are in the name of the main character (in the original novel, it was Florence Huyler; in this book, that name is changed throughout to Jane Withers) and in the title to Chapter XVIII, which is shortened from "At the Bottom of the Ancient Mine" to simply "The Ancient Mind."  Otherwise, all of the title chapters, the character names, and the words in the story are exactly the same as the original version.  This re-use of a previous story predates the Stratemeyer Syndicate's recycling of The Tolliver books for Bobbsey Twins stories by nearly 40 years!  It certainly leads one to wonder if there are other examples of authors re-using earlier stories for later publications, simply changing names to lead readers to believe they are new stories...

 

The interior illustrations are once again provided by Henry E. Vallely, who provided the art for a number of the Whitman Authorized Editions, including the previous two Jane Withers books.  His art is truly beautiful to look at, and the illustrations add so much more to the stories - it makes me long for the days when children's series books featured interior illustrations.  I wish today's books offered interior art, because for me, this adds something extra to the book (and when the story itself is not all that great, the illustrations can help make the story bearable!).  The end pages, thankfully, do not spoil anything for the story as some have done for other Whitman books; rather, Vallely gives readers a dramatic scene where Jane, Jeanne, and Greta are facing a horrific storm in a small boat, taken from Chapter XXVI where the girls are escaping the old ship wreck before the storm tears it apart (p. 232).

 

The story is a bit disjointed, with so many small mysteries, it basically jumps from one to the other and then back again.  In addition, the constantly shifting points of view can be a bit jarring, as you grow used to one character, only to get switched out to another one, and then another one, and then back to the first, to the point where you never really feel like you get to know any of the characters.  That being said, it is not an overall bad read - just not one of the better reads, and definitely the weakest of the three Jane Withers mysteries published by Whitman.  It also leaves me wondering if I want to read any other Roy J. Snell books...

 

RATING:  6  large, crippled loons out of 10 for at least trying to create a spooky atmosphere with mysterious music in the dead of night and a dark schooner with unknown assailants coming and going.

Jane Withers and the Swamp Wizard - the second Whitman Authorized Edition

The second Whitman Authorized Edition mystery to feature actress Jane Withers has some easily discernible differences from the first book.  There is a different author for this book - Kathryn Heisenfelt takes over the writing chores -  you may recognize her name, as she wrote quite a few of the Whitman Authorized Editions, including mysteries starring Ann Rutherford, Ann Sheridan, Betty Grable, Bonita Granville, and even the Powers Model girl.  I have done reviews of a number of these books, and if you look back, you'll see Ms. Heisenfelt's writing has never gotten more than a 5 out of 10 (in some cases, only 4, and in one case, as low as a 3!) rating.  I am definitely not a fan of her writing, so I went into this book with quite a bit of trepidation.  The story also has no seeming relation to the previous book - there is no mention of any of the characters from the previous book, and while Jane was a student in the first book, it is implied that she is an actress in this book (just like her real-life namesake).  The tone is completely different as well - much, MUCH darker.  The question in my mind as I started reading - how bad is this going to be?

 

Jane Withers and the Swamp Wizard takes young Jane Withers to a small town named Burley (the state is left unnamed) to spend some time with her best friend, Miss Cordelia Champlin (affectionately referred to as "Cokey"), and her mother, Alice Champlin.  The two women, along with Cokey's younger brother, Eddie, have moved into a farm to start a new life.  "Dad is still in Washington," Cokey tells Jane (p. 14), adding that they do not expect to see much of him, "[b]ut then, we didn't anyway - lately" (p. 14).  Thus, with the man of the house out of the picture, and with the younger brother off-screen, so to speak, going into the next village to buy a tractor, it is just these three women left to face the mystery that lies ahead.  It begins when Cokey tells Jane about a strange feeling she got after being told of the Simmering Springs and the legend of the "Swamp Wizard" that is said to haunt the springs.  Jane puts no stock in the story, but Cokey reminds her friend that her hunches have always come true in the past, and she is certain there is trouble ahead for the girls.  Needless to say, her premonition turns out to be true.

 

As much as I have not liked any of the previous books written by Heisenfelt that I have read, this one turned out to be quite different and quite readable.  Perhaps a large part of that is because of the gothic feel she gives to the story.  The girls run an errand for Cokey's mother, and end up taking a side trip to deliver a message for a sick woman.  As they say, no good deed goes unpunished, and the girls go out of their way, get lost, and mistakenly end up in the house of a bitter woman who makes it clear she does not want them there!  But a storm is unleashed, which takes out the bridges that are the only way across the raging river, leaving Jane and Cokey stranded at this lonely old farmhouse with the woman, her cantankerous father, and her brooding son.  All three want the girls gone, insistent that the Swamp Wizard does not like strangers near the springs - which is exactly where the farmhouse is located!  Jane and Cokey are not able to rationalize this family's fear, but when they hear the strange cries in the night, and when the woman's son appears to be missing, they have to wonder if there is some supernatural force at work.

 

  

 

The gothic tropes abound in this story - the secluded house, the family with secrets, the visitors who are not wanted there, the whispers of supernatural creatures, and the dire warnings of impending doom.  The night seems to be endless, and the storm unrelenting.  The girls are shuffled off to an upstairs room at the end of the hall, with strict instructions to not leave the room.  Of course, Jane is much too curious to remain locked in the room, and she and Cokey venture out in the hopes of learning some of the secrets behind the animosity this family had towards them and why they are so afraid of a superstitious wives' tale about a wizard in the swamp.  Heisenfelt does a decent job of building up the tension, of keeping the secrets right there on the edge of everyone's thoughts, and instilling terror in her characters, leaving the reader to wonder who really is the bad guy of this tale. There is even a scene where the woman's father takes the girls to the edge of the springs, claiming he wants them to understand why they need to leave and never come back - but Cokey loses her balance (or was she pushed?) and nearly falls into the deadly quicksand that makes up the swampy springs!  This scene is depicted on the endpages, with Jane reaching out desperately to save her friend!

 

The conclusion builds up nicely, as the secrets are not so quickly revealed, even after Cokey's mother finally arrives with some others, who were out searching for the missing girls (remember - they had simply gone on an errand to buy eggs, yet never came home for more than 24 hours!).  These villagers, who know the woman, are given the same harsh welcome that Jane and Cokey endured, and it is from the most unlikely of sources that the truth behind the Swamp Wizard is finally revealed. Once that truth comes out, and once the secrets of the past are laid bare, the woman is finally freed from all that has been haunting her for so many years, and Heisenfelt provides a very satisfying conclusion to the story and its characters.  The book even concludes with Jane observing that, "I've a hunch we're going to have a lot of fun this summer!" (p. 248).

 

Henry E. Vallely, who has provided the art for so many of these Whitman Authorized Editions, does the line illustrations for this book.  For this, I am glad, as he does a fantastic job of drawing expressions that help strengthen the scene depicted, so that even if there were no words given, you would get the impression of what was going on.  In one such instance, where Jane has left the upstairs bedroom to learn more about the secrets of this hose, Vallely shows Jane hiding behind the couch as Alma Frieson and her father prowl around in the night - just by looking at Jane's face, you can see the fear she feels at the thought of being discovered; while, at the same time, the harsh expressions on Mrs. Frieson and her father give you a clear sense of just how fierce this family can be. The mood created fits perfectly with the gothic nature of the story, and I can't imagine a better artist to provide the illustrations for this one than Vallely.

 

This was an unexpectedly good book to read, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.  Now I am curious as to the third Jane Withers mystery, as it is written by yet another author (Roy J. Snell) - I wonder how it will compare to these first two...

 

RATING:  9 bowls of strawberry preserves out of 10 for a suspenseful story of gothic terror mixed with young adult mystery. 

Jane Withers and the Hidden Room - the first Whitman Authorized Edition

While most of the books in the Whitman Authorized Editions are single-issued books, there were a few in the line that gave the characters two books - such as Shirley Temple, Deanna Durbin, and Betty Grable.  However, once actress was fortunate enough to get three books, published one a year from 1942 to 1944, and that was Jane Withers (1926 - 2021).  Now, I'll be honest, before getting these books, I had never even heard of Jane Withers before, let alone did I know who she was.  Upon performing a bit of researched, I was surprised to learn she was an extremely popular child star in Hollywood in the 1930s and early 1940s.  I was even more surprised to find that she was "Josephine the Plumber" in those old Comet cleanser commercials on television!  These three books from Whitman seem to have been published just as Withers' childhood fame was starting to die down, so it is interesting that of all the actors and actresses who had books published using their name, she is the only one to have received three!

 

Jane Withers and the Hidden Room was written by Eleanor Packer - and this was Ms. Packer's only contribution to the Whitman Authorized Editions.  The "hidden room" of the title is a bit misleading, as it is not necessarily hidden (since it is easily seen from the outside), but it is a room that is only accessible from the inside by going through a hidden panel in the back of a closet or from outside by clicking a secret release under the ledge of the window.  However, it is what is kept in that room, who is using the room, and why access to the room is so obscure that create the real mystery for this book.  The room, in fact, does not really come into play until nearly half-way through the story!

 

The book actually opens innocently enough, with you Jane Withers arriving by train in the small city of Hollytown-on-the-Hudson. (NOTE - there is no such city; yet, oddly enough, there are two special events that take place with similar names: (1) "Holi on the Hudson" is a Hindu festival that celebrates love, goodness, and renewal; and (2) "Hooley on the Hudson" is an Irish festival that celebrates their culture and heritage. It seems both celebrations on the Hudson River are relatively recent, so it is unlikely the author was inspired by either for the name of her fictional town.)  Jane has returned late from her summer vacation in California due to illness, so she has a lot to catch up on now that she is back at Holly Hall, the "school for young ladies" that is Hollytown's greatest pride (p. 16).  This includes the new professor of Romantic Languages, Paul Berthon.  According to Jane's best friend, Ellin Dwyer, the teacher is the talk of the school, as all of the students (and some of the teachers) are quite smitten with the handsome man.  Jane, however, is more worried about catching up on all of her missed schoolwork rather than silly, girlish crushes on a new teacher.

 

Holly Hall reminds me quite a bit of Starhurst School for Girls from the Dana Girls series.  Both are prestigious schools for young ladies; both are run by a stern, but fair older lady (in this instance, Miss Abigail the second heads up the school; her aunt, Miss Abigail the first, was the previous mistress of Holly Hall until her death); and both have students who become amateur sleuths who fall upon mysteries that must be solved.  While the Dana sisters are both involved in solving the mysteries, in this instance, Jane is on her own - even though her best friend Ellin is in the picture, she does not actually become involved in the mystery.  As this book was published in 1942, some eight years after the first Dana Girls books were published, perhaps Packer was influenced by the Dana Girls series (and numerous other girls series from that era and before that were sent in girls' schools).  

In any event, the mystery begins when Miss Abigail announces some of her jewelry was stolen from her room at the school.  When one of the missing earrings is found under Jane's hatbox in her room, Jane's inquisitive mind kicks into gear.  How did it get there?  Who could have dropped it?  The mystery deepens when Jane is invited to join Ellin at her parents' home for the weekend, and the new teacher, Paul Berthon, and his sister, Lucienne, are also there - and shortly after the visit, the Dwyers' jewels are stolen from their safe!  Jane begins to have suspicions about Professor Berthon and his sister, but Ellin and her parents dismiss them.  Yet, when Jane and Ellin are guests at the professor's cottage, Jane happens upon a small jewel case under the cushion of her chair, which only strengthens Jane's distrust of the professor and his sister.  She is determined to uncover the truth, so she goes to confront her professor - but, instead, she stumbles upon a sinister plot much greater than she had originally thought and becomes the captive of a group of ruthless criminals!

 

The story was actually one of the best of the Whitman Authorized Editions I have read to date.  A strong plot, a very likeable main character, and plenty of danger, excitement, and mystery to keep the story moving at a good pace.  There are definitely some more adult themes to this story, though.  The constant threat of death looming over Jane while held captive by the criminals keeps it very suspenseful, and the fact that they repeatedly make it clear the school's caretaker was "already taken care of" only strengthens the reader's belief that Jane's fate is sealed.  "The little black boy won't never talk again," one crook comments (p. 142); but a more insulting comment is made shortly thereafter, when the same crook sneers and remarks, "You didn't wait to let the Chief decide when you got rid of that darkie" (p. 143).  This kind of comment reminds readers how dated the book is.

 

In addition, Lucienne's rather sarcastic comment to her brother when referring to all of the schoolgirls who have a crush on him, calling him "my gay Lothario," has some very adult undertones, since Lothario often refers to a man who acts very irresponsibly with regard to his sexual relationships with women (which stems from a character of this nature from the 1703 Nicholas Rowe tragedy, The Fair Penitent).  I am surprised such a reference would have been allowed in a book intended for children and young adults to read back in the 1940s!

 

Aside from that, the book was a great read.  It is illustrated by Henrey E. Vallely, who seems to have provided illustrations for a large number of the Whitman Authorized Editions, for which I am glad, as he provides some very beautiful illustrations. The only negative observation I have to make (and it's not about his actual artwork, but rather, about the scene he draws) is with regard to the end pages.  This is not the first book where the end pages provides a dramatic scene which actually spoils the story if you pay attention to it before you actually read any of the book - stories about Ginger Rogers, Betty Grable, and Ann Sheridan also showcased art on their end pages that revealed dramatic moments, either from the end of those particular stories, or from climactic moments that revealed important elements of the story.  Not sure why Whitman would choose these particular scenes, but they should come with a "spoiler alert"!

 

After reading this first Jane Withers mystery, I am anxiously looking forward to the next two - especially since they are not written by the same author as this one, and I'll be curious to see in what direction they take the title character.

 

RATING:  10 little gold typewriter charms out of 10 for a well-written mystery that is pretty much on par with the Nancy Drew and Dana Girls mysteries being published around the same time!