The Triple
Hoax
The Triple Hoax was the first story produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate under their new contract with Simon and Schuster which began in 1979. Its release marks the beginning of the era of the Paperback Nancys.
Hoax: An act intended to trick or dupe, something accepted or established by fraud or fabrication (from Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary)
Basic Plot: Nancy, Bess and George are called to New York by Aunt Eloise to help investigate the swindling of Mrs. Richards. The group attends magic show by the Hoaxsters where Bess volunteers to go on stage and has her handbag lifted. It is returned to her at the end of the show intact, but Nancy is suspicious that it has been searched. Show departs town suddenly, and girls decide to follow the potential con men to Mexico City, then later to Los Angeles. The girls meet Sra. Mendez at the Hoaxster show in Mexico; her grand-daughter Dolores is kidnapped soon after. Click here for chapter by chapter synopsis of the action.
Setting New York City, Mexico
City, Los Angeles Recurring Characters primarily Bess Marvin,
George Fayne; also Carson Drew, Eloise Drew,
Hannah Gruen, Ned Nickerson, Burt Eddleton, Dave
Evans, Chief McGinnis, Mrs. Marvin, Mr. Fayne Characters Culprits The Hoaxsters: Secondary culprit: Enzo
Scorpio - asst at Horner's lab Motivation: search through
belongings of audience to find out ideas on how
to swindle individuals or blackmail Secondary mystery: Enzo
steals Florentine vial of poison to sell for
profit Resolution Ned and Nancy jump the
fence at the Brownes to rescue Dolores and are
captured themselves. As the Brownes flee, they
are stopped by the rest of the gang. The stolen
vial is found at the house, as is the ransom
money (hidden in Mrs. Richard's stolen limo). Nancy's Mis-adventures Bess shops Key clues ransom note "to 8 by X" fern leaf watermark Nancy's outfits turquoise skirt Meaning of the title per Nancy 1) swindling of
Mrs Richards 2) kidnapping of Dolores 3) when
Ned disguises himself in beard and mustache to
bait the Hoaxters at their show in LA reward framed award from the
detectives' convention items of interest George has to beg her
parents for money for the trip to Mexico because
her "detective allowance" has been all used up Bess & George don't
speak a word of Spanish; Nancy does, and Ned
speaks a little River Heights is in the
Eastern time zone Ned is majoring in
"science" Dave has an uncle in the
printing business Nancy "names" her mystery
The Triple Hoax
summer dress
THE COVERS
Below is a gallery of all the covers I have found for The Triple Hoax. Below each picture is the artist's name, and a brief description of the scene depicted. This is the most reprinted of the paperback titles.
Wanderer "Arch" cover by
Ruth Sanderson: Nancy standing pensively in
foreground with Hoaxsters performing their act
in back. The members of the troupe are not
described in detail other than Ronaldo Jensen,
the sleight of hand man who wears a "perky"
mustache. This artwork also appears on the
Scholastic edition. Wanderer "Checkerboard"
cover by Garin Baker: pages 70-71 - The girls
have just descended from the Pyramid of the Sun
when Nancy spots Enzo rounding the corner.
George, Bess and Sra. Mendez should also be in
the scene. Minstrel cover by Linda
Thomas, Fernández (Mexican) cover by copyist:
pages 70-71 - same scene as above (Baker).
Although hard to see in the scan above, the
Mexican cover has been carefully redrawn based
on the Thomas original. Vergara (Argentine) cover
by Ruth Sanderson - see Wanderer edition above. Wahlströms (Sweden) cover
by Ulla Urkio - same as Sanderson's Wanderer
cover above. Armada (UK) Format "B" and
Angus & Robertson cover by Peter Archer:
pages 70- 71 - same scene as above (Baker,
Thomas). After spotting Enzo, Nancy grabs George
to point him out. George runs after the suspect,
with Nancy right behind and Bess bringing up the
rear. The chase goes on for some time and the 3
girls take different routes. Nancy almost
catches him at the parking lot, but he gets away
in a fleeing car. Text mentions that she has her
handbag with her (missing in this illustration). Armada (UK) Format "C"
cover by unknown artist: composition of elements
from the story - magician, ransom note for
Dolores (described on page 158) and a house on
fire (the Vetters' laundry room?). Mondadori (Italian) cover
by Marco Rostagno: pages 70-71 - same as above -
Nancy is pointing out Enzo to George. Masque Jeunesse (France)
Format "J" and Hachette Format "O" cover by
Philippe Daure (this artwork also featured on
Formats F, K, L - doves & second man omitted
on O only): Ronaldo Jensen during Hoaxster
performance (note perky mustache); the troupe
performs several magic tricks, although none
with doves are specifically mentioned. Not sure
of the significance of the other man dressed up
as a swami - the other Hoaxsters are not
described as wearing any such costume. Forlagshuset (Norwegian)
cover by unknown artist: page 87 - Nancy is
searching for clues in the Mexico City theater
regarding Hoaxsters next destination. While she
is on the stage, the theater's maintenance man
jams an oil painting over her head. Notice how
this cover mimics Paul Frame's 4th internal from
the American edition. Tammi (Finnish) cover by
Ajanto? - scene similar to Sanderson above (but
actual scene and Ned in audience getting idea to
go on stage in disguise) Tammi (Finnish) cover by
Kaarina Hanström: Nancy finding Dolores in the
attic of the Brownes' house. Mizrahi (Israeli) cover by
unattributed artist - similar to Baker and
Archer above - Nancy is chasing Enzo through the
Aztec ruins Indira (Indonesian) cover by Ruth Sanderson
Malaysian cover by unattributed
artist - Nancy at the hoaxsters performance?
(not confirmed as translation)
THE PRINTINGS
This chronological listing of printings mimics the identification system developed by David Farah for his guide on Nancy Drew. He has given me permission to replicate his system for the purpose of categorizing the paperbacks from this series. For those of you not familiar with his methods for identifying a printing, the first line describes the outside of the book (cover/spine/back cover) and the second line describes the internal pages (inside cover/pre-text pages/post-text pages/inside back cover).
Published: 1979 author: Harriet Adams editor: Harriet Adams, Lilo Wuenn 1st Sanderson/W1/cream on dark purple/1.95,95512.-8,+ bl/pwt/bl/tp+/cp/tc/definition of "hoax"/Fan ad (wb)/bl/bl Note: there are two versions of the first printing; on the copyright page, one says "Also available in Wanderer Paperback Edition" and the other says "Also available in Wanderer Hardback Edition" 2nd Sanderson/W1/cream on dark purple/1.95,+,95512-8 bl/pwt/bl/tp+/cp/tc/definition of "hoax"/Fan ad (wb)/bl/bl 3rd Sanderson/W1/cream on dark purple/1.95,95512-8,+ bl/pwt/bl/tp+/cp/tc/definition of "hoax"/Fan ad (wb)/bl/bl 4th Sanderson/W1/cream on dark purple/1.95,95512-8,+ bl/pwt/bl/tp+/cp/tc/definition of "hoax"/Fan ad/bl/bl 5th Sanderson/W1/cream on dark purple/2.50,95512-8,+ bl/pwt/bl/tp+/cp/tc/definition of "hoax"/Fanad (wb)/ND#57-60, LC#1-4/bl 6th Sanderson/W1/cream on dark purple/95512-8,2.85-2.95,+ bl/pwt/bl/tp+/cp/tc/definition of "hoax"/Fan ad (wb)/bl 6th (General Publishing Ltd.) Sanderson/W1/cream on dark purple/95512-8,GPC,+ bl/pwt/bl/tp+/cp/tc/definition of "hoax"/Fan ad (wb)/bl 7th Sanderson/W1/cream on dark purple/2.95,95512-8,+ bl/pwt/bl/tp+/cp/tc/definition of "hoax"/ND#57-75 ao of/bl/bl 8th Sanderson/W1/cream on dark purple/95512-8,+ bl/pwt/bl/tp+/cp/tc/definition of "hoax"/ND#57-78ao of/NDCF#1/bl 9th Baker/W2/two-toned brick red/3.50, pic,+,64278-2 bl/exc/ND#57-78/tp/cp/tc/bl/pwt/bl/ND#57-78 ao of/RHts CCF/HB#59-85 ao of/DrG#1-16/S+S(16) of/PrS#1-6/bl 1st Minstrel Thomas/Minstrel/dark teal, 350/pic,69153-8 bl UPC/exc/ND#57-91/tp/cp/tc/bl/pwt/bl/ND#57-91,g1 of/NewBT#1-14 of/Min (17)/Min (18) of/BF#1-5 of/Min (20) of/bl 2nd Minstrel Thomas/Minstrel/dark teal, 399/pic, 69153-8 BF#1-16/exc/ND#57-106/tp/cp/tc/bl/pwt/bl/ND#57-107,g1 of/NewBT#1-29 of/Min (19)/Min (18) of/BF#1-16 of/Min (22) of/New BT ad Scholastic Sanderson/Scholastic/golden/0-590-32296-6 bl/pwt/bl/tp+/cp (12-1,1-6/8)/tc/definition of "hoax"/bl/bl/bl
FOREIGN TITLES
The Triple Hoax, artwork by Ruth Sanderson © 1979 by Simon & Schuster, New York. The Triple Hoax, artwork by Hector Garrido © 1986 by Simon & Schuster, New York. The Triple Hoax, artwork by Linda Thomas © 1989 by Simon & Schuster, New York. The Triple Hoax, artwork by Peter Archer © 1980 by Angus & Robertson, Sydney. The Triple Hoax, artwork unattributed © 1986 by Fontana Paperbacks, London. Il triplice inganno, artwork by Marco Rostagno © 1981 by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore SpA, Milan. Alice et les magiciens, artwork by Philippe Daure © 1987 by Hachette, Paris. Detektiv Nancy Drew og tryllesvindelen, artwork unattributed © by Forlagshuset A/S, Oslo. Kitty och ficktjuven, artwork by Linda Thomas © 1989 by Simon & Schuster, New York. Kitty och ficktjuven, artwork by Ulla Urkio © by Wahlströms, Stockholm. A szemfényvesztök, artwork by Linda Thomas © 1989 by Simon & Schuster, New York. El triple engaño, artwork by Ruth Sanderson © 1979 by Simon & Schuster, New York. Image courtesy of Linda Burns. Triple engaño, artwork unattributed © 1993 by Fernández Editores, Mexico City. Neiti Etsivä ja kolminkertainen konnuus, artwork unattributed © 1982 by Tammi, Helsinki. Neiti Etsivä ja kolminkertainen konnuus, artwork by Kaarina Hanström © by Tammi, Helsinki. black and white internal by Ruth Sanderson © 1979 by Simon & Schuster, New York.
Language
Foreign Title
Title's translation
French
Alice et les magiciens
Nancy and the magicians
Swedish
Kitty och ficktjuven
Nancy and the pickpocket
Norwegian
Detektiv Nancy Drew og tryllesvindelen
Nancy and the magic hoax
Finnish
Neiti etsivä ja kolminkertainen konnuus
Nancy and the triple villainery
Italian
Il triplice inganno
The triple swindle
Spanish (Argentine ed.)
El triple engaño
The triple trick
Spanish (Mexican ed.)
Triple engaño
Triple trick
Hungarian
A szemfényvesztök
Indonesian
Sindikat tukang sulap
Syndicate of the magician
Israeli
© 2001, 2002, 2005 by Lea Shangraw Fox