Trixie Belden Tidbits

To the left is my book cover collage of the entire Trixie Belden series: Golden Press #1-34 (oval) and #35-39 (square). The center image is from the Whitman hard cover cameo format of #12 Mystery of the Blinking Eye (my favourite story). If you are interested in seeing (larger) pictures of the Trixie Belden series formats (dust jacket, cellophane/glossy, cameo, deluxe, plain, oval, square) there is a link further down on this page.

Most of the tidbits here are less general, more on the trivia side, so it is assumed you already have a basic knowledge of the series. All information contains book and page number references. Each have been taken from Golden Press paperback formats: #1-34 (oval) and #35-39 (square). If the subject is mentioned again, that reference will follow in brackets by (book-page).

Trixie Belden RE-ISSUES

The series was reissued by Random House, starting in 2003. You saw a sneak peak of the new covers for issues 1 & 2 right here, on October 30, 2002. The artwork is by Michael Koelsch, a veteran illustrator of young adult book covers. The cover illustrations were painted from photoshoots with models, based on the look the art director of the publishing house wanted to take.

June 26, 2003 - I picked up my copies of the first two books today. I thought I would have to special order them, but when I went into McNally Robinson (a great local book store) on Monday to do so, the lady in the children's section told me they knew about the re-issue and that they had already been ordered. On Tuesday they phoned to say the books were in stock. My books were published "simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto." I was disappointed to find out they are cellophane "glossies."

On the left is the artwork for cover #5 and on the right, the published cover. At the time I received a copy of the artwork (July 31, 2003), there are still "some minor changes on this one (i.e. fixing the clubhouse to look more like the old drawings in the book, etc.) but it's close to finish."

October 14, 2004 - Book numbers 8 and 9 are published, but I thought you might like to see the original artwork. As well, here is the artwork for numbers 12 and 13. Click on either of the pictures to take you to to the larger versions of all 4 images.

The "YEARs" follow Trixie's age. When we begin the series, the ages of the original Bob-Whites are: Trixie 13, Honey 13, Mart 14, Jim 15 (just), Brian 15 (and 3/4).

Title Book Page Particulars

YEAR 1

Mansion 1 14 July

Red Trailer 2 24 July

Gatehouse 3 13 (starts) August 22, Tuesday

Mysterious Visitor 4 14-15 Last week of October

Glen Road 5 13 Before Thanksgiving (November) (p.71 the 16th)

Arizona 6 16 Christmas holidays (in Arizona)

Mysterious Code 7 161 Pre-Valentine's Day (beginning of February)

Black Jacket 8 16 Late February (the ice carnival takes place on Feb.27)

Happy Valley 9 14, 43 Spring vacation, April (in Iowa)

Marshland 10 13 End of April (ends on Trixie's birthday, May 1, p.212)

YEAR 2

Bob-White Cave 11 49 Summer (in Missouri Ozarks)

Blinking Eye 12 92 August (in New York City)

Up until this point, the books have followed an orderly timeframe. Suddenly, Time Warps abound. It's back to the beginning of summer vacation in #13 - again in #19 - again in #35 - and again in #38 (Trixie remains 14). Inbetween, the calendar bounces to and fro. Perhaps, apart from Time Warps, there are some Parallel Universes going on here, as well.

Cobbett's Island 13 18 First vacation day (beginning of summer holidays)

Emeralds 14 13 Summer (in Virginia)

Mississippi 15 16 Summer (in St. Louis)

Missing Heiress 16 51 Late summer

Uninvited Guest 17 68 End of July (book ends August 6)

Phantom Grasshopper 18 21 October

Unseen Treasure 19 13 Beginning of summer (10 days ago was June 3, p.77) and into July (p.86)

Old Telegraph Road 20 28 Close to Mother's Day (ends the day before Mother's Day, p.202)

Castaway Children 21 16 August

Mead's Mountain 22 21 Christmastime - Saturday, December 26 is coming up (ends New Years Eve) (in Vermont)

Queen's Necklace 23 18 Summer (in London)

Saratoga 24 84 August (in Saratoga)

Sasquatch 25 16 August (in Idaho)

Headless Horseman 26 119 Fall

Ghostly Galleon 27 16 October (in the Catskills)

Hudson River 28 25 October (ends Halloween night, p.198)

Velvet Gown 29 34 January 3

Midnight Marauder 30 17 March

Maypenny's 31 15 September

Whispering Witch 32 14-15 Weekend before Thanksgiving, November

Vanishing Victim 33 205 Summer

Missing Millionaire 34 44 August

Memorial Day Fire 35 title Memorial Day (end of May), into June (p.75)

Antique Doll 36 26 Last week it was Halloween (November) (partially in Paris)

Pet Show 37 10 First day back at school after 2 weeks winter vacation (January)

Indian Burial Ground 38 10 only a few more days of school left (into summer vacation again: June/July)

Galloping Ghost 39 14 summer (in Minnesota)

Kathy K has followed this timeline through and made a great page entitled If Trixie Had Aged, How Old Would She Be? Cumulative ages of the other Bob-Whites, Bobby and Regan are also given. Note: Sadly the link is no longer working and I took it off, but I kept in this paragraph as it was a great concept.

Who/What Book Page Particulars

BIRTHDAYS

Trixie Belden 3 39 May 1

Honey Wheeler 10 16 She was a few weeks younger (than Trixie or Di). (date otherwise unknown)

Jim Frayne 1 196 This month (July)

Brian Belden 3 39 October. We find out in #28 (p.75) that he is a Libra, but "close enough to a Scorpio." Libra ends October 22 or 23, depending on which reference you look at.
Thanks to great detective work by Denise H., we now know that Brian's birthday must be October 22. On page 89, Trixie is finishing her Saturday morning chores - 3 days after Brian had collapsed at his birthday dinner. The following Friday is Halloween (pp 175-176), thereby making his birthday fall on the 22nd.

Mart Belden 3 40 June 1

Diana Lynch 14 69 "My birthday is next week." Most likely July, as in #13 (after a backwards time warp from #11 & #12) they were "just out of school" and Cobbett's Island was for 10 days and a little later this trip to Virginia, also about 10 days duration, and in #15 Di is away "for a month"

Helen Belden 3 172 Monday is her birthday. (The book started on Tuesday, August 22, therefore that would make it August 28.)

Mrs. Wheeler 18 131 Honey: "My mother's birthday is this week." (October)

OTHER

Tom's and Celia's wedding 5 71 Sunday, November 15. This reference point is actually for November 16, the day after the storm. Celia and Tom got married the day before. It was a Sunday, the same day Fleagle quit (p. 83). The ceremony was at noon (p.16).

Juliana's and Hans's wedding 17 56 on Friday, August 6 at "half after four o'clock"

Who Introduced Particulars

BOB-WHITES

Trixie Belden 1 Super sleuth, her hunches are usually correct but nobody ever believes her

Honey Wheeler 1 Trixie's best friend and partner, she's a peace-maker and tactful as can be

Jim Frayne 1 Old Mr. Frayne's grandnephew and Honey's adopted brother, the "most wonderful boy" Trixie knows

Brian Belden 3 The oldest, everything he knows or does well is explained by the fact that he's going to be a doctor

Mart Belden 3 Uses big words and likes to tease Trixie, he's 11 months older than her

Diana Lynch 4 Beautiful but not very deep

Dan Mangan 8 Regan's nephew, he's often not around. His biggest role, apart from this intro, is in #14

IMMEDIATE FAMILIES

Helen Belden 1 "Moms" is a great cook, forever giving into Trixie "just this once"

Peter Belden 1 He's always wondering when the meal is going to be served but never lifts a finger to help, except to do the carving

Bobby Belden 1 The perpetual 6 year old, often annoying

Matthew Wheeler 2 Honey's father, he's rich, travels a great deal and provides the Bob-Whites with many opportunities for travel also

Madeleine Wheeler 2 Honey's mother, she isn't very strong, accompanies her husband on all his travels

Mr. Lynch 4 Di's jolly father, he has a more prominent part in #14

Mrs. Lynch 4 Her biggest speaking lines are in #7 (p.165-167)

Larry and Terry 7 Di's young twin brothers (Di also has younger twin sisters - do we ever find out their names?)

KNOWN RELATIVES (LIVING and NAMED)

Bill Regan 1 Dan's uncle, he's 22 years old (3-15)

Ben Riker 2 Honey's cousin, a practical joker, he shows up again #5 and #20

Aunt Alicia 3 Belden kids' aunt, mentioned a few times but we never meet. We find out she's a maternal aunt in #4 (p.105) and then we find out she's a paternal aunt in #8 (p.28) Omigosh! What does this say about Moms & Dad??

Grandfather Lynch 4 He "just had his sixtieth birthday". (p.61)

Monty Wilson 6 Di's (maternal) uncle, runs a dude ranch in Arizona

Andrew Belden 9 Peter Belden's unmarried brother, we meet him again in #11

Grandma 10 The Lynch kids are going to visit her (p.41). We can assume this is a paternal grandmother since both Mrs. Lynch's parents are dead.

Uncle Mart 11 Belden kids' uncle, we never meet him, but we find out he lives in Philadelphia (p.163) with Aunt Alicia
NOTE: In the Deluxe HC (p.196) and the Cameo HC (p.213) the note from Moms says "Aunt Helen" NOT "Aunt Alicia"... so Uncle Mart must be a brother... Aunt Helen is never mentioned in the paperbacks

Juliana Maasden 16 Jim's cousin, in #17 she marries Hans Vorwald, an attorney from Amsterdam

Harold Belden 17 Peter Belden's brother who lives in Idaho, father of Hallie, Knut and Cap. We never actually meet him.

Hallie Belden 17 She's 1 year younger than Trixie, we meet her again in #25

Knut Belden 25 His full name is Knutson, p.36

Cap Belden 25 His full name is Capelton, p.15

Book Trixie Honey Jim Brian Mart Diana Dan Bobby

1 13 (p.15) - 15 (p.196) 15 (p.44) - - - -

2 13 (p.18) 13 (p.18) - - - - - 6 (p.205)

3 13 (p.39) 13 (p.204) 15 (p.15) 15 (p.39) 14 (p.40) - - -

4 13 (p.13) 13 (p.14) 15 (p.21) 16 (p.21) - 13 (p.45) - 6 (p.18)

5 13 (p.14) 13 (p.14) - - - - - 6 (p.15)

6 13 (p.13) - - 16 (p.14) - 13 (p.14) - 6 (p.14)

7 13 (p.14) 13 (p.21) 15 (p.21) 16 (p.16) - 13 (p.22) - 6 (p.21)

8 13 (p.13) 13 (p.17) 15 (p.17) 16 (p.19) - - as old as Mart (p.130) 6 (p.13)

9 13 (p.14) 13 (p.14) 15 (p.14) 16 (p.14) 14 (p.14) 13 (p.14) - 6 (p.17)

10 13 almost 14 (p.13) birthday (p.212) 13 (p.14) - 16 (p.14) - 13 (p.16) - 6 (p.18)

11 14 (p.16) 14 (p.16) - almost 17 (p.16) 15 (p.13) 14 (p.16) - -

12 14 (p.13) - - - - - - 6 (p.47)

13 14 (p.22) - - - 15 (p.15) - - -

14 - - - - - birthday (p.235) - -

15 14 (p.13) the youngest (p.141) - - - 14 (p.17) - -

16 - - - - - - - -

17 14 (p.17) - - - - - - -

18 - - 17 (p.14) 17 (p.14) 15 (p.19) - - 6 (p.31)

19 - - - 17 (p.14) - - - 6 (p.15)

20 14 (p.144) - - - - - - 6 (p.108)

21 - - - - 15 (p.40) - - 6 (p.18)

22 14 (p.15) 14 (p.15) - 14 (p.15) - 6 (p.127)

23 - - - 17 (p.16) 15 (p.16) - - 6 (p.13)

24 14 (p.162) 14 (p.162) - - - - - 6 (p.16)

25 14 (p.28) - - - - - - -

26 14 (p.13) 14 (p.14) - - 15 (p.17) 14 (p.18) - 6 (p.29)

27 14 (p.14) 14 (p.14) 17 (p.14) 17 (p.14) 15 (p.14) - - 6 (p.25)

28 - - - birthday (p.76) - - - 6 (p.14)

29 14 (p.13) - - - - - - 6 (p.22)

30 14 (p.14) 14 (p.15) - 17 (p.19) - - - 6 (p.17)

31 14 (p.13) - - - - - - -

32 14 (p.17) 14 (p.17) - 17 (p.16) 15 (p.16) - - 6 (p.15)

33 - - - 17 (p.14) - - - 6 (p.71)

34 14 (p.147) - - 17 (p.147) 15 (p.147) - - 6 (p.39)

35 14 (p.184) 14 (p.184) - - - - - 6 (p.13)

36 14 (p.9) - - 17 (p.13) - - - 6 (p.12)

37 - - - - - - - 6 (p.26)

38 14 (p.9) - - - - - - 6 (p.10)

39 14 (p.9) - - - - - - 6 (p.13)

This is where Jim's age gets screwed up. It's October, he should only have turned 16 last July. He was supposed to be 9 months younger than Brian.

It's Brian's birthday but we do not know how old he's turning. He's 17 in #27 and in #30. He shouldn't be turning 18 if Trixie is still 14, so perhaps this is a time warp backwards, fitting somewhere between "almost 17" in #11 and being 17 in #18 & #27 (which both also take place in October).

This is the only reference ever made to Dan's age, and if we look at where he is in school, we are even less enlightened: After starting off in Mart's class (8-80), he is in the same class with Jim and Brian (9-16/17) , he and Mart are sophomores (26-18), he is in Brian's chemistry class (27-21), he is in Brian's social studies class (31-54).

Some of these are familiar, others mentioned in passing. I really didn't use any specific criteria for deciding what made it in.

Name Book Page Particulars

NAMES

James Winthrop Frayne II 1 46 Jim - Or, perhaps the III (36-13)

Queenie 1 18 Old Mr. Frayne's little black game hen

Water Witch 1 109 Rowboat on Wheelers' lake, Honey names it (19-61)

Miss Lefferts 1 168 Honey's awful governess before Miss Trask

Autoville 2 25 Trailer camp in upstate New York where they stayed while looking for Jim

Schoolgirl Shamuses 3 40 First mentioned by Jim, it became a common phrase among the B.W.G. boys to refer to Trixie and Honey. But what's this?? It's used by Sgt. Molison (35-178)

Bob-Whites of the Glen (The B.W.G.'s) 3 157-159 Honey's idea to form a club; first name ideas were Riders of the Glen (Mart), Glen Road Robins (Honey). Bob-Whites was Jim's idea. The jackets were to be red with white cross-stitching, which Honey made.

Madeleine G. Wheeler 3 180 Honey, named after her mother

Beatrix 7 25 Trixie

St. Nicholas 7 69 Name of magazine that contained mysterious code

Spencer family 7 76 Owned Manor House before the Wheelers, they had it built

Spotty 8 28 China cat, a family antique, that Bobby broke

The Cowhands 8 173 Name of Dan's old gang

Troglichthys rosae 11 209 Cave fish found by B.W.G.'s, although not the Amplyopsis spelaeus they were looking for

B and J 12 150 'Bone and Joint', Dr. Joe Reed's railroad

The Moorings 13 31 Where the B.W.G.'s stayed on Cobbett's Island (a.k.a. the old Condon place)

Rosewood Hall 14 29 Where the emeralds were hidden, now in ruins, which Mr. Lynch bought and is going to restore

Briar Hall 16 31 Honey's boarding school before coming to Sleepyside

Katje (Kate) Vanderheiden 16 35 Jim's mother's name

Hoppy 18 14 Town Hall weathervane

WSTH 18 25 Local radio station (35-31) (37-96)

Johnson 20 46 Helen Belden's maiden name

Purple Turnip 22 118 Vegetarian restaurant in Groverville

Hart 23 24 Mrs. Wheeler's maiden name

Marge (Margery) 23 115 Miss Trask

Joan Stinson 24 167 The girl Regan was in love with

Gadfly 24 42 Horse Regan was accused of drugging

Tank 25 53 Old prospector, known by the Belden cousins, his real name is Anders Anderson. "Ay tank de tistles be tick dis year."

Lien-Ting 26 183 Jade goddess on ebony pedestal, owned by Mr. Lynch, she had a small crack in her right arm (p.187)

Pirate's Inn 27 19 Miss Trask's childhood home

Lucy Radcliffe 27 28 Character in Trixie's mystery novels

Cosmo McNaught 27 29 Character in Mart's science fiction books

Sea Fox 27 69 Phantom galleon that appears whenever something awful is about to hit one of the Trasks

Clarence 27 78 Life-sized manikin owned by Mr. Appleton

Campus Clarion 29 118 School newspaper (30-39)

Miss Lonelyheart 30 76 Mart, taken over by one of the school counsellors (p.208)

Wendell 30 153 Sergeant Molison's first name

Sara Sligo 32 27 Ghost who supposedly haunted Lisgard House

Gunnar Bjorkland 39 69 He was hung for stealing a cow

NUMBERS

Sleepyside 60303 3 210 Wheelers' phone number

75 cents 3 215 Cost of cab from Sleepyside to Manor House (approx 2 miles)

291 Hawthorne Street 4 125 Crummy hotel run by a shady character named Olyfant

300 acres 5 26 Size of Wheeler game preserve

Sleepyside 96870 7 78 Phone number of Sleepyside Sun

$59.72 13 18 Trixie's college fund, lying safe and sound in the bank

$10.00 13 22 Cost of Trixie's new bathing suit

214 Glen Road 17 97 Address of Ten Acres

10 cents 20 122 Cost of phone call

431 West Second Street 35 38 Robert's Trophy Shop, that blowed up real good on Memorial Day

OTHER

7 84 S.O.S.

Who/What Book Page Particulars

HIDDEN TALENTS

Honey 3 24 Gem expert (with naked eye yet): "Daddy taught me how to tell the difference between real gems and imitations." And again (14-192), this time Trixie, Honey and Di know fake emeralds from real.

Mart 8 49 "When it comes to skating, speed skating particularly, Mart's about the nearest to a professional I've ever seen."

Jim 11 68 Jim pulled his harmonica out of his pocket

Jim 13 215 Training in boxing now stood him in good stead

Diana 15 141 "I wish Diana could be here, too. We could use her. She can almost read people's minds at times, can't she?"

Mart 16 148 "How about getting your guitar, Mart?"

Peter Belden 17 80 Picked up the ukulele kept from his own young years

Helen Belden 18 84 Amazingly good at tongue twisters

Helen Belden 20 37 Was an art major

Diana 38 45 She was such a good artist

PERSONAL

Brian 3 45 Brian skipped the third grade

Trixie 3 72 Loves onions

Regan 3 202 Wild about wrestling matches

Honey 4 103 Has a phobia about spiders AND snakes (p.107)

Miss Trask 5 28 Likes to take long walks in the pouring rain, spurning an umbrella

Diana 5 136 Likes country songs

Mr. Belden 8 130 Loves peppermint ice cream

Mr. Belden 13 23 Favourite colour is blue

Beldens 17 178 Have 3 telephones

Trixie 34 26 Likes strawberry pop

MISCELLANEOUS

Royal blue and gold 4 164 The Lynch decor (17-76)

Who Book Page Particulars

BELDEN

Laundry service 1 94 The big laundry truck lumbered into the Belden driveway

16 117 Trixie: "I was supposed to pay the laundryman this morning and he didn't come."

WHEELER

Miss Trask 1 28 RECURRING CHARACTER, she manages Manor House and is always such a good sport

Regan 1 30 RECURRING CHARACTER, the Wheelers' groom, he's always after the Bob-Whites to exercise the horses (but what's this??? there's a single reference to "assistant grooms", 10-103)

Celia 1 166 RECURRING CHARACTER, dainty, blond maid, she marries Tom Delanoy in #5

Gardener 3 46 Gallagher, who quit. The next gardener was Nailor, p.55. The gardener is Mike (10-103) but it's possible this is Nailor's first name

Helen 3 102 New maid

Cook 3 133 They've had 6 different ones since Rachel quit. The latest cook quits (5-75)

Marjorie 3 133 Maid

Winnie 3 163 Laundress, she's married and lives in town (named on p.37 but we don't find out she's the laundress until here)

Tom Delanoy 3 213 RECURRING CHARACTER, the second chauffeur, a good friend to the Bob-Whites, he used to work at the Cameo (the first chauffeur was Dick, p.52, who turned out to be a bad guy)

Mr. Maypenny 5 225 RECURRING CHARACTER, the second gamekeeper, sort of a hermit, provides a home for Dan, makes the world's best hunter's stew (the first gamekeeper was Fleagle, p.27)

Bob Murphy 16 132 Mr. Wheeler's pilot (22-29) (36-77)

LYNCH NOTE: 17-50 explains the rehiring of the servants which were fired at the end of #4 (p.231)

Harrison 4 23 Lynch butler, he appears occasionally, is most notably part of #26

2 Nurses 4 18 For the twins

Chauffeur 4 26

Mrs. Bruger 7 204 Cleaning woman

Cook 26 27 um... cook

Each category below is divided into two parts. Part (A)'s are owned by the Bob-Whites and/or their families. Part (B)'s are other people's or, as in the case with vehicles, were temporarily used.

Who Book Page Particulars

HORSES (A)

Jupiter (Jupe) 1 30 Mr. Wheeler's big, black gelding (Jim)

Lady 1 32 Mrs. Wheeler's dapple gray mare (Honey)

Strawberry 1 35-36 Honey's horse, a strawberry roan, who "tossed his head and pranced", (mare, 10-141) (Mart)

Starlight 3 27 Newly acquired chestnut gelding (mare, 8-123) (Brian)

Susie 3 121 Miss Trask's sweet little black mare (Trixie)

Spartan 8 94 Handsome 25-year-old roan who can dance because he used to be in a circus (16-54) (Dan)

Sunny 16 20 Di's silver and gold palomino, who "raised his head"

HORSES (B)

Belle 1 178 Mr. Lytell's gray, sway-backed mare

Prince 2 63 Quiet black horse who Trixie rode while searching for Jim

Peanuts 2 63 Chestnut gelding who Honey rode while searching for Jim

Thunderer 8 40 Regan is bandaging his cut leg

Brownie 8 60 Mr. Maypenny's old mare

Nancy 9 40 Gentle mare at Happy Valley Farm

Satan's Baby 9 40 Roan firebrand at Happy Valley Farm

Black Giant 9 40 Huge black stallion at Happy Valley Farm

Mr. Pony 18 31 Small Shetland pony Regan was training for a friend of Mr. Wheeler

Wicky 21 97 Short for Wickcliff, Davy Dodge's black Shetland pony

Black Prince 23 189 Handsome black stallion owned by Mr. Hart of Hartfield House, Stratford, England

Gadbox 24 118 Thoroughbred, son of Gadfly out of Jack-In-The-Box, owned by Mr. Worthington and later turned over to Carl Stinson

Mur-Elda 39 58 Arabian mare at Murrows' ranch that Trixie rode

Mur-Hadj 39 58 Arabian mare at Murrows' ranch that Honey rode

Al-Adeen 39 59 Prized Arabian stallion at Murrows' ranch

PETS (A)

Reddy 1 18 Beldens' (particularly Bobby's) totally undisciplined auburn Irish setter

Buddy 1 22 Honey's fat black cocker spaniel - she gave him to Sally (2-217). However, he magically is present at the Manor House in #19 (p.18-19).

Patch 3 18 Jim's newly acquired black and white springer spaniel puppy

Oscar 10 39 Bobby's chameleon

Cheerio 14 65 Jim's gray catbird

PETS (B)

Laddie 2 100 Large collie owned by Mary and Nat Smith

Jimmy 2 100 Thieving crow owned by Nat Smith

Cat (unnamed) 8 110 Mr. Lytell's big ol' tomcat

Betsy 9 27 Mother cow at Happy Valley farm whose calf was lost

Tip and Tag 9 29 Brown and white collies at Happy Valley farm

Blackie 9 66 Huge black cat at Happy Valley farm who just had kittens

Midnight 9 133 Orphan lamb at Happy Valley farm

Moses 9 190 Setter puppy rescued from the flood

Mr. Poo 10 30 Small white poodle owned by Gaye Hunya

Shem and Japheth 11 23 Mrs. Annie Moore's mules

Martha 11 23 Mrs. Annie Moore's cow

Jacob 11 27 Linne's black and tan coonhound

Nancy 21 149 Goat at the old Dutch barn

Loverly 25 63 Tank's pet skunk

Henry the Eighth 26 53 Black Persian owned by Rose Crandall of Sleepyside Hollow

Houdini 37 50 Hamster entered in pet show who got out of his cage 3 times

VEHICLES (A)

Beldens 3 44 Ancient Ford roadster

3 44 Station wagon, which "had been christened the Buggy 3 years ago when a queen bee had chosen its interior as a perfect place to swarm." (13-17)

5 234 Brian's jalopy that he bought from Mr. Lytell for $50.00

13 16 Brian's out in the barn working on an old rattletrap car he towed home yesterday.

14 64 "The Queen not only doesn't have a muffler but also... she didn't have a back seat." (referring to one of Brian's cars)

35 31 Maroon sedan

Wheelers 2 15 House trailer, the Silver Swan

3 26 Midnight blue sedan

3 37 Station wagon and Ford

15 105 He (Jim) had a speedboat of his own on the Hudson

16 15 Brand-new Continental sedan, shiny and blue, glittering with chrome (the station wagon is given to the B.W.G.'s)

36 65 Limousine

Lynches 4 66 Big, shiny limousine

14 73 New convertible (Mrs. Lynch's) and a station wagon

17 41 Cadillac

VEHICLES (B)

Lemon-colored convertible 5 170 Owned by Ben Riker

Icebox 13 74 Peter Kimball's jalopy

Star Fire 13 99 Peter Kimball's sleek black sailboat

Catfish Princess 15 36 Towboat B.W.G.'s rode on the Mississippi

Comet 15 103 Motor boat owned by Bob that was to transport the B.W.G.'s back to St. Louis

Blue Volkswagen 16 76 Juliana's car

Tan Van 22 36 Beige Volkswagen van rented in Vermont

Maroon Saloon 23 92 Dark red sedan rented in England

Click on the small map above to get the larger version (caution 107K).

Click on the heading above to take a side-trip to my project on the first book of the series, The Secret of the Mansion. It is a comparison on the wording differences between the original Whitman hardcover dust jacket format, 1948 and the Golden paperback oval format, 1977.

Gleeps Jeepers

First appears in book #3 where it is said 7 times, all by Mart. Trixie first says it in #4 but only once. It is not almost exclusively "her" word until #8. First appears in book #7 where it is said 7 times (by Trixie 5 times, as well as once by Brian and once by Mart). Trixie says it the majority of times after this.

After #3, it appears in every book (except #12) at least once. After #7, its appearance comes and goes. It doesn't appear after #32.

The Bob-Whites say a group Gleeps 3 times. Trixie and Honey also share a Gleeps once. There is no group Jeepers.

Diana says it individually only once. Diana never says it.

Neither Dan, Brian nor Honey say it individually. Dan never says it.

Uncle Andrew says it once. Paul Trent says it once. So does Ned.

The highest occurrence is in #18 at 14 times, followed closely by #28 at 13. The highest occurrence is in #28 at 21 times, followed closely by #13 at 20.

The total count for the series is 186. The total count for the series is 203.

This is everything you never wanted to know about Gleeps but were afraid to ask. This is everything you never wanted to know about Jeepers but were afraid to ask.

Follow this link to see book cover pictures of the Trixie Belden series. (Click on the "Covers" title above.) The first page contains covers of the dust jacket, cellophane/glossy, cameo, deluxe, plain and 2003 formats. The second page has the oval and square formats.

How much do you know about Trixie et al? See if you know enough to advance from one page to the next.
This is the quiz I used to have at the "Cool Quiz" site but I thought it was too cumbersome to play there. Most of the questions are the same; some new ones have been added. Additions on the fourth page include some image questions (more to come).

Even Spot likes Trixie Belden (she prefers the Deluxe format).

Trixie Belden Home Page
A reference page of plots, characters and book formats. One great feature is the Nit-Pick Page (which I have contributed to) - book errors and inconsistencies - it is hilarious!

Trixie Belden FAQ Homepage
Carmen has a lot of detail on publishing information, pictures of end pages, etc.

Lori's Trixie Belden Page
Crosswords, word searches, a BWG cookbook... plus more!

Down in the Hollow
Bonnie's memorial to Trixie includes fan fiction.

Or, you can visit one of the other pages on the following web ring

This is a picture of the BWG's (sans Di & Dan) from the Deluxe format of #10 Marshland Mystery. I'm attempting to cross-stitch this picture, 1/4 at a time. Here are the first 2 views of how it is coming along. It loses something in the translation from x-stitch to photograph to scan - Brian looks like he has a bad case of sunburn! Oh, well, he's going to be a doctor so I'm sure he can treat that!

May 9, 2003 - I picked up this Trixie Belden paper doll box set at an antiques and collectibles show for $5.00 (Canadian). It is in very good condition! It includes the paper (cardboard) Trixie doll with plastic stand and a 22 piece wardrobe. (The majority of clothes are dresses; there's even a pink one! There are no jeans, either, only 'bell bottom' slacks.) It has a copyright date of 1979, Whitman item #7409D. I have seen this exact U.S. set, but this one is a Canadian issue with both English and French on the box.

Page 2 contains the following headings:

Lists: Orphan Annies, Alicia's Allocation, Reasons A-Plenty,
Keeping It Clean, Is There a DOCTOR in the house??

People: Citizens, Teachers/Classmates, The Law, Bad Guys
Places: Landmarks, Glen Road & Vicinity, Sleepyside, Sleepyside Businesses
Books: Extra books that I have for sale

Title	Book	Page	Particulars
YEAR 1
Mansion	1	14	July
Red Trailer	2	24	July
Gatehouse	3	13	(starts) August 22, Tuesday
Mysterious Visitor	4	14-15	Last week of October
Glen Road	5	13	Before Thanksgiving (November) (p.71 the 16th)
Arizona	6	16	Christmas holidays (in Arizona)
Mysterious Code	7	161	Pre-Valentine's Day (beginning of February)
Black Jacket	8	16	Late February (the ice carnival takes place on Feb.27)
Happy Valley	9	14, 43	Spring vacation, April (in Iowa)
Marshland	10	13	End of April (ends on Trixie's birthday, May 1, p.212)
YEAR 2
Bob-White Cave	11	49	Summer (in Missouri Ozarks)
Blinking Eye	12	92	August (in New York City)
			Up until this point, the books have followed an orderly timeframe. Suddenly, Time Warps abound. It's back to the beginning of summer vacation in #13 - again in #19 - again in #35 - and again in #38 (Trixie remains 14). Inbetween, the calendar bounces to and fro. Perhaps, apart from Time Warps, there are some Parallel Universes going on here, as well.
Cobbett's Island	13	18	First vacation day (beginning of summer holidays)
Emeralds	14	13	Summer (in Virginia)
Mississippi	15	16	Summer (in St. Louis)
Missing Heiress	16	51	Late summer
Uninvited Guest	17	68	End of July (book ends August 6)
Phantom Grasshopper	18	21	October
Unseen Treasure	19	13	Beginning of summer (10 days ago was June 3, p.77) and into July (p.86)
Old Telegraph Road	20	28	Close to Mother's Day (ends the day before Mother's Day, p.202)
Castaway Children	21	16	August
Mead's Mountain	22	21	Christmastime - Saturday, December 26 is coming up (ends New Years Eve) (in Vermont)
Queen's Necklace	23	18	Summer (in London)
Saratoga	24	84	August (in Saratoga)
Sasquatch	25	16	August (in Idaho)
Headless Horseman	26	119	Fall
Ghostly Galleon	27	16	October (in the Catskills)
Hudson River	28	25	October (ends Halloween night, p.198)
Velvet Gown	29	34	January 3
Midnight Marauder	30	17	March
Maypenny's	31	15	September
Whispering Witch	32	14-15	Weekend before Thanksgiving, November
Vanishing Victim	33	205	Summer
Missing Millionaire	34	44	August
Memorial Day Fire	35	title	Memorial Day (end of May), into June (p.75)
Antique Doll	36	26	Last week it was Halloween (November) (partially in Paris)
Pet Show	37	10	First day back at school after 2 weeks winter vacation (January)
Indian Burial Ground	38	10	only a few more days of school left (into summer vacation again: June/July)
Galloping Ghost	39	14	summer (in Minnesota)

Who/What	Book	Page	Particulars
BIRTHDAYS
Trixie Belden	3	39	May 1
Honey Wheeler	10	16	She was a few weeks younger (than Trixie or Di). (date otherwise unknown)
Jim Frayne	1	196	This month (July)
Brian Belden	3	39	October. We find out in #28 (p.75) that he is a Libra, but "close enough to a Scorpio." Libra ends October 22 or 23, depending on which reference you look at. Thanks to great detective work by Denise H., we now know that Brian's birthday must be October 22. On page 89, Trixie is finishing her Saturday morning chores - 3 days after Brian had collapsed at his birthday dinner. The following Friday is Halloween (pp 175-176), thereby making his birthday fall on the 22nd.
Mart Belden	3	40	June 1
Diana Lynch	14	69	"My birthday is next week." Most likely July, as in #13 (after a backwards time warp from #11 & #12) they were "just out of school" and Cobbett's Island was for 10 days and a little later this trip to Virginia, also about 10 days duration, and in #15 Di is away "for a month"
Helen Belden	3	172	Monday is her birthday. (The book started on Tuesday, August 22, therefore that would make it August 28.)
Mrs. Wheeler	18	131	Honey: "My mother's birthday is this week." (October)
OTHER
Tom's and Celia's wedding	5	71	Sunday, November 15. This reference point is actually for November 16, the day after the storm. Celia and Tom got married the day before. It was a Sunday, the same day Fleagle quit (p. 83). The ceremony was at noon (p.16).
Juliana's and Hans's wedding	17	56	on Friday, August 6 at "half after four o'clock"

Who	Introduced	Particulars
BOB-WHITES
Trixie Belden	1	Super sleuth, her hunches are usually correct but nobody ever believes her
Honey Wheeler	1	Trixie's best friend and partner, she's a peace-maker and tactful as can be
Jim Frayne	1	Old Mr. Frayne's grandnephew and Honey's adopted brother, the "most wonderful boy" Trixie knows
Brian Belden	3	The oldest, everything he knows or does well is explained by the fact that he's going to be a doctor
Mart Belden	3	Uses big words and likes to tease Trixie, he's 11 months older than her
Diana Lynch	4	Beautiful but not very deep
Dan Mangan	8	Regan's nephew, he's often not around. His biggest role, apart from this intro, is in #14
IMMEDIATE FAMILIES
Helen Belden	1	"Moms" is a great cook, forever giving into Trixie "just this once"
Peter Belden	1	He's always wondering when the meal is going to be served but never lifts a finger to help, except to do the carving
Bobby Belden	1	The perpetual 6 year old, often annoying
Matthew Wheeler	2	Honey's father, he's rich, travels a great deal and provides the Bob-Whites with many opportunities for travel also
Madeleine Wheeler	2	Honey's mother, she isn't very strong, accompanies her husband on all his travels
Mr. Lynch	4	Di's jolly father, he has a more prominent part in #14
Mrs. Lynch	4	Her biggest speaking lines are in #7 (p.165-167)
Larry and Terry	7	Di's young twin brothers (Di also has younger twin sisters - do we ever find out their names?)
KNOWN RELATIVES (LIVING and NAMED)
Bill Regan	1	Dan's uncle, he's 22 years old (3-15)
Ben Riker	2	Honey's cousin, a practical joker, he shows up again #5 and #20
Aunt Alicia	3	Belden kids' aunt, mentioned a few times but we never meet. We find out she's a maternal aunt in #4 (p.105) and then we find out she's a paternal aunt in #8 (p.28) Omigosh! What does this say about Moms & Dad??
Grandfather Lynch	4	He "just had his sixtieth birthday". (p.61)
Monty Wilson	6	Di's (maternal) uncle, runs a dude ranch in Arizona
Andrew Belden	9	Peter Belden's unmarried brother, we meet him again in #11
Grandma	10	The Lynch kids are going to visit her (p.41). We can assume this is a paternal grandmother since both Mrs. Lynch's parents are dead.
Uncle Mart	11	Belden kids' uncle, we never meet him, but we find out he lives in Philadelphia (p.163) with Aunt Alicia NOTE: In the Deluxe HC (p.196) and the Cameo HC (p.213) the note from Moms says "Aunt Helen" NOT "Aunt Alicia"... so Uncle Mart must be a brother... Aunt Helen is never mentioned in the paperbacks
Juliana Maasden	16	Jim's cousin, in #17 she marries Hans Vorwald, an attorney from Amsterdam
Harold Belden	17	Peter Belden's brother who lives in Idaho, father of Hallie, Knut and Cap. We never actually meet him.
Hallie Belden	17	She's 1 year younger than Trixie, we meet her again in #25
Knut Belden	25	His full name is Knutson, p.36
Cap Belden	25	His full name is Capelton, p.15

Book	Trixie	Honey	Jim	Brian	Mart	Diana	Dan	Bobby
1	13 (p.15)	-	15 (p.196)	15 (p.44)	-	-	-	-
2	13 (p.18)	13 (p.18)	-	-	-	-	-	6 (p.205)
3	13 (p.39)	13 (p.204)	15 (p.15)	15 (p.39)	14 (p.40)	-	-	-
4	13 (p.13)	13 (p.14)	15 (p.21)	16 (p.21)	-	13 (p.45)	-	6 (p.18)
5	13 (p.14)	13 (p.14)	-	-	-	-	-	6 (p.15)
6	13 (p.13)	-	-	16 (p.14)	-	13 (p.14)	-	6 (p.14)
7	13 (p.14)	13 (p.21)	15 (p.21)	16 (p.16)	-	13 (p.22)	-	6 (p.21)
8	13 (p.13)	13 (p.17)	15 (p.17)	16 (p.19)	-	-	as old as Mart (p.130)	6 (p.13)
9	13 (p.14)	13 (p.14)	15 (p.14)	16 (p.14)	14 (p.14)	13 (p.14)	-	6 (p.17)
10	13 almost 14 (p.13) birthday (p.212)	13 (p.14)	-	16 (p.14)	-	13 (p.16)	-	6 (p.18)
11	14 (p.16)	14 (p.16)	-	almost 17 (p.16)	15 (p.13)	14 (p.16)	-	-
12	14 (p.13)	-	-	-	-	-	-	6 (p.47)
13	14 (p.22)	-	-	-	15 (p.15)	-	-	-
14	-	-	-	-	-	birthday (p.235)	-	-
15	14 (p.13)	the youngest (p.141)	-	-	-	14 (p.17)	-	-
16	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
17	14 (p.17)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
18	-	-	17 (p.14)	17 (p.14)	15 (p.19)	-	-	6 (p.31)
19	-	-	-	17 (p.14)	-	-	-	6 (p.15)
20	14 (p.144)	-	-	-	-	-	-	6 (p.108)
21	-	-	-	-	15 (p.40)	-	-	6 (p.18)
22	14 (p.15)	14 (p.15)	-			14 (p.15)	-	6 (p.127)
23	-	-	-	17 (p.16)	15 (p.16)	-	-	6 (p.13)
24	14 (p.162)	14 (p.162)	-	-	-	-	-	6 (p.16)
25	14 (p.28)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
26	14 (p.13)	14 (p.14)	-	-	15 (p.17)	14 (p.18)	-	6 (p.29)
27	14 (p.14)	14 (p.14)	17 (p.14)	17 (p.14)	15 (p.14)	-	-	6 (p.25)
28	-	-	-	birthday (p.76)	-	-	-	6 (p.14)
29	14 (p.13)	-	-	-	-	-	-	6 (p.22)
30	14 (p.14)	14 (p.15)	-	17 (p.19)	-	-	-	6 (p.17)
31	14 (p.13)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
32	14 (p.17)	14 (p.17)	-	17 (p.16)	15 (p.16)	-	-	6 (p.15)
33	-	-	-	17 (p.14)	-	-	-	6 (p.71)
34	14 (p.147)	-	-	17 (p.147)	15 (p.147)	-	-	6 (p.39)
35	14 (p.184)	14 (p.184)	-	-	-	-	-	6 (p.13)
36	14 (p.9)	-	-	17 (p.13)	-	-	-	6 (p.12)
37	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6 (p.26)
38	14 (p.9)	-	-	-	-	-	-	6 (p.10)
39	14 (p.9)	-	-	-	-	-	-	6 (p.13)

Name	Book	Page	Particulars
NAMES
James Winthrop Frayne II	1	46	Jim - Or, perhaps the III (36-13)
Queenie	1	18	Old Mr. Frayne's little black game hen
Water Witch	1	109	Rowboat on Wheelers' lake, Honey names it (19-61)
Miss Lefferts	1	168	Honey's awful governess before Miss Trask
Autoville	2	25	Trailer camp in upstate New York where they stayed while looking for Jim
Schoolgirl Shamuses	3	40	First mentioned by Jim, it became a common phrase among the B.W.G. boys to refer to Trixie and Honey. But what's this?? It's used by Sgt. Molison (35-178)
Bob-Whites of the Glen (The B.W.G.'s)	3	157-159	Honey's idea to form a club; first name ideas were Riders of the Glen (Mart), Glen Road Robins (Honey). Bob-Whites was Jim's idea. The jackets were to be red with white cross-stitching, which Honey made.
Madeleine G. Wheeler	3	180	Honey, named after her mother
Beatrix	7	25	Trixie
St. Nicholas	7	69	Name of magazine that contained mysterious code
Spencer family	7	76	Owned Manor House before the Wheelers, they had it built
Spotty	8	28	China cat, a family antique, that Bobby broke
The Cowhands	8	173	Name of Dan's old gang
Troglichthys rosae	11	209	Cave fish found by B.W.G.'s, although not the Amplyopsis spelaeus they were looking for
B and J	12	150	'Bone and Joint', Dr. Joe Reed's railroad
The Moorings	13	31	Where the B.W.G.'s stayed on Cobbett's Island (a.k.a. the old Condon place)
Rosewood Hall	14	29	Where the emeralds were hidden, now in ruins, which Mr. Lynch bought and is going to restore
Briar Hall	16	31	Honey's boarding school before coming to Sleepyside
Katje (Kate) Vanderheiden	16	35	Jim's mother's name
Hoppy	18	14	Town Hall weathervane
WSTH	18	25	Local radio station (35-31) (37-96)
Johnson	20	46	Helen Belden's maiden name
Purple Turnip	22	118	Vegetarian restaurant in Groverville
Hart	23	24	Mrs. Wheeler's maiden name
Marge (Margery)	23	115	Miss Trask
Joan Stinson	24	167	The girl Regan was in love with
Gadfly	24	42	Horse Regan was accused of drugging
Tank	25	53	Old prospector, known by the Belden cousins, his real name is Anders Anderson. "Ay tank de tistles be tick dis year."
Lien-Ting	26	183	Jade goddess on ebony pedestal, owned by Mr. Lynch, she had a small crack in her right arm (p.187)
Pirate's Inn	27	19	Miss Trask's childhood home
Lucy Radcliffe	27	28	Character in Trixie's mystery novels
Cosmo McNaught	27	29	Character in Mart's science fiction books
Sea Fox	27	69	Phantom galleon that appears whenever something awful is about to hit one of the Trasks
Clarence	27	78	Life-sized manikin owned by Mr. Appleton
Campus Clarion	29	118	School newspaper (30-39)
Miss Lonelyheart	30	76	Mart, taken over by one of the school counsellors (p.208)
Wendell	30	153	Sergeant Molison's first name
Sara Sligo	32	27	Ghost who supposedly haunted Lisgard House
Gunnar Bjorkland	39	69	He was hung for stealing a cow
NUMBERS
Sleepyside 60303	3	210	Wheelers' phone number
75 cents	3	215	Cost of cab from Sleepyside to Manor House (approx 2 miles)
291 Hawthorne Street	4	125	Crummy hotel run by a shady character named Olyfant
300 acres	5	26	Size of Wheeler game preserve
Sleepyside 96870	7	78	Phone number of Sleepyside Sun
$59.72	13	18	Trixie's college fund, lying safe and sound in the bank
$10.00	13	22	Cost of Trixie's new bathing suit
214 Glen Road	17	97	Address of Ten Acres
10 cents	20	122	Cost of phone call
431 West Second Street	35	38	Robert's Trophy Shop, that blowed up real good on Memorial Day
OTHER
	7	84	S.O.S.

Gleeps	Jeepers
First appears in book #3 where it is said 7 times, all by Mart. Trixie first says it in #4 but only once. It is not almost exclusively "her" word until #8.	First appears in book #7 where it is said 7 times (by Trixie 5 times, as well as once by Brian and once by Mart). Trixie says it the majority of times after this.
After #3, it appears in every book (except #12) at least once.	After #7, its appearance comes and goes. It doesn't appear after #32.
The Bob-Whites say a group Gleeps 3 times. Trixie and Honey also share a Gleeps once.	There is no group Jeepers.
Diana says it individually only once.	Diana never says it.
Neither Dan, Brian nor Honey say it individually.	Dan never says it.
Uncle Andrew says it once.	Paul Trent says it once. So does Ned.

The highest occurrence is in #18 at 14 times, followed closely by #28 at 13.	The highest occurrence is in #28 at 21 times, followed closely by #13 at 20.
The total count for the series is 186.	The total count for the series is 203.

This is everything you never wanted to know about Gleeps but were afraid to ask.	This is everything you never wanted to know about Jeepers but were afraid to ask.