Tom Swift is the young protagonist in several series of juvenile adventure novels which began in the early twentieth century and continues to the present. Each such series stars a hero named Tom... (more)

Tom Swift is the young protagonist in several series of juvenile adventure novels which began in the early twentieth century and continues to the present. Each such series stars a hero named Tom Swift who is a genius inventor and whose breakthroughs in technology (especially transport technology) drive the plots of the novels, placing them in a genre sometimes called "invention fiction" or "Edisonade". Some of the later heroes might be considered the same character after a rebooted continuity, but in at least one series, Tom Swift was identified as a relative of the original Tom Swift. The first books were outlined by Edward Stratemeyer and his Stratemeyer Syndicate, written by ghostwriters and all credited to the house name of Victor Appleton.

The locale is the little town of Shopton in upstate New York, near Lake Carlopa. In comparison to son Tom Jr., Tom Sr.'s aerial, mechanical, and electrical inventions are closer to the real world state-of-the-art at the time of their writing. While some of Tom Sr.'s inventions are not well-founded in a scientific sense, others elaborated developments in the news and in popular magazines aimed at young science and invention enthusiasts. Presenting themselves as a forecast of future possibilities, they now and then hit close to the mark. Some predicted inventions that came true include "photo telephones", vertical takeoff aircraft, aerial warships, giant cannons, and "wizard" cameras. However some other devices, such as magnetic silencers for motors, have not appeared yet.

Tom's adventures are also more closely tied to events and public issues of the time than are the later series. Tom used his Electric Runabout to avert a run on a bank. During the Great War, Tom was secretly working on his War Tank and could not enlist, leading to fears that he was a slacker. Several of his inventions related to the war. He was called Tom Swift Senior after Tom Swift Junior appeared in the subsequent series.

Editorially directed and plotted by Edward Stratemeyer and, later, by his daughter Harriet, the books appeared under the pseudonym Victor Appleton, but were actually written by Howard Garis for most of the novels, and W. Bert Foster, John Duffield, and Thomas M. Mitchell for a few others. Like the series and character, the pseudonym was created by Stratemeyer as part of his Stratemeyer Syndicate.

Several researchers and authors (most notably John Dizer) have noted a parallel between Tom Swift's early career and that of real-life aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss.

Source: Wikipedia