Donald J. Sobol, the author who dreamed up the kid sleuth Encyclopedia Brown and wrote dozens of books that sold millions of copies, has died at age 87.
His series featured amateur investigator Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown, who would unravel local mysteries with the help of his encyclopedic knowledge of facts great and small. The books, first published in the early 1960s, became staples in classrooms and libraries nationwide. They were translated into 12 languages and sold millions of copies worldwide.
The Encyclopedia Brown books also featured Brown's friend and detective partner, the tough and athletic Sally Kimball. John Sobol said his dad was ahead of his times in creating a strong female character.
Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the Encyclopedia Brown series. Donald Sobol's latest adventure, Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Soccer Scheme, will be published in October, according to a release from Penguin.
Born in New York City, Sobol served in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II and graduated from Oberlin College. He later worked as a copywriter at the New York Sun, where he eventually became a reporter. His first book was rejected two dozen times before it was published, his son said.
In 1958, Sobol became a successful syndicated columnist with his "Two Minute Mystery" series before publishing Encyclopedia Brown Boy Detective five years later to launch the most popular series of his career.
The Encyclopedia Brown concept, in which the solutions to the mysteries are shown after the story, came to Sobol while he was researching an article at the New York Public Library. A clerk mistakenly handed him a game book, with puzzles on one side and the solutions on the other.
Sobol decided to write a mystery series with the same premise. He earned an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America award for the series.
John Sobol said his father would frequently test out story ideas on his four children. "We would talk about it sitting around dinner," he said, adding, "My mom also helped inject humor into the stories."
The series inevitably attracted Hollywood, which tried for decades to adapt the books for the big screen, with Anthony Hopkins, Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn among those interested in the project. But legal disputes over who controls film rights have prevented any feature film from being made.
Sobol's work never brought him the financial success of blockbusters like the Harry Potter series, his son said, but his father loved hearing from countless librarians and parents about children who hated to read until they picked up an Encyclopedia Brown book.
Sobol wrote more than 80 books, working daily until the very end.
http://www.npr.org/2012/07/16/156860...bol-dies-at-87