Book excerpt: John William Duffield (1859-1946) was a prolific children's author and writer for the Stratemeyer Syndicate. He worked as a book publisher, bookseller, reporter and journalist in New York before becoming a published author. Under the pseudonym Maitland he wrote a series of Boy Scout books. He wrote his own series of juvenile fiction featuring a character called Bert Wilson, with titles including: Bert Wilson at the Wheel (1913), Bert Wilson's Fadeaway Ball (1913), Bert Wilson, Wireless Operator (1913), Bert Wilson, Marathon Winner (1914), Bert Wilson at Panama (1914), Bert Wilson's Twin Cylinder Racer (1914), Bert Wilson on the Gridiron (1914) and Bert Wilson in the Rockies (1914). In the early twentieth-century he wrote approximately 115 stories for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, writing for series including the Radio Boys, the Rushton Boys, Bobby Blake, Bomba the Jungle Boy, Don Sturdy, Baseball Joe and the Ted Scott series.