The following details about this series come from All About Collecting Girls’ Series Books by John Axe, 2002:

The Ruth Fielding series was one of the earlier series produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate and helped to influence later series, including Nancy Drew.  Edward Stratemeyer created the concept for the series and outlines for stories and then turned them over to ghost writers to write the actual books under the pseudonym of Alice B. Emerson.  The Ruth Fielding series preceded the creation of Nancy Drew and was the most popular girls’ series the syndicate produced during the early 20th century.  New books were produced between 1913 and 1934.  Nancy Drew was developed as the Ruth Fielding series ended, but there are some similarities between the two series, and they also shared a ghost writer, Mildred A. Wirt.  The two girls had somewhat similar adventures, although Ruth Fielding aged as the books went along and had a career, marriage, and child, which Nancy Drew never did, never appearing to age.  The fact that Ruth Fielding grew up was one of the chief reasons why the series ended.

When the series begins, Ruth Fielding is twelve years old and an orphan.  She goes to live with a great-uncle who later sends her to boarding school along with her friend, Helen Cameron.  Like Nancy Drew after her, Ruth finds and solves mysteries everywhere she goes, encountering them at school, on vacation, or at the various places where she films movies later.

As Ruth grows up, she graduates from her boarding school, Briarwood Hall, and goes to Ardmore College, still with her friend Helen.  Just before her graduation from Briarwood, she makes a movie (a silent movie because all movies were silent at the time) with her friends in order to raise money to replace a dormitory at the school that burned down.  This experience leads her into a career in the movie industry in California.  At various times during the series, Ruth is an actress, a scenario writer, a director, and eventually, the owner of a film company.

In 1918, there were a few books in the series where Ruth and Helen go to Europe as part of the Red Cross to aid the war effort during World War I, while Helen’s twin brother Tom is a soldier.  Ruth and Tom eventually fall in love and get married, although Ruth had reservations about marriage at first because she didn’t want to give up her career.  Together, Ruth and Tom have a baby daughter named June.  The series ends with June still a baby, and in the final book, Ruth goes to Europe and earns the title of Duchess of Sharlot after helping a prince to reclaim his throne (in a rather confusing end to the series).

Thanks to a generous gift from reader Hana, I now have most of the books in this series and will be doing more reviews about them soon. Thank you, Hana! 

For anyone who would like to try some of these books themselves, they are easily available now in electronic form because a number of books in this series are now on Project Gutenberg.

Books in the Series:

#1 Ruth Fielding of the Red Mill or Jasper Parloe’s Secret (1913)

Ruth, an orphan, goes to live with her great-uncle, who lives at Red Mill.  There, she meets Helen and Tom Cameron and becomes their friend.

#2 Ruth Fielding at Briarwood Hall or Solving the Campus Mystery (1913)

Ruth goes to boarding school with Helen and solves a ghostly mystery.

#3 Ruth Fielding at Snow Camp or Lost in the Backwoods (1913)

While on winter break from school, Ruth investigates a boy’s disappearance.

#4 Ruth Fielding at Lighthouse Point or Nita, the Girl Castaway (1913)

Ruth finds a mystery while on vacation at the seaside.

#5 Ruth Fielding at Silver Ranch or Schoolgirls Among the Cowboys (1913)

Ruth visits a ranch in Montana with her friends.

#6 Ruth Fielding on Cliff Island or The Old Hunter’s Treasure Box (1915)

Ruth investigates a mystery concerning some real estate on Cliff Island.

#7 Ruth Fielding at Sunrise Farm or What Became of the Baby Orphans (1915)

Ruth helps to reunite separated siblings.

#8 Ruth Fielding and the Gypsies or The Missing Pearl Necklace (1915)

Ruth searches for a missing necklace and is kidnapped by gypsies.

#9 Ruth Fielding in Moving Pictures or Helping the Dormitory Fund (1916)

Shortly before Ruth graduates from Briarwood, one of the dormitories burns down.  Ruth and her friends make a movie to raise money to rebuild it.

#10 Ruth Fielding Down in Dixie or Great Times in the Land of Cotton (1916)

Ruth and Helen take a trip to South Carolina but find themselves getting mixed up in local troubles.

#11 Ruth Fielding at College or The Missing Examination Papers (1917)

Ruth starts college with Helen, and they investigate the mystery of a stolen vase, along with disappearance of some examination papers.

#12 Ruth Fielding in the Saddle or College Girls in the Land of Gold (1917)

Ruth is in California to make a movie, but she also makes a valuable discovery.

#13 Ruth Fielding in the Red Cross or Doing Her Best for Uncle Sam (1918)

This is one of the WWI stories. Ruth and her friends enlist in the Red Cross and go to France to help the war effort.

#14 Ruth Fielding at the War Front or The Hunt for the Lost Soldier (1918)

Helen’s brother, Tom, is missing in battle, and Ruth searches for him.

#15 Ruth Fielding Homeward Bound or A Red Cross Worker’s Ocean Perils (1919)

Ruth returns home from the war.

#16 Ruth Fielding Down East or The Hermit of Beach Plum Point (1920)

Someone steals a movie scenario that Ruth was writing.

#17 Ruth Fielding in the Great Northwest or The Indian Girl Star of the Movies (1921)

Ruth and her friends go to the Northwest to make a movie.  This is the book where Tom first proposes to Ruth.

#18 Ruth Fielding on the St. Lawrence or The Queer Old Man of the Thousand Islands (1922)

#19 Ruth Fielding Treasure Hunting or A Moving Picture That Became Real (1923)

Ruth makes a movie in the Bahamas with Tom.

#20 Ruth Fielding in the Far North or The Lost Motion Picture Company (1924)

Ruth goes to the Arctic to make a movie.

#21 Ruth Fielding at Golden Pass or The Perils of an Artificial Avalanche (1925)

Ruth goes to Montana to make another movie with Tom and ends up taking the starring role herself.

#22 Ruth Fielding in Alaska or The Girl Miners of Snow Mountain (1926)

Ruth must find out who stole the film she was working on!

#23 Ruth Fielding and Her Great Scenario or Striving for the Motion Picture Prize (1927)

Ruth is entering a movie scenario she’s written in a contest, but it is stolen!

#24 Ruth Fielding at Cameron Hall or A Mysterious Disappearance (1928)

Ruth must help Tom prove that he is innocent of a crime.  This is the book where Ruth and Tom get married.  Tom agrees that Ruth can continue her career after their marriage and keep her maiden name.

#25 Ruth Fielding Clearing Her Name or The Rivals of Hollywood (1929)

After Ruth wins a great deal of money from the contest in the previous book, someone accuses her of cheating.  Ruth must prove that she won the contest honestly to save her reputation!

#26 Ruth Fielding in Talking Pictures or The Prisoners of the Tower (1930)

A disturbed actor kidnaps both Ruth and Helen and takes them to Mexico.

#27 Ruth Fielding and Baby June (1931)

The same actor from the previous book has now apparently kidnapped Ruth’s baby daughter, June.

#28 Ruth Fielding and Her Double  (1932)

An actress is impersonating Ruth in Hollywood.  Ruth must expose the imposter!

#29 Ruth Fielding and Her Greatest Triumph or Saving Her Company from Disaster (1933)

Ruth must hurry to finish her latest project, a romantic movie that takes place on an island, before a rival film company can make their own version of the same movie first.

#30 Ruth Fielding and Her Crowning Victory or Winning Honors Abroad (1934)

Ruth and Helen go to Europe by themselves, without their husbands and children.  The fictional countries of Bellogia and Estralia are at war, and Ruth gains the title of Duchess of Sharlot by helping Prince Robin regain his throne.