Who else but Nancy Drew has book collectors chasing after her as often as the crooks she eventually catches?
Since Carolyn Keene was really a syndicate (Edward Stratemeyer, Harriet Adams, Mildred Wirt Benson, etc.), she was quite prolific, writing hundreds of Nancy Drew titles.
Is Nancy blonde or titian haired? Since I am a strawberry blonde myself, I prefer titian, but I know not everyone agrees. Which Lilac? compares original and revised versions of The Mystery at Lilac Inn .
What facts do we know about Nancy, or her friends George and Bess? How about her father, Carson Drew, her mother or the housekeeper, Hannah Gruen? Togo, a terrier, has a blue ribbon he won at a dog show. (The Secret of the Golden Pavillion)
Nancy lived in an elegant home in River Heights, which seems to be your average, nondescript town, albeit with a lot of unsavory characters.
Nancy was originally 16, but aged to 18 in the revisions and from then on. Unlike her "sisters" the Dana Girls, Nancy was never actually in school. As a child, I assumed it was perpetual summer, but I guess she was supposed to have already graduated. The only school reference I have found is in the original version of The Haunted Bridge. "Mrs. Fayne [George's mother] laughed. 'I want you to have a nice vacation so that you'll come home rested and ready for school.' 'School,' George answered with a grimace which her mother could not see. 'I hate even to think of it." Nancy didn't go to college until the new On Campus series started in 1995.
While the later books have Nancy as concerned about boys as mysteries (especially On Campus series), in other ways she has matured. In the original version of The Haunted Bridge, Nancy blushed when told she would make a good nurse; "'Have you ever studied nursing?' he asked Nancy abruptly. 'Oh no, I've had only training in first aid.' 'You seem to have missed your calling,' the doctor told her with a smile. 'You appear to have a natural bent for nursing.' Nancy flushed at the praise." In Bad Medicine, Files #35, Ned teased Nancy about being a good nurse, but she didn't "flush with pleasure." Instead she retorted, "Very funny. I was thinking more about Doctor Drew."
Since Simon & Schuster's acquisition of the series, several parallel series have been created--the Nancy Drew Files and the thankfully short-lived creation of Nancy Drew on Campus. Nancy Drew has also spurned a spin-off series for girls who are more interested in boys than mysteries. Nikki Masters, Nancy's neighbor, stars in the series called River Heights.
Anyone who reads Nancy Drew books knows Ned Nickerson. Their relations, which started in Clue in the Diary, has had an on-again off-again quality to it. The relationship takes a back seat to mysteries in the original and paperback series, but not the Files or the new On Campus series. On Her Own, the second book in the Nancy Drew On Campus series, focuses on whether she should or should not stay with Ned. I like Ned and wish Nancy would stop worrying about guys and get back to what she does best--solve mysteries. (See my Save Nancy! story in Under the Attic Window archive)
My passion for learning was ignited by Nancy Drew. "Harriet also enjoyed imparting educational information to her readers, and the titles she wrote as Carolyn Keene were peppered with interesting facts and legends--everything from the tales of a one-eyed Cyclops and methods of deciphering codes to techniques of Kabuki theater." (The Nancy Drew Scrapbook, Karen Plunkett-Powell)
I also trace my love of traveling and learning about other cultures to heroines such as Nancy traveling all over the United States and even the world.
I
have decided to offer, in partnership with Amazon.com, the opportunity to purchase
books currently in print. Along with book titles I will include the book
information with a link to Amazon.com. You have all the advantages of a large
on-line bookstore (gift wrapping, secure transactions, etc.) with the advantage
of reading my reviews :) and of seeing them listed by series in an easily accessible
manner. The books are shipped priority mail.
Nancy
Drew software (linked items are available through Amazon.com)
| Nancy
Drew: Secrets Can Kill (Windows 95, Windows 98, unfortunately not Macintosh!)  |
Nancy
Drew: Stay Tuned for Danger (Windows 95, Windows 98, unfortunately not Macintosh!)  |
Nancy
Drew informational books (linked books are available through Amazon.com)
The
Mysterious Case of Nancy Drew & the Hardy Boys 
Nancy
Drew and Company: Culture, Gender, and Girls' Series Recommended links:
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