Nancy Drew FAQ

alt.books.nancy-drew FAQ
compiled and maintained by Sharon Reid Harris
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 31 March 2000
Version: 1.0.2

1. Main characters

1.1. Nancy

1.1.1. How old is Nancy Drew?

1.1.2 Does she go to school?

1.2 What is Nancy's father like?

1.3 What happened to Nancy's mother?

1.4 Who is Hannah Gruen?

1.5 Ned

1.5.1 When did Nancy meet Ned?

1.5.2 Is Nancy going to marry Ned?

1.5.3 Are Nancy and Ned going to break up?

1.6 What book introduced George and Bess?

1.7 Is George her real name?

2. Where is River Heights?

3. Author

3.1 Can I write Carolyn Keene?

3.2 Did Carolyn Keene write all of the books?

3.3 What is a ghostwriter?

3.4 Who is Edward Stratemeyer?

3.5 Who is Mildred Wirt Benson?

3.6 Who is Harriet Adams?

3.7 How many people have been Carolyn Keene?

4. Book dates, versions

4.1 When was the first book published?

4.2 How long do I have to wait until the next book comes out?

4.3 Why is my version different than my mother's?

5. Nancy in media

5.1 Who played Nancy Drew on the TV series in the '70s?

5.2 Who plays her on the current TV series?

5.3 What movies have been made about Nancy Drew?

6. Hardy Boys connection

6.1 Which series came first, Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys?

6.2 When did they start publishing Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys books?

7. Different series

7.1 How is Nancy Drew Files different than Nancy Drew?

7.2 How many Nancy Drew series are there?

8. What books have been written about Nancy Drew?

9. Where else on the internet can I find information about Nancy?

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1. Main characters

1.1. Nancy

1.1.1. How old is Nancy Drew?

Nancy was 16 in the original books. She was 18 from the revisions on.

1.1.2 Does she go to school?

The originalThe Secret of the Old Clock implied that Nancy was no longer in school, but the original Haunted Bridge seemed to show she was. (George was anyway.) After she was aged to 18, she had already graduated from high school but did not attend college. In the new On Campus series, Nancy is a freshman in college.

1.2 What is Nancy's father like?

Nancy's father, Carson Drew, was her confidante and biggest supporter. He was a noted criminal and mystery-case lawyer, helpful in that he had money and could provide legal advice for Nancy's clients. Sometimes he even gave cases to Nancy. He graduated from Hale University, where he led an active social life, studied geology and played football. He continues to stay active, especially talented at tennis (The Haunted Bridge, original edition)

Carson's wife died when Nancy was three years old. An attractive man, he has been pursued by women such as Marty King in Mystery of the Glowing Eye and has been interested in others such as Nina da Silva in The Black Widow.

1.3 What happened to Nancy's mother?

Nancy's mother died when Nancy was three. (10 in original The Secret of the Old Clock)

1.4 Who is Hannah Gruen?

Hannah has been the Drew housekeeper since Nancy's mother's death.

1.5 Ned

1.5.1 When did Nancy meet Ned?

Clue in the Diary

1.5.2 Is Nancy going to marry Ned?

We don't know.

1.5.3 Are Nancy and Ned going to break up?

They have broken up in the On Campus series

1.6 What book introduced George and Bess?

The Secret at Shadow Ranch

1.7 Is George her real name?

Early books made a point of saying that George was her real name, but others say it is short for Georgina

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2. Where is River Heights?

River Heights has changed location throughout the series. Originally, it was located in Iowa, homeplace of Mildred Wirt Benson. This is shown by descriptions of farmlands and cornfields (see the original Red Gate Farm especially). In later early volumes, however, Carson Drew goes "west" to Chicago. Harriet Adams, when she revised the series, moved River Heights still further east, probably close to New Jersey, where the Stratemeyer Syndicate was located, because of speech patterns and the fact that New York was close by. "After a check of shuttle flight schedules and a hasty lunch with Hannah, she set off for the airport...." Two hours later, Nancy was walking down Madison Avenue...." (The Mysterious Image) Living in St. Louis, I know that it takes more than a shuttle flight from the Midwest to New York and takes longer than two hours to leave for the airport, fly there, leave the airport and walk down Madison Avenue. Betsy Caprio, in her book The Mystery of Nancy Drew, hypothesizes that River Heights is in Ohio. In the current books, River Heights has moved back to the Midwest; writer's guidelines place it as a suburb of Chicago. "The trip [from River Heights to Chicago] took less than an hour door to door." (Counterfeit Christmas) Since the radio stations start with a W, we know it is east of the Mississippi.

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3. Author

3.1 Can I write to Carolyn Keene?

Sorry, but there is no Carolyn Keene.

3.2 Did Carolyn Keene write all of the books?

Again, there is no Carolyn Keene.

3.3 What is a ghostwriter?

The Stratemeyer Syndicate owned the copywright to the Nancy Drew series and would hire people to write the books based on an outline. These authors were under contract not to reveal their identity. They are called ghostwriters.

3.4 Who is Edward Stratemeyer?

Edward Statemeyer started the Stratemeyer Syndicate and came up with the original idea for the Nancy Drew series.

3.5 Who is Mildred Wirt Benson?

Mildred Wirt Benson is the first ghostwriter in the Nancy Drew series. She is the one credited with fleshing out Nancy's character. She wrote most of the first 26 books.

3.6 Who is Harriet Adams?

Harriet Adams is Edward Stratemeyer's daughter. She took over the Syndicate after his death, cutting back on the number of different series they produced and focused on Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys (plus a few others). She took credit for writing the Nancy Drew series.

3.7 How many people have been Carolyn Keene?

Because of the nature of ghostwriters, I do not know how many people have written under the name Carolyn Keene.

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4. Book dates, versions

4.1 When was the first book published?

1930

4.2 How long do I have to wait until the next book comes out?

Most of the various series, including the regular Nancy Drew, put out a new book every other month.

4.3 Why is my version different than my mother's?

The early books were revised starting in 1959, presumably to modernize them and delete racist references and stereotypes. Some theorize that the books were then a uniform length and shorter so that they were cheaper to publish.

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5. Nancy in media

5.1 Who played Nancy Drew on the TV series in the '70s?

Pamela Sue Martin

5.2 Who played her on the 1996-97 TV series?

Tracy Ryan lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and was born in Kitchener, Ontario, in1971. She went to school at the University of Toronto and graduated in 1992 with a BA Drama/Irish Studies combined major.

5.3 What movies have been made about Nancy Drew?

Nancy Drew: Detective (Dec. 1938)

Nancy Drew: Reporter (March 1939)

Nancy Drew: Trouble Shooter (Sept. 1939)

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (Nov. 1939)

All four movies starred Bonita Granville as Nancy and Frankie Thomas as Ted (not Ned) Nickerson.

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6. Hardy Boys connection

6.1 Which series came first, Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys?

Hardy Boys

6.2 When did they start publishing Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys books?

1988

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7. Different series

7.1 How is Nancy Drew Files different than Nancy Drew?

The Files is a spin-off series with more violence (includes murder) and romance. They are intended to appeal to an older audience. Unlike the On Campus series, the mystery is still the main event. Nancy is in third grade in the popular Notebooks series.

7.2 How many Nancy Drew series are there?

regular series (including both originals and revised)

Nancy Drew Files (discontinued)

Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys

Nancy Drew Notebooks--for young children

On Campus--Nancy goes to college

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8. What books have been written about Nancy Drew?

Nancy Drew Scrapbook by Karen Plunkett-Powell (1993)

Rediscovering Nancy Drew ed. by Carolyn Stewart Dyer and Nancy Tillman Romalov (1995)

The Mystery of Nancy Drew: Girl Sleuth on the Couch by Betsy Caprio (1992)

Farah's Price Guide to Nancy Drew Books and Collectibles by David Farah