I cut my teeth on the Nancy Drew books. I also frequently morphed into Nancy Drew while biking around the neighborhood searching for strange and mysterious goings-on. But that’s a topic for another blog post. Or not.
Today is a very special day in Nancy-Drew-dom! On April 28th, 1930, the first three books in the series debuted – The Secret of the Old Clock, The Hidden Staircase, and The Bungalow Mystery. Since then, she has solved over 500 cases! Not counting the ones, of course, where I helped. 🙂
Nancy Drew consultant (yes! There is such a thing! And yes! I’m slightly jealous!) Jennifer Fisher has compiled a list of some fun facts to help us celebrate this momentous occasion. Her facts are in bold; my comments are not – just to keep things straight.
1. Edward Stratemeyer created Nancy Drew.
He also created the Hardy Boys and the Bobbsey Twins (as well as several other series) if you are keeping track. In fact, Fortune magazine once said about his legacy, “As oil had its Rockfeller, literature had its Stratemeyer.”
2. ‘Carolyn Keene’ was a pseudonym for many ghostwriters (28 according to Wikipedia) over the years.
I remember the first time I realized that ‘Carolyn Keene’ wasn’t actually one real person. I was crushed. I got over it and now I can’t even remember why I was so devastated, but still… the feels were real, y’all. In case you’re interested, the first ‘Carolyn’ was a woman by the name of Mildred Wirt Benson, and she wrote 23 books in what we consider the classic series. According to Wikipedia, her favorite was The Hidden Staircase.
3. In the classic Nancy Drew series (volumes 1-56 from 1930-1979), Nancy Drew never solved murders.
The world is a different place now, isn’t it girlfriend?
4. Besides blue, Nancy Drew’s car has been yellow, green, and even maroon.
I always loved how they called it a roadster. I even lapse into “Nancy Drew speak” from to time when talking to my husband. “Let’s take a spin in our roadster. What a lark that will be!” He’s never quite as amused as I am.
5. Some famous Nancy Drew fans include: Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sandra Day O’Connor, First Lady Laura Bush, TV Personalities Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Walters, Mystery Authors Nancy Pickard, Sara Paretsky, P.M. Carlson, and Susan Kandel, plus Actresses Barbara Streisand, Emma Roberts, and Ellen Barkin.
We are in good company, fellow Nancy fans!! What was your favorite book? Mine was The Mystery at Lilac Inn.
I so loved Nancy Drew mysteries as a young girl! I’ll pick “The Mystery of the 99 Steps” as my favorite, but I enjoyed any of them that had George and Bess in the story. I loved their friendship.
I loved George & Bess too!