Girl Sleuth
Description: Nancy Drew has survived the Depression, World War II, and the sixties to enter the pantheon of American girlhood.
Here, with all the vivid energy and page-turning pace of Nancy’s adventures, is the first behind-the-scenes history of our beloved girl detective. Behind the blue roadster, cloche hats, uncanny timing, and constant presence in the lives of American girls lies an enduring literary mystery: Who created Nancy Drew? And how did she go from pulp heroine to icon?
Melanie Rehak has put together all the clues and tracked down all the suspects; grab your flashlights and join the gang as we find out the truth about Nancy Drew.
BookieMonster says: I loved Nancy Drew books when I was around 8-10 years old – I loved reading books where the girl protagonist was a do-er rather than a romantic piner. But what I didn’t know then was anything about the history of these books and Nancy Drew as a character, and that Carolyn Keene (the author of Nancy Drew books) was a pen-name for several authors.
The original Nancy Drew character was created by Edward Stratemeyer (who was also responsible for The Bobbsey Twins and The Hardy Boys) in 1929, then, from 1930 after Edward’s death, turned into a fully fledged character and phenomemon by Stratemeyer’s daughter Harriet Stratemeyer Adams and Mildred Wirt Benson, a journalist who wrote the first books and so was the first “Carolyn Keene”.
This book is an investigation into this development and the relationship between the 2 women, as well as the history of Nancy Drew as she developed with the changing 20th century. An entertaining and enjoyable weave of social history and biography. Sometimes I got a little impatient with the social history – I wanted more of the character and the books! But overall this was a thoroughly enjoyable read and one I’d recommend to all current and past Nancy Drew fans!
BookieMonster is selling brand new copies now from $22.95 on Trademe! Click here to bring up a search for it.
I really loved this book. From a writer’s perspective, it was interesting to read about how these series are created, and what guidelines the writers are given.
Re: the brown website; I like it! It looks luxurious.
Thanks for your comment Andrea! Yes – the sort of “jobbing syndication” of book writing that produced Nancy Drew and the other series was quite an eye-opener!
I like the brown too, I’m thinking of experimenting with another theme that still has brown but has more colour in the different elements. But I don’t want to become a serial website-tinkerer!