Nancy Drew |
Nancy Drew is a fictional character, the heroine detective of a popular mystery series for girls. The series was created in 1930 by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate.
== Series history ==
The series was ghostwritten in the early years primarily by Mildred Benson. Harriet Adams, who succeeded her father Edward as the head of the Syndicate, contributed a number of volumes and oversaw the substantial revisions begun in the fifties.
Over 200 million books have been sold worldwide. Many people collect the series, which has gone through several formats over the years. The books were reprinted in the 1970s and 1980s, and in the early 1990s a new series was created for Simon & Schuster under the epithet The Nancy Drew Files, starting with Secrets Can Kill (1991). The original series was also extended, and in more recent years, the extra series Nancy Drew on Notebooks , Nancy Drew: On Campus , and Nancy Drew Girl Detective were added to the tales about the titian-haired sleuth.
Nancy Drew also appeared with The Hardy Boys in the 36 volume Supermystery series, plus a Be Your Own Detective series (written in the style of Choose Your Own Adventure series).
= Character evolution =
The original Nancy, as introduced in 1930, is the daughter of lawyer Carson Drew. Nancy, whose mother died when she was 10 (3 in later stories), is clearly in charge of household affairs, including the housekeeper, Mrs. Gruen. Nancy has already completed high school at age 16. Her large, three-story brick house is frequently visited by her many friends, first Helen Corning, who appears in the first four volumes, but is never a sleuthing companion. She is often joined in her sleuthing activities by her close friends George Fayne (a girl) and Bess Marvin, cousins who have opposite personalities. Helen returns briefly in original volumes 8 and 10 (which were not written by Bensen), having changed her personality to be more like George Fayne, before disappearing when Bensen resumed ghostwriting with volume 11, and returning from Europe (where unneeded friends vacation) for one final appearance in volume 20. Nancy s boyfriend is (usually) Ned Nickerson who often lends his support and help, while George calls on her on-off counterpart Buck Rodman, later Burt Eddleton, and Bess on Dave Evans. Burt and Dave are introduced in the early 1950 s.
The original Nancy is blonde, and gradually ages from 16 to 18 in the books. Her blue roadster becomes maroon, then green and black, then finally a plain coupe, before returning to a blue convertible in the postwar years. The original versions of the books often contain depictions of other races and ethnicities in what are now considered negative stereotypes, as well as containing customs and courtesies in popular culture that were completely outmoded by the 1950 s. For these reasons the series earliest 34 volumes were revised from 1959-1977. Mrs. Gruen becomes Hannah, a somewhat mothering (and at times restrictive) housekeeper, and Nancy s Aunt Eloise, her father s much younger sister, pops up to add New York City place settings for mysteries, or serve as a chaperone for the increasingly mixed group of sleuths. Subplots and vocabulary were cut down, and the action became faster-paced, resulting in slightly shorter and simpler stories in most cases. Although early Nancy travels once to Canada and once to South America, the later stories feature a quick trip to England, then finally some sleuthing destinations in Latin America, Europe, and Africa. Many of the volumes were completely re-written, only including some character names and the titles from the original stories.
Nancy becomes strawberry-blonde or titian-haired, and revises her sleuthing techniques to become more politically correct and less sneaky. Old stereotypes, technologies and fashions disappear. The bold Nancy, who knows how to use a revolver (and carries one), who occasionally illegally enters property, trespasses, and appropriates stolen property as evidence, becomes more sedate, and just happens to come across incriminating evidence. George Fayne becomes less masculine and brusque, and also learns judo--so she can help Nancy with thugs when Ned isn t around. Bess becomes completely obsesessed with food and boys in later writings, but also overcomes her fear at times to be a more formidable, useful friend to Nancy. Female villains emerge to tie up and threaten Nancy, instead of the male counterparts who were verbally and at times, physically abusive to original Nancy. Crimes become international, instead of revolving around River Heights. When the original stories began to be updated in 1959, Helen Corning becomes an older friend of Nancy s, and is actually more of a George Fayne character, serving as actual sleuthing sidekick in these tales. The stage is also set to explain her departure from the series: Helen becomes engaged, and spends the last of her appearances before she is married planning her wedding while she helps Nancy sleuth. Classic preppy Nancy, with her pageboy since 1947, updates and becomes psychedelic in the 1960 s, with a trademark flipped hairstyle, and wild print dresses and blouses. These covers, using a startled Nancy in the foreground (often disheveled) with images from the mystery scattered about, now appear more dated than the portrait covers of classic preppy Nancy they were replacing.
= Books in the series =
An - incomplete - list of Nancy Drew books:
= Pseudonym Carolyn Keene =
All Nancy Drew books are published under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene regardless of actual author. The name Carolyn Keene has also been used to author a shorter series of books entitled The Dana Girls . This series features female detective sisters and is a kind of crossbreed of The Hardy Boys (detective brothers) and Nancy Drew (female detective).
= Series in film and television =
Actress Bonita Granville portrayed the character of Nancy Drew in four movies in the 1930s. A television series called The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries appeared on television in the from 1977 to 1979 and starred Pamela Sue Martin as the girl detective. Another brief series appeared in 1995. In 2003, American Broadcasting Company broadcast a TV film featuring Maggie Lawson as Nancy Drew.
as Nancy Drew, in early 2006.[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/film/article_display.jspvnu_content_id=1001097095]
= Series in computer games =
Several Nancy Drew titles have been adapted and released as Computer and video games by Her Interactive. The games are targeted at ages 10 and up and follow the popular Adventure game style of play. Players must move Nancy around in a Virtual reality to talk to suspects, pick up clues, solve puzzles, and eventually solve the crime. High sales and a general growing demand for girls CD-ROM titles have led to several Nancy Drew game releases, including:
*Secrets Can Kill (computer game) - 1998
*Stay Tuned for Danger (computer game) - 1999
*Message in a Haunted Mansion (computer game) - 2000
*Treasure in the Royal Tower (computer game) - 2000
*The Final Scene (computer game) - 2001
*Secret of the Scarlet Hand (computer game) - 2002
*Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake (computer game) - 2002
*The Haunted Carousel (computer game) - 2003
*Danger on Deception Island (computer game) - 2003
*The Secret of Shadow Ranch (computer game) - 2004
*Curse of Blackmoor Manor (computer game) - 2004
*Secret of the Old Clock (computer game) - 2005
*Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon (computer game) - 2005
=External links=
*[http://www.simonsays.com/content/content.cfmpt_id=4&sid=33&pid=368301&app=related&sort=2&sw=50 Simon & Schuster] - bookseller site with current cover art *[http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com Nancy Drew Sleuth ] - fan site with historical cover art and series history including current computer games *[http://www.nancydrewworld.com/index.html Around the World with Nancy Drew ] - fan site with foreign editions information *[http://www.bookloversden.com/series/girls/Drew/Drew.html Bookloversden] - fan site with character change information *[http://www.nancydrew.bobfinnan.com The Unofficial Nancy Drew Home Page] - commercial site with information on series and collectibles *[http://www.iblist.com/search/search.phpitem=nancy+drew Internet Book List] - list of published Nancy Drew books|
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