Did You Have a Clue That Nancy is 90? Fun Facts About America’s Favorite Girl Sleuth

Are you a Nancy Drew fan? Which mysteries have you read of the 56 volumes in the “canon” (1930 to 1979)? Any after that (up to 1981)? Have you read any of the original, unrevised stories? Did you have a clue there was such a thing? Do you know how old Nancy was when she was “born”? Did she ever grow older? Did her hair change color? Do you know that she almost wasn’t Nancy? Does a roadster have windows? Are there actually two Nancys? Who is her real father? Did she have four mothers? Who created Nancy? Who saved Nancy? Who gave us her famous chums, Bess and George? Whom do we thank for good ol’, faithful Ned?

In my nostalgic, fun, fact-packed, cultural history book about juvenile series from the late 1890s to the 1960s, you’ll solve the mysteries to a lot of questions and meet the fascinating people who gave us Frank Merriwell, the Rover Boys, the Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift Sr. and Jr., the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and many more. The book is called In Search of Yesterday’s Heroes and is scheduled to publish later in 2020. Meanwhile, Nancy is ready to party!! So, let’s search out some clues, solve a few mysteries, and have some fun!

The “Breeder Set” that birthed a phenomenon ~ April 28, 1930 (author’s actual books)

The Birth of Nancy Drew

The creation and birth of Nancy Drew is quite a story, and you’ll get the full scoop and decades of background in Yesterday’s Heroes. But, on this special day, Nancy’s willing to give you a preview. She was born at the tender age of “just 16,” with a curly, blonde bob, into the household of a famous criminal lawyer, mystery-case attorney Carson Drew, who generously indulged his daughter’s yearning for adventure and soon came to rely upon her talent for deduction. Like the Hardy brothers, Nancy found it so convenient to have a dad who drew miscreants and mysteries like a magnet. Dad Drew also provided a brand-new, shiny, sporty, blue roadster. What a guy!

On April 28, 1930, the world welcomed the appearance of what was known as the juvenile publisher’s classic “breeder set” of three books ~ The Secret of the Old Clock, The Hidden Staircase, and The Bungalow Mystery. They gave readers an instant series. As a girl with chums (close friends) who solved mysteries, Nancy was not without precedent. But the character of Nancy Drew was special. Former favorite series, The Outdoor Girls, was soon swept aside. (It had been around since 1913.) Nancy’s books flew off the shelves and, according to one publisher of the era, “sold like hotcakes.”

In my opinion (and that of many others), the original, 1930s, 25-chapter stories are the absolute best ~ the best written, the most exciting, the most interesting. Upon reading revised and original editions, my daughter firmly agreed (and still does).

What’s So Special About Nancy Drew?

I look closely at that question in my Yesterday’s Heroes book. But Nancy wants to give you another preview:

Nancy is strong and independent…she displays the classic characteristics of our list of heroes ~ honest (and opinionated and outspoken), loyal, smart, brave, capable, resourceful, energetic, athletic, modest, virtuous, well-spoken, clean-living, G-rated, generous, and caring and so on. Author Melanie Rehak adds glamorous and classy to that list. Expert Jenn Fisher points out that Nancy always seeks truth and justice, righting wrongs and solving mysteries. (For everything Nancy, including collections and conventions, see Jenn Fisher’s site, NancyDrewSleuth.com. Jenn is the global guru and professional consultant for the subject of Nancy Drew.)

 

And the original Nancy does it all while being well-dressed and uncompromisingly feminine, whether up to her knees in water in a knee-length skirt while wrestling a boat in strong waves, or scrambling through a small window in a dress and rain slicker accessorized with flashlight and loaded revolver, soon to fall headlong down a steep flight of stone steps, or climbing a fragile trellis in cloche hat and ankle-strap heels to gain a second-story window. She’s just as comfortable in “Mary Janes” in a barn with country girls as she is in golf shoes on a golf course with country club friends. And she’s just 16!

 

For an eye-opening (for me, stunning) visual portrayal of a 16-year-old heroine for juveniles in the 1930s, go to Robert Finnan’s site (SeriesBooks.info) click on Nancy Drew, then the original-series tab, and scroll down through the cover art of the first 26 original books. Russell Tandy was the artist for all those volumes. Note in particular Volumes 8, 9, and 10. As the years passed, Tandy’s and Nancy’s style naturally changed. But that early 16-year-old looks like a mature, Hollywood starlet. Amazing. One has to wonder just how much effect those covers had on book sales.

Who Created Nancy Drew? Who Was Edward Stratemeyer?

This is a very quick introduction to the “father” of Nancy Drew, the king of juvenile series books, the king of syndicate publishing, Edward Stratemeyer, born to German immigrants in 1862. Click on the Juvenile Series button on Nerd’s Home page to see Ed’s first actual series, Bound to Succeed ~ three exciting stories of young fellows in the late 1890s. Beginning with pulp fiction, Ed wrote lots of stories, then book series like The Rover Boys and Dave Porter. In 1905, Ed created his Stratemeyer Syndicate, Books for Boys and Girls. Syndicate books were concepted and outlined by Ed, then sent to various, anonymous ghostwriters to be fleshed out and written, for a quick payment, no royalties, and no credit, under a pseudonym (pen name). This allowed series to carry on for years or even decades with one “author,” written by various ghosts as the years passed. You’ll meet Ed and read his story in my Heroes book, but James Keeline, at Stratemeyer.org, is the world’s expert on all things Stratemeyer. According to Keeline, the Syndicate long outlived Ed and publlshed some 1,600 books from 1905 to 1984, when it was bought by Simon & Schuster. Most people don’t have a clue about Ed, but they know Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew, all Syndicate series (and many more). Nancy Drew® is still a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc. (as is Tom Swift and Hardy Boys.)

She Could Have Been Stella?!

This is quite a story, told fully in Heroes, but I’ll quickly summarize. In 1929, Ed had an idea for an up-to-date American girl of 16 he called Stella Strong who would solve both mysteries and business problems, written perhaps by a “Violet A. Stowe” (or other suggestions). He pitched it to Barse, a New Jersey publisher. Thankfully, Barse refused and Ed turned to Grosset & Dunlap. This time, the young girl solved “intricate mysteries” and lived with her father, a widowed district attorney. And this time, she might be called Diana Drew, Diana Dare, Nan Nelson, Nan Drew (!), or Helen Hale, and the new pen name could be Louise Keene. Now we’re getting somewhere, Ed! How did Grosset & Dunlap respond? They said a fast “Yes,” consulted with Ed, and gave the world Nancy Drew written by Carolyn Keene. Whew! Thank you, G&D! Could our Nancy have succeeded and survived as Stella, solving business problems?! (See Keeline’s MYTHtery Stories at Stratemeyer.org.)

Nancy Had Four “Mothers”?

This is another, very quick summary from Yesterday’s Heroes. Ed concepted and outlined the first three Nancy Drew books, then added one more critical element to Nancy’s creation (and success). In 1926, Ed had advertised for new writers. Besides a young, Canadian newspaperman named Leslie McFarlane (Hardy Boys), he hired a 20-year-old aspiring writer from Ladora, Iowa, who had just earned a degree in English in a speedy three years from the State University of Iowa. Mildred “Millie” Augustine became a Stratemeyer “ghost” and wrote the final volumes of the Ruth Fielding series. Ed liked her spunk and her work. So, in 1929, Ed sent his Nancy Drew outlines to Mrs. Mildred “Millie” Wirt in Cleveland, Ohio. Millie was now a newspaper journalist. She had also married a newspaperman and moved, but she was ready with her typewriter. She was good and she was fast. She had been a college athlete and champion “fancy diver” and would one day be a pilot and adventurous amateur archeologist. She was the first person, male or female, to receive a master’s degree in journalism from the State University of Iowa. Millie helped push the envelope for women in her day. Millie was not only the first “Carolyn Keene” ~ in many ways, Millie was Nancy Drew. Good choice, Ed! Millie would continue to write all but a few of Nancy’s stories until 1953.

But,… 12 days after the release of the first Nancy Drew books, Ed Stratemeyer died. Though he had been seriously ill on and off for a few months, his death was still unexpected and no plan was in place. Nancy’s survival (and that of all the other Syndicate heroes) was now up to “mother number 2.”

Lilac Inn is a 1989 reprint of the 1961 revision of the 1930 original. Shadow Ranch is a 1994 Applewood Books edition of the original 1931 volume. (author’s actual books)

Mother number two made a major and long-lasting contribution to the future of Nancy and all the Syndicate heroes ~ and hardly anyone knows her name or who she was. Miss Harriet Otis Smith was Ed Stratemeyer’s secretary ~ a real girl Friday and office manager ~ dictation, transcription, proofreading, and more. She had been with Ed since 1914. The Syndicate was basically the two of them. Ed’s two daughters tried to sell the Syndicate. In the meantime, someone had to carry on. We learn the following from Yesterday’s Heroes:

Ed left a “paragraph-length title proposal,” approved by publisher G&D for Nancy’s next story, and the quick and able Miss Smith called on everything she had learned over the past 15+ years and turned Ed’s proposal into the outline for Volume 4, The Mystery at Lilac Inn, posting that to Millie by June 3, 1930. The continuation of successful Syndicate books and this promising new series was critical to both the Syndicate and the publishers. Needless to say, it was a time of high angst, and it all fell on Harriet Otis Smith. In his “Stella Strong” pitch to G&D, Ed had mentioned a “mystery at Shadow Ranch” as a possible storyline. Miss Smith kept her typewriter clacking and her creative juices flowing, mailing the outline for The Secret at Shadow Ranch, Volume 5, to Millie on July 7. Not only does Miss Smith arm Nancy with a revolver, she also gifts Nancy with two new and now very familiar chums. The giggly, plump, romantic Bess (Elizabeth) Marvin with blonde hair and the boyish George (just plain George) Fayne with a straight, brown bob came from the imagination of Miss Harriet Otis Smith.

When Ed’s daughters found they couldn’t sell, they stepped up to run the Syndicate. Mother number three, younger daughter Edna Stratemeyer, conceived and guided 10 of Nancy’s original volumes, 8 for Millie and 2 for ghostwriter Walter Karig. Plus, in Volume 7, she gave us the wonderful Ned Nickerson. She also contributed heavily to The Hardy Boys. Edna has not received the credit she deserves.

Mother number four was older daughter Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. In 1942, Edna moved to Florida and our young sleuth became truly “Mrs. Adam’s Nancy.” Harriet took over the outlining, then also the writing in 1953 with Volume 31, The Ringmaster’s Secret. With one exception, Volume 32, she would outline and write Nancy’s stories through Volume 59 in 1980. Harriet edged Nancy a little closer to a Wellesley girl, her prestigious alma mater. Under Harriet’s protective wing, Millie’s original, feisty Nancy softened a bit, becoming less outspoken, tempered, and more modest. Also, less gunslinging and less law bending. And, thus, we have the “two Nancys.”

In the 1940s, and especially the 1950s, high schools added the 12th grade. No 16-year-old truant could drive around wherever solving mysteries. Nancy Drew became a fully graduated, 18-year-old sleuth. And her hair was now “titian.” She no longer sported the curly, blonde bob and cloche hat of the 1930s.

Does a Roadster Have Windows??

In her first, 1930 adventure, Nancy spun along the road in that brand new, shiny blue, sporty auto, “deftly changing gears.” She drove “skillfully” and “swiftly.” Racing a heavy storm on an unpaved, soon-to-be-muddy, country road, she looked desperately for cover and bent low over the wheel as wind and large drops hit her and the windshield. What? No top? No windows to roll up? Usually down, the roadster’s canvas top (rag top) could be put up, though Nancy would have to park on the soon-to-be-sloppy dirt road, get out, unfold the top, and snap it in place. And no roadster had side windows, only “curtains” that could be snapped on. There was nothing there to roll up.

The River Road that Nancy raced off of? After the rain, and the unplanned visit with new friends, the road was in an all-too-familiar condition for roads “two miles off gravel” in 1930s America ~ “a sea of mud.” Like any smart autoist, Nancy carried chains, and the Horner girls insisted on helping her put chains on the roadster’s rear wheels, even though our spunky heroine could have handled it on her own (while nicely dressed). The helpful sisters hoped Nancy would stay, encouraging her with, “You’re taking a big chance,” and “Don’t skid into a tree,” or, worse, “into a ditch,” followed by, if you get into trouble, come back, “if you can get back.” The more I reread my Old Clock volume, the more I appreciate and enjoy Millie Wirt Benson’s subtle and rather sophisticated sense of humor.

So, there are a few fun facts about Nancy through the decades, but especially the original Nancy of the 1930s. For a whole lot more about America’s favorite girl sleuth and a long list of other juvenile heroes, stay tuned for the 2020 publication of In Search of Yesterday’s Heroes. And, today, April 28, 2020, wish Nancy Drew, forever young, a happy 90th birthday!