It’s Nancy’s 85th birthday. You might decide to get back into the books, start re-reading all the way from The Mystery of the Old Clock. Or you might try our recommendations for Nancy Drew lovers everywhere.
1. Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women who Created Her.
Nancy was born in the same place as the Hardy Boys and Bobbsey Twins, in the mind of Edward Stratemeyer, a brilliant children’s publisher. He imagined her as “an up-to-date American girl at her best, bright, clever, resourceful and full of energy.” It was when he farmed the Nancy Drew books out to young writers, particularly newspaper reporter Mildred Wirt Benson, that the fun started. Years later, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, Stratemeyer’s daughter, took over the company after her father died in 1930. She took over the main author of the series. And it is the lives of these two very different but equally pioneering women and how they gave their personalities to Nancy Drew, that Melanie Rehak writes about it in this superb book.
2. The Girl Sleuth: On the Trail of Nancy Drew, Judy Bolton, and Cherry Ames
Bobbi Ann Mason writes about three girl detectives in this witty and insightful book. Written in 1975, this book is also interesting for its feminist perspectives from the period. How does Nancy, the most famous of all three girl sleuths, stand up to this twice-removed gaze? Get this lovely book to find out.
3. Her Interactive:
Check out the company have won tons of awards all over the place for their challenging Nancy Drew games. Her Interactive has been around for nearly a decade and is widely admired for creating the Nancy Drew experience. Players can crack clues, follow villains, explore mazes and emerge an all-round smartypants.
