Many news organizations (e.g. USA Today) are reporting on the 80th anniversary of the publication of the first Nancy Drew mystery, The Secret of the Old Clock by the pseudonymous Carolyn Keene, on April 28th, 1930. Grosset & Dunlap is celebrating by producing a special 80th Anniversary edition of the book (cover depicted to the right). The series was originally created by Edward Stratemeyer, who was also the creative force behind The Hardy Boys among other series.
Nancy Drew has since been featured in hundreds of books, dozens of games, and several films. She is an industry unto herself!
Fifty-six books in the original series were published between 1930 and 1979, with the first 34 substantially updated and/or rewritten starting in 1959. An additional 119 titles (part of the so-called "Mystery Stories") followed until 2003. But in between there were also 124 books in the "Nancy Drew Files" series and 69 books in the "Notebooks" series, which featured a young Nancy Drew. This latter series was reimagined as the current Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew mysteries for young readers, while the teenaged Nancy Drew continues to solve crimes in the All New Girl Detective series. Nancy Drew is also featured in a separate series of graphic novels!
But for those who want to see how it all began, The Secret of the Old Clock is the place to start. Happy Anniversary, Nancy Drew!
About The Secret of the Old Clock (from the publisher): When the Topham family inherits all of Josiah Crowley's fortune, something isn't right about the whole affair. Josiah promised other friends and relatives that they would inherit. In Nancy's first case, she searches for a hidden will in order to help restore the inheritances to the rightful heirs. Being locked in a closet by robbers and a narrow escape with an old clock lead to Nancy solving this baffling mystery!
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