Throwback Thursday: Nancy Drew Mysteries


Throwback Thursday is a new feature at Reading Lark. We'll still be doing some Book Boyfriend posts and Book BFF posts on Thursdays as well, but the larks wanted a little variety on Thursdays. Throwback Thursday will allow us to celebrate some of the reads we loved way back when. . .

Nancy Drew Mystery Stories
By: Carolyn Keene
First Book Published:  1930


Now...I'm going waaaaaay back here!  Even before Judy Blume's beloved novels became a part of my youth, Nancy Drew Mystery Stories was the first book series I ever read and followed, and perhaps served as my first officially collected set of books.  I had ALL the hardcovers for probably the first 30 books in the series.  But sadly, my mom likely donated them after I left home.  *cries*

I didn't realize until much later that the 'author', Carolyn Keene, was a pseudonym for a number of authors who wrote the nearly 200 installments over the last 80 years.  They've been rewritten and updated a number of times over the years as well.


I remember thinking as I plowed through those books when I was probably 10 years old, that Nancy had THE most interesting life ever.  Through my eyes as a child, I thought she was brilliant and resourceful, and I fantasized about having a life just like Nancy's.  She seemed fearless in creepy situations which made me wish I could be brave and keep a level head...just like her.  She was everything I wanted to be.

I will always have fond memories of the many hours I spent in my room reading these books and how it perhaps served as a precursor for my passion for books and amazing stories present day.


Summary from Goodreads of The Secret of the Old Clock (Book 1): 

In this first of the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, Nancy, unaided, seeks to find a missing will. Her search not only tests her keen mind but also leads her into a thrilling adventure. This volume presents the original, 1930 version of the story. In 1959 the story was rewritten and condensed and this original version went out of print.

Comments

  1. love this post - I didn't realise Nancy Drew was written by a number of authors either!

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    1. I had no idea either, until I started to research this post. I idolized 'Carolyn Keene' for years! :P

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  2. I loved Nancy Drew and didn't realise they were written by different authors either. Before Nancy, Trixie Belden was my favourite. These were also written by many different authors over the years. I had no idea!

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    1. Same, Nic! I've read Trixie too...and didn't know she was a pseudonym either. I guess it was common practice...

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