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The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories is the long-running "main" series of the Nancy Drew franchise, which was published under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. There are 175 novels — plus 34 revised stories — that were published between 1930 and 2003 under the banner; Grosset & Dunlap published the first 56, and 34 revised stories, while Simon & Schuster published the series beginning with volume 57.
A spinoff, the Nancy Drew Files, ran concurrently from 1986 to 1997. In 2003, Simon & Schuster announced that Nancy Drew Mystery Stories would end and be replaced by a new, more contemporary series titled Nancy Drew: Girl Detective. Launched in 2004, the series ended in 2012.[1] The Nancy Drew Diaries was launched in its place in 2013.
Publishing history
Mildred Wirt Benson is credited with writing 23 of the first 30 novels in the series. Other authors contributed as well, but in 1959, Edward Stratemeyer's daughter, Harriet Adams, began rewriting the earlier books in the series, sometimes substituting entirely new plots while retaining the same title.
In the Harriet Adams revisions, Nancy is depicted as a less impulsive, less headstrong girl of Stratemeyer and Mildred's vision, to a milder, more sedate and refined girl— "more sugar and less spice", with an extensive wardrobe and a more charitable outlook.[2] Helen Corning appears older, perhaps in preparation for her "write-out" after volume 4 of the revised series (no explanation was made in the original series) and to introduce Bess and her cousin George. Perceived racial stereotypes — and, arguably, characters of color period — were omitted. Action increased significantly and became faster-paced. Greater developmental detail was given to Nancy and her home.
In 1979, after a court battle between the Stratemeyer Syndicate and Grosset & Dunlap, the original publishers (in hardback) of the first 56 Nancy Drew titles, publication rights to new stories were granted to Simon & Schuster. Titles from #57, The Triple Hoax (1979), were thereafter published primarily in paperback.[3]
Books #57–78 were initially printed under Simon & Schuster's children's imprint Wanderer as digest sized paperbacks (although some were also later published in the regular mass market paperback format, which was also the format of choice for some foreign editions, such as the British releases by Armada). Limited numbers of hardback editions are also known to have been produced, mostly for libraries.[4]
Beginning in 1979, the titles were presented in set cover format referred to as the "Arch" design, with sixteen covers drawn by Ruth Sanderson. Twenty-two titles were also reprinted under the Wanderer imprint in a new "checkerboard" design before the series moved, from #79 on, to the new Minstrel imprint, whereupon they received still newer covers in the "checkerboard" design. The series ultimately moved again to Simon & Schuster's Aladdin Paperbacks imprint beginning with #164, undergoing two further cover revamps, "White" and "Paint".
Grosset & Dunlap titles (1930–1979)
The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories were first published in the United States in 1930 by Grosset & Dunlap in a series of hardbacks. Revision of all titles through #34 began in 1959.
| No. | Title | Pub. | Outline | Manuscript | Editor | Rev. | Revised by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Secret of the Old Clock | 1930 | Edward Stratemeyer | Mildred Wirt | Edward Stratemeyer | 1959 | Harriet Stratemeyer Adams |
| 2 | The Hidden Staircase | 1930 | 1959 | ||||
| 3 | The Bungalow Mystery | 1930 | 1960 | Patricia Doll | |||
| 4 | The Mystery at Lilac Inn | 1930 | Harriet Otis Smith | 1961 | |||
| 5 | The Secret at Shadow Ranch[a] | 1931 | Harriet Otis Smith | 1965 | Grace Grote | ||
| 6 | The Secret of Red Gate Farm | 1931 | Edna Stratemeyer Squier | Edna Stratemeyer Squier and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams |
1961 | Lynn Ealer | |
| 7 | The Clue in the Diary | 1932 | 1962 | Harriet Stratemeyer Adams | |||
| 8 | Nancy's Mysterious Letter | 1932 | Walter Karig | 1968 | |||
| 9 | The Sign of the Twisted Candles | 1933 | Harriet Stratemeyer Adams | 1968 | Patricia Doll | ||
| 10 | The Password to Larkspur Lane | 1933 | 1966 | ||||
| 11 | The Clue of the Broken Locket | 1934 | Edna Stratemeyer Squier | Mildred Wirt | 1965 | Harriet Stratemeyer Adams and Grace Grote | |
| 12 | The Message in the Hollow Oak | 1935 | 1972 | Grace Grote | |||
| 13 | The Mystery of the Ivory Charm | 1936 | 1974 | Priscilla Baker-Carr | |||
| 14 | The Whispering Statue | 1937 | 1970 | Harriet Stratemeyer Adams | |||
| 15 | The Haunted Bridge | 1937 | Harriet Stratemeyer Adams | 1972 | Priscilla Baker-Carr | ||
| 16 | The Clue of the Tapping Heels | 1939 | Edna Stratemeyer Squier | 1969 | Harriet Stratemeyer Adams | ||
| 17 | The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk | 1940 | Harriet Stratemeyer Adams | 1976 | |||
| 18 | The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion[b] | 1941 | Edna Stratemeyer Squier | 1971 | |||
| 19 | The Quest of the Missing Map | 1942 | Harriet Stratemeyer Adams | Harriet Stratemeyer Adams | 1969 | Priscilla Baker-Carr | |
| 20 | The Clue in the Jewel Box | 1943 | 1972 | ||||
| 21 | The Secret in the Old Attic | 1944 | 1970 | ||||
| 22 | The Clue in the Crumbling Wall | 1945 | 1973 | ||||
| 23 | The Mystery of the Tolling Bell | 1946 | 1973 | ||||
| 24 | The Clue in the Old Album | 1947 | 1977 | ||||
| 25 | The Ghost of Blackwood Hall | 1948 | 1967 | ||||
| 26 | The Clue of the Leaning Chimney | 1949 | George Waller, Jr. and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams |
1967 | |||
| 27 | The Secret of the Wooden Lady | 1950 | Margaret Scherf | 1967 | |||
| 28 | The Clue of the Black Keys | 1951 | Wilhelmina Rankin and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams |
1968 | |||
| 29 | The Mystery at the Ski Jump | 1952 | Alma Sasse | 1968 | Ann Shultes | ||
| 30 | The Clue of the Velvet Mask | 1953 | Andrew Svenson | Mildred Wirt | 1969 | Priscilla Baker-Carr | |
| 31 | The Ringmaster's Secret | 1953 | Harriet Stratemeyer Adams | Harriet Stratemeyer Adams | 1974 | June Dunn | |
| 32 | The Scarlet Slipper Mystery | 1954 | Charles Strong | 1974 | Ann Shultes | ||
| 33 | The Witch Tree Symbol | 1955 | Harriet Stratemeyer Adams | 1975 | |||
| 34 | The Hidden Window Mystery | 1956 | Patricia Doll and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams |
1975 | Mary Fisher | ||
| 35 | The Haunted Showboat | 1957 | Harriet Stratemeyer Adams | June Dunn and J. Sanderson |
n/a | ||
| 36 | The Secret of the Golden Pavilion | 1959 | |||||
| 37 | The Clue in the Old Stagecoach | 1960 | Harriet Stratemeyer Adams | ||||
| 38 | The Mystery of the Fire Dragon | 1961 | |||||
| 39 | The Clue of the Dancing Puppet | 1962 | |||||
| 40 | The Moonstone Castle Mystery | 1963 | |||||
| 41 | The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes | 1964 | |||||
| 42 | The Phantom of Pine Hill | 1965 | |||||
| 43 | The Mystery of the 99 Steps | 1966 | |||||
| 44 | The Clue in the Crossword Cipher | 1967 | |||||
| 45 | The Spider Sapphire Mystery | 1968 | |||||
| 46 | The Invisible Intruder | 1969 | |||||
| 47 | The Mysterious Mannequin | 1970 | |||||
| 48 | The Crooked Banister | 1971 | |||||
| 49 | The Secret of Mirror Bay | 1972 | |||||
| 50 | The Double Jinx Mystery | 1973 | |||||
| 51 | Mystery of the Glowing Eye | 1974 | |||||
| 52 | The Secret of the Forgotten City | 1975 | |||||
| 53 | The Sky Phantom | 1976 | |||||
| 54 | The Strange Message in the Parchment | 1977 | |||||
| 55 | Mystery of Crocodile Island | 1978 | |||||
| 56 | The Thirteenth Pearl | 1979 | |||||
Simon & Schuster titles
In 1979, the Nancy Drew books began to be published by Wanderer Books Simon & Schuster in paperback format. Though formatted differently from the original 56-volume series which continued under Grosset & Dunlap's control, these new books were published under the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories banner. These books feature increasingly contemporary cover illustrations and some books have multiple versions of the cover art.
These books are sometimes referred to as "Digests", since Simon & Schuster published them as digest-size paperbacks, as opposed to Grosset & Dunlap's hardcover books. (One of the reasons why Adams switched to Simon & Schuster was that Grosset & Dunlap was opposed to such a change, while Simon & Schuster agreed to it.)[citation needed]
In 2005, the first eight volumes from the Wanderer section (#57-64) were republished by Grosset & Dunlap, as a special promotion for the celebration of Nancy Drew's 75th anniversary. These republications went out of print in 2013.
Wanderer Books (1979–1985)
The Triple Hoax was originally listed as the next book at the end of The Thirteenth Pearl. Grosset & Dunlap continued to list this until they lost a court case against the Syndicate and Simon & Schuster in May 1980. The book was later revised to eliminate The Triple Hoax. However, they later published this book — and the seven after that — in 2005, with the permission and collaboration of Simon & Schuster, in celebration of Nancy Drew's 75th anniversary.
The main plot, formula, and continuity of the books remained similar to the original Grosset & Dunlap books still being published at the time. Harriet Adams was still involved in the Syndicate, even after she stopped writing the books in 1980. Simon & Schuster rejected her original manuscript for The Secret in the Old Lace, with the story being rewritten by Nancy Axelrad. After she died in 1982, the Syndicate continued with five of its partners (Adams' remaining three children, plus authors Axelrad and Lilo Wuenn), until its sale to Simon & Schuster in 1987.
During this period, the Syndicate began to hire new, younger writers, including Sharon Wagner, Richard Ballad, and James Duncan Lawrence. Ballad's two books, Captive Witness and The Sinister Omen, as well as The Emerald-Eyed Cat Mystery, were originally written for The Hardy Boys, but were rewritten for unknown reasons.
The final two books (#77 and #78) were "backdoor pilots" for the spin-off The Nancy Drew Files, which began in 1986. Due to this, and the sale of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, the series went on a two-year hiatus to retool the series.