Jump to content

Nancy Drew

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Minesweeper (talk | contribs) at 20:25, 29 October 2003 (disambig ABC). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Nancy Drew is the heroine of a popular mystery series for girls. The series was created by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate. The series was ghostwritten in the early years primarily by Mildred Wirt Benson. Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (who succeeded her father Edward as the head of the Syndicate), contributed a number of volumes and oversaw the substantial revisions begun in the fifties.

All books are published under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene

Over 200 million have been sold worldwide. Many people collect the series, which has gone through several formats over the years. The series has spawned various spin-offs, most prominently the Nancy Drew Files, starting with Secrets Can Kill (1991).

Nancy Drew's father is Lawyer Carson Drew, her mother died when she was young, so she lives in River Heights with her father and her housekeeper Hannah Gruen. She is often joined in her sleuthing activities by her close friends George Fayne and Bess Marvin. Nancy's boyfriend is (usually) Ned Nickerson who often lends his support and help, while George calls on her on-off counterpart Burt Eddleton, and Bess on Dave Evans.

An - incomplete - list of Nancy Drew books:

The books were reprinted in the 1970s and 1980s, and in the early 1990s, a new series of books were created for Simon & Schuster, under the new epithet The Nancy Drew Files. The 'Original' series was also extended, and in more recent years, the extra series' Nancy Drew on Campus and Nancy Drew Notebooks have added to the tales about the titian-haired sleuth.

Nancy Drew has (in)frequent crossover stories with The Hardy Boys, created under the pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon.

The name Carolyn Keene has also been used to author a shorter series of books in a similar (female detective) vein, as a more accurate crossbreed of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, entitled The Dana Girls, featuring detective sisters.

Actress Bonita Granville portrayed the character of Nancy Drew in four movies in the 1930s. A television series called The Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries appeared on television in the 1970s, and another, brief series appeared in 1995. In 2003, ABC broadcast a TV film featuring Maggie Lawson as Nancy Drew.

The following titles have been adapted as computer games:

Secrets Can Kill Stay Tuned for Danger Message in a Haunted Mansion The Treasure in the Royal Tower The Final Scene The Secret of the Scarlet Hand The Haunted Carousel The Secret of Shadow Ranch

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nancy_Drew&oldid=2085349"