Nancy Drew

Nancy Drew is the heroine detective of a popular mystery series for girls. The series was created in 1930 by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate.

Character evolution

The original Nancy, as introduced in 1930, is the daughter of lawyer Carson Drew. Her mother died when she was 3, and Nancy is clearly in charge of household affairs and the servant, Mrs. Gruen, in addition to having already completed high school at age 16. Her large, three-story brick house is frequently visited by her many friends, first Helen Corning, who appears in the first four volumes, but is never a sleuthing companion. She is often joined in her sleuthing activities by her close friends George Fayne (a girl) and Bess Marvin, cousins who have opposite personalities. Helen returns briefly in original volumes 8 and 10 (which were not written by Bensen), having changed her personality to be more like George Fayne, before disappearing when Bensen resumed ghostwriting with volume 11. Nancy's boyfriend is (usually) Ned Nickerson who often lends his support and help, while George calls on her on-off counterpart Buck Rodman, later Burt Eddleton, and Bess on Dave Evans.

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The original Nancy is blonde, and gradually ages from 16 to 18 in the books. Her blue roadster becomes maroon, then green and black, then finally a plain coupe, before returning to a blue convertible in the postwar years. The original versions of the books, often contain depictions of other races and ethnicities in what were considered negative stereotypes, as well as containing customs and courtesies in popular culture that were completely outmoded by the 1950's, so the series' earliest 34 volumes were revised from 1959-1977. Mrs. Gruen becomes Hannah, a somewhat mothering (and at times restrictive) housekeeper, and Nancy's Aunt Eloise, her father's much younger sister, pops up to add New York City place settings or serve as a chaperone. Subplots and vocabulary were cut down, and the action became faster-paced, resulting in slightly shorter and simpler stories in most cases. Many of the volumes were completely re-written, only including some character names and the titles from the original stories.

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Nancy becomes strawberry-blonde or titian-haired, and revises her sleuthing techniques to become more politically correct and less sneaky. Old stereotypes, technologies and fashions disappear. The bold Nancy, who knows how to use a revolver (and carries one), who occasionally illegally enters property, trespasses, and appropriates "stolen" property as evidence, becomes more sedate, and just happens to come across incriminating evidence. George Fayne becomes less masculine and brusque, and also learns judo--so she can help Nancy with thugs when Ned isn't around. Female villains emerge to tie up and threaten Nancy, instead of the male counterparts who were verbally abusive to original Nancy. Crimes become international, instead of revolving around River Heights. Classic preppy Nancy, with her pageboy since 1947, becomes psychedelic in the 1960's, with a trademark flipped hairstyle, and wild print dresses and blouses. These covers, using a startled Nancy in the foreground (often disheveled) with images from the mystery scattered about, now appear more "dated" than the portrait covers of "preppy" Nancy they were replacing.

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