March 2006    

Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her Author: Melanie Rehak Publisher: Harcourt Books $25.00 Cloth (364 p.) ISBN: 0151010412 B&T         YBP Reviewed by Marcia Lusted, Statusing I have to confess that I never read more than one or two Nancy Drew books as a child, but despite that I found this book to be a fascinating story. Melanie Rehak has traced the creation of the Nancy Drew books from the origin of the syndicate that was originally responsible for the idea, through the lives of the two women who wrote all of the original titles, and into Nancy's fate in the present day. Nancy Drew was the brainchild of Edward Stratemeyer, a prolific author of children's series books, who started a syndicate in 1905. Much like a present day book packager, Stratemeyer came up with ideas for series as well as hiring writers to write each book in the series from an outline he provided to them. Stratemeyer is credited with the origin of such well-known series as The Rover Boys, The Bobbsey Twins, the Ruth Fielding books, and The Hardy Boys. Rehak's book goes beyond the creation of Nancy Drew at the hands of Stratemeyer, however, and tells the story of Mildred Wirts, a young woman from Iowa who was one of the syndicate's work-for-hire writers and wrote the initial Nancy Drew titles, always under the pseudonym of Carolyn Keene. One of the most fascinating aspects of the book are the glimpses into how the writing process took place, from the ideas originating with the syndicate, into the hands of the writer who wrote them often with a very tight deadline, back to revision, and ultimately into a finished product. After Stratemeyer's death in 1930, his daughter Harriet Stratemeyer Adams took over the syndicate and continued to produce series books until her death, writing many of the Nancy Drew titles herself. That in itself is an interesting story of how a woman continued to run a large business in a climate that didn't take her gender seriously in corporate affairs. Rehak also touches on the fate of Nancy Drew in later years, including the massive revisions of the 1950's which changed and condensed the original books. She also talks about the series today, with the various spin-off series for older and younger readers, television shows and movies. Nancy Drew turned 75 in 2005, and her books are still selling well, often finding a place in the top fifty bestselling children's books. This is not only an excellent book about a literary phenomenon, but also a fascinating glimpse into the process that created the character and the series. It will make you want to dig out a few copies of Nancy Drew and read them for yourself. Published by YBP Library Services 999 Maple St., Contoocook, NH 03229 USA v: 800.258.3774   f: 603.746.5628 w: www.ybp.com   e: academia@ybp.com All rights reserved.