Vintage Nancy
It seems like this has been the year of the book anniversary: Spot. Shrek. To Kill a Mockingbird. And now Carolyn Keene’s Nancy Drew. The Secret of the Old Clock, book one in the iconic series, was published on April 28, 1930. . . meaning that, believe it or not, Nancy’s officially 80.
After Justice Sonia Sotomayor mentioned Nancy during her Senate confirmation hearings, the New York Times ran an article titled “Nancy Drew’s Granddaughters.” An excerpt from the piece:
[Sotomayor] has said that her Nancy Drew represented boldness and intelligence, the books a gift from a hardworking single parent. In recent years, Laura Bush, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Gayle King and Diane Sawyer have described themselves as fans.
Modern Nancy
How many of you are fans? Whether you grew up on the classic mysteries with the yellow spines or one of the many modern versions, I’d bet the phrase “blue roadster” means something to you. Or that at one point in you life you’ve asked friends if they identify more with Nancy, Bess (boy crazy/best-friend-on-a-diet) or George (tomboy). Or maybe you even tried to solve a mystery.
Anniversary Nancy
To commemorate this anniversary, Grosset & Dunlap has released a new cover for The Secret of the Old Clock. What do you think? (I’ll always prefer the yellow spines—in the summer, I used to read one of those babies a day at the pool.)
Related in BookPage: The biggest fans should check out Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak, a fascinating nonfiction book that provides a behind-the-scenes look at Nancy’s origins.
I had a couple with the old spines, and then others in paperback… My favourite series growing up!
I’m a sucker for the old-school books with the yellow spines. I still have mine!
I only owned one yellow spined book, which I read over and over again, however, I can still picture that magical bookcase in the school library that held them all. What a wonderful memory it is.
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