Publisher:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Reference Publishers, Boston
A plucky "titian-haired" sleuth solved her first mystery in 1930. Eighty million books later, Nancy Drew has survived the Depression, World War II, and the sixties (when she was taken up with a vengeance by women's libbers) to enter the pantheon of...
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A plucky "titian-haired" sleuth solved her first mystery in 1930. Eighty million books later, Nancy Drew has survived the Depression, World War II, and the sixties (when she was taken up with a vengeance by women's libbers) to enter the pantheon of American girlhood. As beloved by girls today as she was by their grandmothers, Nancy Drew has both inspired and reflected the changes in her readers' lives. Here, in a narrative with all the vivid energy and page-turning pace of Nancy's adventures, Melanie Rehak solves an enduring literary mystery: Who created Nancy Drew? And how did she go from pulp heroine to icon? Front Cover -- Front Matter -- Half Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Introduction -- 1. The Stratemeyer Clan -- 2. Mildred -- 3. Alma Mater -- 4. Hawkeye Days -- 5. Nell Cody, Helen Hale, Diana Dare -- 6. Nancy Drew Land -- Untitled -- 7. Syndicate for Sale -- 8. An Unfortunate Break -- or, The Cleveland Writer Comes into Her Own -- 9. Motherhood and Nancy Drew -- 10. "They Are Nancy" -- 11. The Kids Are Hep -- 12. Nancy in the Age of Aquarius -- 13. Becoming the Girl Detective -- 14. Will the Real Carolyn Keene Please Stand Up? -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index