Nancy Drew

[Daisy]

Ahh Nigel, that's lovely!

[zaidi]

Nigel, i don't mean attraction in that sense , like if i have friend but the other girl whose more beautiful i'd like to make her my friend more than the other , not the way you say off. I only get attracted to female as i am a female myself .
Nigel have you read Nancy Drew too?

[Fiona1986]

Nigel, i don't mean attraction in that sense , like if i have friend but the other girl whose more beautiful i'd like to make her my friend more than the other

That comes across as incredibly shallow, Zaidi. Do you really mean to say you'd pick one girl to be your friend over another simply because she is good looking? (Also your typing has regressed to difficult to read again )

[zaidi]

Yup i mean the same Fiona. I was just trying to explain what i mean by giving an example not actually how i do things .
Oh sorry!

[Moonraker]

No, I haven't ready any of Nancy Drew's adventures, Zaidi. It rather puts me off as there are many diferrent authors of the books. However, the books may well be of interest to me, I have been looking at the unofficial Nancy Drew website, and it has whetted my appetite somewhat!

Edit: I've just read the first chapter of the first book, The Secret of the Old Clock, on Amazon, and I can't say I'm that enthralled. I wonder if the text has been updated, as it doesn't seem particularly 1930s in style, although I appreciate it is an American book. I don't think I'll be spending £4 on it.

[Fiona1986]

I can't find a copy of the book I may not actually own it, though I've certainly read it... there must have been serious re-numbering of the series at some point as my book numbered 1 in the series is not that one.

As far as I know the first 20 or so books have been heavily updated - cutting them from 24 chapters to 20. All the books in the series, however, manage to remain fairly timeless.

[Kate Mary]

Fans of Nancy Drew may be interested in this website:

http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mildredwirtbenson.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mildred Wirt was the original Carolyn Keene and wrote 20 odd titles before other writers took over. Mildred also wrote a number of other series including the Penny Parker mysteries. These are available as free texts from ManyBooks or Project Gutenberg:

http://www.manybooks.net/authors/wirtm.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

American of course, but good fun nonetheless.

Kate.

P.S. Does anyone remember "Kristie at College" by Mildred (Wirt) Benson published by The Children's Press in the 1960s?

[RDMorrell]

About the different numbering: Collins in Britain considerably changed the numbering order of the Nancy Drew books. The American order is the original one and therefore the correct one. The Secret of the Old Clock is the first Nancy Drew book, but in the Collins/Armada order (Armada was the children's paperback division of Collins), it's 75 or something crazy like that! The book listed at No. 1 in the Collins/Armada sequence is The Secret of Shadow Ranch, but in the original order, it's actually No. 5! Mind you, Shadow Ranch is not the worst substitute No. 1, because it introduces Bess and George.

Collins/Armada did the same thing with the Hardy Boys. Example: The Tower Treasure is the first Hardy Boys book, but it comes in at No. 31 in the Collins/Armada sequence. And The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior is No. 44 in the original American sequence, but No. 1 in the Collins/Armada order!

I have never been able to understand why Collins/Armada altered the numbering of the books so drastically. However, other British publishers before them (like Sampson Low and MacDonald) also messed with the order of both the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books.

Concerning rewrites: I think the first 34 Nancy Drew books were revised (some more extensively than others) from 1959 onwards. The original versions have 25 chapters while the revised ones have 20. From No. 35 onwards, all the books have 20 chapters (although I think the later Digests, after No. 56, began to have reduced chapters). But anyway, if you want a really original Nancy Drew book, go for one of the first 34 with 25 chapters. Applewood reprinted the first 21 with original texts, although most of these are now out of print.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Does anyone remember "Kristie at College" by Mildred (Wirt) Benson published by The Children's Press in the 1960s?

I've got Kristie at College sitting on the bookshelf along with a couple of other Children's Press books, but I last read them at the age of 9 or 10 so I don't remember much about the stories. I had no idea that the author of Kristie at College had also written the first 20-odd Nancy Drew books (as a child I believed what I read on the covers - that the Nancy Drew books had been written by Carolyn Keene!)

[zaidi]

Edit: I've just read the first chapter of the first book, The Secret of the Old Clock, on Amazon, and I can't say I'm that enthralled. I wonder if the text has been updated, as it doesn't seem particularly 1930s in style, although I appreciate it is an American book. I don't think I'll be spending £4 on it.

Nigel did you edit it or Administrators?
My posts are mostly not understandable but they never get edited.

[Fiona1986]

Nigel edited his own post, presumably to add the bit about Nancy Drew.

Thanks RDMorrell, the world suddenly makes more sense to me! I've long given up on having a 'proper' collection of Nancy Drew books. If I manage to collect all the titles I'd be happy. Most of my copies are British ones though I think I have a few American ones, and they're mostly 80s or 90s prints so they'll all be edited. Maybe one day, if I ever 'finish' collecting Blyton books I can work on it!

[Darrell71]

OK, OF-COURSE EB is my fave author, but three Nancy Drew books I really LOOOOOOVEEEEEE are Secret Identity, Identity Theft, and Identy Revealed, all part of one Trilogy: Identity Mystery Trilogy. So check it out it's cool! Don't know who has written it under Caroline Keene's name though.

[BookWorm19]

Are they the original mysteries, or the casefiles, or one of those random newer ones?

[Darrell71]

I guess newer ones but not random!! Triology I think. Really nice!!

[Paul Austin]

I think that the title of this thread should be broadened to include the Hardy Boys and the Bobbsey Twins.