Nancy is 96

 Yes she's still as spry as ever.  Clear headed.  Charming.  Eager.  Independent.  And still solving mysteries.  I'm talking about one of my favorite characters in literature (and yes, the books deserve to be called literature):  Nancy Drew.

Nancy has been in my life for a LONG time.  (No, I'm not 96...not yet.)  My mother had saved some of the Nancy Drews she had as a girl.  (How I wish there had been more; how I wish she and I took better care of them.)  They were not original editions, but they were original text.  And most of them had their original dust jackets.  (Which is where I really wish I had taken better care of them.  I took them off to keep them "safe' and in hindsight, they would have been safer and in better condition if I just let them stay.)  I don't know what drew (pun intended?) my mother to the series as a girl.  She didn't have them all.  She had 1-3 (which originally were published on April 28, 1930) but then jumped ahead to 11 (The Clue of the Broken Locket) and then to 14-16 and finally 20-26.  (I think I've got that right.)  She had more Nancys than she did Connies (Connie Blair: books 1-4) and Judy Bolton (2, 8 & 9).  There were never any Dana Girls, Cherry Ames (surprising since my mom wanted ME to be a nurse and had a propensity towards all things medical), or Trixie Belden.

When I was in 2nd (?) grade my mother started reading to me from The Secret of the Old Clock.  Twenty five wonderful chapters with lots of language for me to take in.  (Roadster?  What the heck?)  We had almost gotten to the end of the book (maybe 4 or 5 chapters to the end) when I got tired of waiting for her to read and finished up on my own.  I believe it was the first "chapter" book that I read by myself.  (I was slow to start when it came to reading, but once I "got it", I GOT IT as is very evident to this day.)

I got through all of my mother's books and then started getting the "new/revised" textbooks. (The books were "updated" in 1959.  More (though not better) artwork was added, chapters were reduced from 25 to 20 and Nancy aged from 16 to 18.)  For some reason, I believe the first "revised" book I read was The Mystery of the 99 Steps.  (I can see myself sitting on the front steps of our house reading it and remember the cover very clearly.)  My mother would often read them too.  (They were new to her.)

At some point in the 1970s, "Twin Thrillers" were released as part of a book club.  I probably heard about it through some school publication (Weekly Reader anyone?) and enrolled.  These were two books in one, which is cool in one way, but a cop out in another.  (Less cover artwork.)  I got all of them and then I believe they started sending me Dana Girl books (but not "double books") before we finally cancelled (or they just ended the whole thing).  I have no idea what happened to them.  They probably got given away and I only have one in my collection. (More on that later.)

When I was in college I actually wrote a paper on Nancy.  My (very valid) point was that the original texts from the 1930s had Nancy be a more independent (girl) woman.  With the revisions in the 1950s she became blander and less "adventurous" on her own.  As has been pointed out by others, she was made "nicer” (Her hair color also changed which annoys me to this day, but...)  In the 1930s Nancy might not have been a "feminist" per sec, but she WAS a stronger woman even though she was younger. The revisions watered her down.  And although there were more illustrations, the artistry and details of the early years were gone.  (Oh Nancy, they done you wrong.)

Then in the 1990s, Applewood Books republished the original texts, but only volumes 1-21.  I SHOULD have gotten them all, but I didn't.  (Hindsight is 20/20 right?)  Now they are almost as hard to find as the original originals.  (Does that make sense?)

With the Applewoods appearance, I made the conscious decision to start collecting again while trying to stay within a budget.  My goal is to have all Nancy Drews, both original texts and revised.  (I'll admit that I'm also adding to my Dana Girls, Judy Bolton, Cherry Ames and Connie Blair collections when and IF I can.)  The books are out there but finding them reasonably prices and in decent condition is a challenge.  But I'm working my way...I have a 3 shelf Barrister bookcase that houses my Nancys and a 2 shelf Barrister that houses my other collectible books.  While I have the room for books now (more so than any other time in my life), I am still missing at least a dozen of what I consider the "originals."  (Nancy still goes on), but I am only interested in the hard covers from the beginning (The Secret of the Old Clock) through the final Grossett & Dunlap 56 (The Thirteenth Pearl). I'll keep cautiously looking.  And FYI: I have a spreadsheet of what I have and in what versions.  I think that's very Nancy Drew of me.  (Of course, I've made a couple of mistakes and bought one or two that I already had...have to keep that spreadsheet up to date!)

Maybe I'll have a complete collection by the time Nancy turns 100?  Who knows...In any event, Happy Birthday Nancy Drew.  And thank you Mildred Wirt Benson (and others, but mostly Mildred) and the Stratemeyer syndicate for making my life a little more mysterious!