Context for "The Girl Detective": Looking at the Original

Doesn't this image remind you of the cover of Stranger Things Happen?

When considering Kelly Link's story "The Girl Detective," one absolutely has to acknowledge Nancy Drew. The orginal girl sleuth, the character of Nancy Drew was first created and outlined in 1930 by Edward Stratemeyer. The series of mysteries spanned his life and then some: the entire collection includes over 170 books, the last one having been publishedin 2005. While Stratemeyer came up with the idea, Mildred Benson wrote the first manuscript and the first twenty-two novels.



Nancy Drew was depicted as an independent-minded teenager, usually sixteen, but gradually aging to eighteen by the mid 1940s (this was changed when the original books were later revised; she is always eighteen) who has graduated from high school. Apparently affluent, she maintains an active social, volunteer, and sleuthing schedule, as well as participating in athletics and the arts, but is never shown as working for a living or acquiring job skills. Nancy is blue-eyed and laid-back. Her hair color is described variously as "red-gold" and "titian", rather than the less glamorous "red." But on most covers she is shown as a blonde or redhead. She becomes involved in mysteries without always being a welcome presence. She always carries a flashlight; occasionally carries a gun (1-5 early volumes only) and actually uses it against dangerous animals at Shadow Ranch; drives in her blue convertible at high speeds on gravel roads; breaks and enters; trespasses; sneaks about; opens locked doors, lockers, chests, drawers, etc.; and is rather high-handed with adults, including law enforcement, from time to time. She is more courageous than her friends and undaunted by the money or time spent in investigating a clue. Hannah voices her concerns about Nancy's behavior, but is clearly the Drews' employee in these early tales; her opinion is often discredited.




For more on Nancy Drew, check out some fan sites.