Girl sleuth: Nancy Drew and the women who created her (2005)

I certainly know more about Nancy Drew and her creators than I used to! The book was well researched and enjoyable to read. The author did her homework and was able to weave together various threads to show a complete picture from the beginning of the mystery series to the early 2000's.

However, the one thing I found really off--there is a big deal made about who really created the character of Nancy Drew and this author clearly roots for one of the women. Why is this strange? Because neither of the women created Nancy Drew even though one of them actually wrote the books early on! A man created her and was quite firm about the character's personality and development, in many instances completely changing what was originally written. Rehak covers this early on but seems to have forgotten this bit by the end of the book... ( )

Fascinating read.

As a kid, I found the Hardy Boys more interesting, and couldn't stand Nancy Drew--perhaps because my first of her books was on of the Nancy Drew Notebooks, which, according to this book, were written to make her more 'girly-girly': boy and makeup obsessed.

But because I knew the two series were connected, I was willing to give the history a chance, and they did bring up a bit about the Hardy Boys and Edward Stratemeyer (who frankly seemed more interesting than the pages devoted to his story).

Several chapters focused on women's history, which seemed tedious, but only because I am fairly familiar with the subject. I didn't always agree with Rehak--she has some clear bias--but she presented a clear and thorough history of Nancy Drew and how she's effected our culture throughout the years.

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A look at the syndication of our beloved childhood serial tales (Hardy Boys, Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, Dana Girls, and etc.), especially Nancy Drew, shows as nothing else quite could the rocky road to women's financial independence.

If you were never a fan, I'm not sure how much this volume can speak to you. ( )

Rehak's book is part history of children's books and publishing, part social history of women in the US, and part biography of Stratemeyer, his daughters, and author Mildred Wirt Benson. But most of all, it is the story of Nancy Drew from her earliest incarnation to the present day version of the famous girl detective. While I was more of a fan of the Hardy Boys than Nancy Drew, I enjoyed the book and found it to be an easy read though some may find the level of detail more than they want to know. To me, however, the details were fascinating. I have been vaguely interested by the Stratemeyer Syndicate for some time and this book provided a lot of information about it and some of the ghostwriters employed, especially Mildred Benson. (I also noticed that LT member James Keeline was mentioned in the acknowledgments as one of Rehak's sources.)

What I expected was a trip down nostalgia lane, a couple of biographical sketches, comments on the cultural significance of Nancy Drew, and some interesting information about the publishing industry/history.

This book was that and even more. U.S. history, women's history, world history, film and television, and more are all tied to the cultural phenomenon of Nancy Drew.

The author seems to have done some outstanding research, and written so well and with passion about her subject. What a great treat and a thorough pleasure this was to read! ( )