Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her

I didn’t really intend to read two non-fiction books about fictional crime back-to-back, but as it turned out I did. Like most women these days and for the last 85 years, I grew up with Nancy Drew. I had my own books, but also read my mom’s. It’s one of those mother-daughter things that can really make a relationship close, especially when it comes to reading, something my mother taught me early to love. For a while there, the best part of going to the library was getting another Nancy Drew...or three. And yard sales, too, great places to find new books.

I can’t remember when I realized that Carolyn Keene wasn’t a real person, but a pseudonym, but I did already know and that’s what this book explores; the women who created show more and kept Nancy alive during hard times like the depression and the 60s and 70s when cultural change threatened to sink our titian-haired heroine. While both of the principal women involved (Mildred Wirt and Harriet Stratemeyer) ended their relationship with each other on somewhat bad terms, neither is vilified nor lionized in the book. Each brought her strength of character and personal vision to the mystique of Nancy Drew and it was fascinating to see who got the upper hand and for how long. I also enjoyed the chapters that talked about how and why the books got updated over the decades.

One thing that hasn’t been updated in the 85 years since Nancy made her debut is that while girls will readily read “boys books”, boys still won’t read “girls books”. Fully ½ of the human race still isn’t part of the human story, instead sidelined into “women’s fiction” or even worse, “chick lit”. Can you imagine J.K. Rowling would have been the same raging success she is had she chosen to use her full name on her books instead of initials? Or if her main character was Hermione instead of Harry? That glaring fact is the very reason the Nancy Drew books exist. That a white man woke up to the fact that girls were reading “boys books” and gee, couldn’t we make some money off them. Sadly, Nancy lost a lot of her independence and smarts and the modern novels are about boys, clothes and the latest styles.

Producing these and many other titles including The Hardy Boys was complex (it’s run by a big eastern syndicate you know) and it was fascinating to see how a book went from concept to manuscript to bound edition. Also the struggles each woman had in making her way in the worlds of publishing and journalism. Harriet Stratemeyer inherited (along with her sister, Edna) her father Edward’s syndicate that produced dozens of children's’ serial books. A woman running a large and successful business is still somewhat of an anomaly today, but in 1930 it was unheard of. Despite some bad decisions made from sheer inexperience, Harriet is successful and fights off the urge to get mad at the people who write to her and her sister as “Gentlemen”.

While the sisters sometimes disagreed about continuing to use the principal writer for the Nancy Drew series, Mildred Wirt, they kept coming back to her until eventually Harriet herself took over writing the books (and much of the rest of the business since Edna basically walked away only communicating to criticize, accuse and collect her share of the profits). Mildred was an awesome person and how I would have liked to have met her. She had her share of heartache and trouble (burying 2 husbands), but never despaired and always kept writing (and flying, she became a pilot when she was something like 60, you go girl!). Harriet, too, is a woman to be admired and one I would also liked to have met if only to thank her for saving Nancy Drew from oblivion so that I could enjoy the books over and over again. show less

It's very rare for me to read books knowing nothing about them, and even rarer for me to buy books I've never heard of. But I was walking home from taking my pediatrics boards (which I passed, by the way...) and I passed by a used bookstore. So I thought to myself: "I deserve to go poke around the bookstore. I just took a huge test." And then I saw this book, and the cover drew me in, so I, of course, decided that I deserved to buy a book, too. I'm really glad I did -- this book is excellent!

Did you think Carolyn Keene was a real person? I did -- I remember fighting with my mother about it when I was a kid. Maybe you're less naive than I and realized that even if Carolyn Keene was a person, she wasn't still writing the Nancy Drew show more books. But it turns out, that not only was Carolyn Keene never a real person, she, Laura Lee Hope, Franklin Dixon and dozens of others were all the figments of the imagination of the same man, Edward Stratemeyer.

This is the story of Edward Stratemeyer and the evolution of pulp fiction for children. Wonderfully, this is also the story of Edward's oldest daughter, Harriet, who took over his estate, as well as the story of Mildred Wirt, the main ghostwriter for the Nancy Drew books. Why is this such a wonderful happenstance? Because this always this book to also be the story of how two strong-willed independent women went to college and held down serious jobs long before that was acceptable. Rehak explores the state of education for women in the 1920's and follows the growth and turns of these two women and their relationship from their college years to their deaths in their 90's.

Rehak is talented no matter her scope -- her minute details are precise and fascinating, but she is not afraid to expand out to big concepts like feminism, literature for children, gendering of children's literature, etc. and she manages to maintain my interest at each level. show less

Rating: 4* of five

The Book Description: 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. Now, 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?

The brainchild of children's book mogul Edward Stratemeyer, Nancy was brought to life by show more two women: Mildred Wirt Benson, a pioneering journalist from Iowa, and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, a well-bred wife and mother who took over as CEO of the pioneering Stratemeyer Syndicate after her father died. In a century-spanning story Rehak traces their roles--and Nancy's--in forging the modern American woman. With ebullience, wit, and a wealth of little-known source material, Rehak celebrates our unstoppable girl detective.

My Review: When I was about nine, I went through a Hardy Boys phase. My mother, who went from buying Oldsmobile-priced cocktail dresses at Henri Bendel and Chevrolet-priced suits at Bonwit Teller to working three jobs to support us, never said no when it came to buying me a book. So I read my way through the catalog, and looked around for more. Mama somewhat diffidently pointed out the Nancy Drew books. I asked if she solved crimes. “Yes, and drives a blue roadster,” said the wily old girl, and I had another school year's reading at a quarter a book. (Used. We most often bought used...Mama said the words didn't wear out and who cared about the cover anyway?)

Ever after, I've had a “thing” for All-American boys and girls who just damn well do it for themselves. From such acorns....

Mystery-reading pleasure was a given. Mother and sister were big consumers of the genre. I got my own books, and they were not mysteries, but good heavens a boy can't survive on a book a week! I mean really! So I read their mysteries. I checked mysteries out of the liberry. I read all the Hardy Boys (always preferred Joe to Frank, Iola be hanged) and Nancy Drew (what a maroon Ned Nickerson was!) a couple times each. They lost their luster about the time I found good SF.

But do you ever forget that first kiss? I know I haven't. Nancy, Frank, and Joe...oh my how I treasured their orderly world. No one behaved badly (my narcissistic parents were astonishingly insensitive and ill-mannered in their divorcing) without consequences, and crimes were punished. I liked that a lot! And I still do.

Melanie Rehak apparently did, too. She set out to tell the story, public since the 1970s at least, of the origins of Nancy Drew, Girl Sleuth. All the ookie bleccchhhy part about families in conflict over Smothers-Brothers-y “dad always liked you best” and “I sit here with mom and you swan about” and so on; all the fish-out-of-water growing up of a major tomboy with a ginormous brain, in a rinky dink dink little wide spot in the road, leading to Iowa State and college degree in the 1920s; all the nasty mean greedy behind-the-scenes moneygrubbing everyone seems to have thought nothing of.

It's as good as a novel. It's as much fun as a Nancy Drew story to unravel. It's not perfect, but it's got a lot of story and it tells the story concisely, yet without leaving annoying holes or piling numbing crap all over the reader.

The focus is on Nancy, her “father” Edward Stratemeyer, her “mother” Midred Wirt, and wicked stepmother Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. That's enough for a 600pp doorstopper, let me assure you! Author Rehak got out her laser, finely cut and carefully etched the truly important bits from these three peoples' lives and then soldered and electroplated the whole thing into a lovely, solid bracelet shaped like Nancy Drew.

Even if you've never read one of these books, THIS book is a very good read, and an intriguing side window onto American culture in the mid-20th century. show less

By now it is probably reasonably common knowledge that “Carolyn Keene” was a pseudonym, one of many run by the Stratemeyer Syndicate, which specialized in writing juvenile series books. But who wrote under that pseudonym to give life to Nancy Drew, girl detective? Rehak’s book tells the story of Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, elder daughter of the Syndicate’s founder, Edward; and Mildred Wirt Benson, a journalist from Iowa, later resident of Ohio. Adams had the business of the Syndicate thrust upon her when her father died, and Benson was the writer who had been hired to write the first few Nancy Drew books. Both women ended up writing several books in the series, although they ended up developing divergent opinions on how show more “their” Nancy should speak and behave.

This was a fascinating book and made a great follow-up to Ghost of the Hardy Boys, the memoir of Leslie McFarlane, the first “Franklin W. Dixon”. This one gives you an in-depth look at the day-to-day running of the Syndicate and the challenges it faced as the 20th century progressed and young people’s tastes in literature changed. It also charts the progress of women’s rights and suffrage as embodied in the lives of Adams and Benson. I’d highly recommend this book for fans of Nancy Drew, fans of the Hardy Boys, and/or people who are interested in stories about the publishing industry. show less

I found Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her to be a captivating read. Just as Nancy solves mysteries, the author, Melanie Rehak delves into all the rumors that circulate about this imaginary character and sheds light on her creation, who sustained her, and how she came to be an icon for so many girls through a number of generations. More than just an explanation of the part Nancy Drew played, this book offers an examination of women’s roles and development through the early years of the 20th century.

Originally envisioned by Edward Stratemeyer, it was actually two women who breathed life into Nancy Drew. Edward Stratemeyer ran a publishing syndicate that also was responsible for the serials The Bobbsey Twins and The show more Hardy Boys. The acknowledged author, Carolyn Keene, was also invented by Mr. Stratemeyer and, in fact, the women whom credit is due is both his own daughter Harriet and the free spirited Mildred Wirt Benson.

Originally appearing in 1930, and selling for 50 cents a copy, Nancy stepped right into the hearts and minds of young girls everywhere. By December, 1933, the Nancy Drew books were outselling all other series books.

Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her is extensively researched, entertainingly written and her take on this amazingly long-lived franchise is definitely attention holding. I admit that although I was more of a Trixie Belden fan, I read more than my fair share of Nancy Drew books in my youth, and this look at her development over the years is well worth investigating. show less

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. show more Rehak covers this early on but seems to have forgotten this bit by the end of the book... show less

An amazing tale of two women who created & "raised" Nancy Drew and then battled each other for the credit. Of course they should have joined forces in order to get more money out of the men who owned the publishing house. Not only an excellent history of our fave girl sleuth, but also of how girlhood was seen throughout the 20th century.

And yes, I'm that much of a sap that I teared up at the end.