1.
Her Interactive
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Her Interactive is a video game company based in Bellevue, Washington. The company was founded as a division of American Laser Games and it later bought out its former parent company. The company designs, develops and publishes adventure-mystery games, most of which are based on the Nancy Drew franchise, the company was launched as a division of American Laser Games called Games for Her Interactive in May 1995. Its first title was McKenzie & Co, after finding initial success, the company became independent of American Laser Games and eventually bought out its former parent company. Her Interactive relocated to Bellevue, Washington in the late 1990s, the company employs about 25 people and is known for its Nancy Drew adventure-mystery game series
2.
DreamCatcher Interactive
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DreamCatcher Interactive Inc. was a Canadian computer game publisher of video games founded in 1996 by Richard Wah Kan. In 2006, the became a subsidiary of JoWooD Entertainment. In 2011, the company went into administration along with its parent JoWooD, the DreamCatcher Interactive brand is currently being used as a publishing label for Nordic Games, a wholly owned subsidiary of THQ Nordic. DreamCatcher Interactive was founded in 1996 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the company’s first title was the adventure game Soldier Boyz, closely followed by Jewels of the Oracle, which achieved enough success to grow the retail business. Dreamcatcher would later release The Crystal Key which sold over a million units in North America. Continuing the companys growth, in November 2000, DreamCatcher signed with Her Interactive to publish the Nancy Drew franchise, after the acquisition of Cryo Interactive, Dreamcatcher created a publishing division called The Adventure Company in early 2003. The company also partnered with both Wanadoo Edition and Microïds, as well as studios in the development and distribution of games including Syberia, Still Life. In 2005, the main Microïds studio was acquired by Ubisoft with Dreamcatcher retaining publishing rights to the games being created, the Adventure Company brand label under DreamCatcher has released many adventure game series including series based on Agatha Christie novels. They also recently signed to release a series of titles based on The Hardy Boys, outside of adventure gaming, DreamCatcher is best known for publishing the first-person shooter Painkiller developed with People Can Fly. Painkiller became a success and was signed with the CPL World Tour 2005. Dreamcatcher would also create another label, Silverline Software, around 2004 for the distribution of some non-core games, Silverline Software would release the Time to Ride series of girl’s horse games starting in 2004, which would later be acquired by Ubisoft. Since the acquisition, DreamCatcher Games has continued to launch titles both under The Adventure Company and DreamCatcher labels including new games created by JoWooD like the SpellForce series, in 2011, JoWooD went into administration causing DreamCatcher to file for bankruptcy. In November 2011, Nordic Games Holding announced that they had acquired all DreamCatcher assets, Nordic Games Holding had previously acquired JoWooD and The Adventure Company in August also turning both brands into publishing labels of Nordic Games. All business operations of acquired assets are conducted out of Nordic Games in Vienna, Nordic Games DreamCatcher profile on MobyGames
3.
Computing platform
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Computing platform means in general sense, where any piece of software is executed. It may be the hardware or the system, even a web browser or other application. The term computing platform can refer to different abstraction levels, including a hardware architecture, an operating system. In total it can be said to be the stage on which programs can run. For example, an OS may be a platform that abstracts the underlying differences in hardware, platforms may also include, Hardware alone, in the case of small embedded systems. Embedded systems can access hardware directly, without an OS, this is referred to as running on bare metal, a browser in the case of web-based software. The browser itself runs on a platform, but this is not relevant to software running within the browser. An application, such as a spreadsheet or word processor, which hosts software written in a scripting language. This can be extended to writing fully-fledged applications with the Microsoft Office suite as a platform, software frameworks that provide ready-made functionality. Cloud computing and Platform as a Service, the social networking sites Twitter and facebook are also considered development platforms. A virtual machine such as the Java virtual machine, applications are compiled into a format similar to machine code, known as bytecode, which is then executed by the VM. A virtualized version of a system, including virtualized hardware, OS, software. These allow, for instance, a typical Windows program to run on what is physically a Mac, some architectures have multiple layers, with each layer acting as a platform to the one above it. In general, a component only has to be adapted to the layer immediately beneath it, however, the JVM, the layer beneath the application, does have to be built separately for each OS
4.
Microsoft Windows
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Microsoft Windows is a metafamily of graphical operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Microsoft. It consists of families of operating systems, each of which cater to a certain sector of the computing industry with the OS typically associated with IBM PC compatible architecture. Active Windows families include Windows NT, Windows Embedded and Windows Phone, defunct Windows families include Windows 9x, Windows 10 Mobile is an active product, unrelated to the defunct family Windows Mobile. Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20,1985, Microsoft Windows came to dominate the worlds personal computer market with over 90% market share, overtaking Mac OS, which had been introduced in 1984. Apple came to see Windows as an encroachment on their innovation in GUI development as implemented on products such as the Lisa. On PCs, Windows is still the most popular operating system, however, in 2014, Microsoft admitted losing the majority of the overall operating system market to Android, because of the massive growth in sales of Android smartphones. In 2014, the number of Windows devices sold was less than 25% that of Android devices sold and this comparison however may not be fully relevant, as the two operating systems traditionally target different platforms. As of September 2016, the most recent version of Windows for PCs, tablets, smartphones, the most recent versions for server computers is Windows Server 2016. A specialized version of Windows runs on the Xbox One game console, Microsoft, the developer of Windows, has registered several trademarks each of which denote a family of Windows operating systems that target a specific sector of the computing industry. It now consists of three operating system subfamilies that are released almost at the time and share the same kernel. Windows, The operating system for personal computers, tablets. The latest version is Windows 10, the main competitor of this family is macOS by Apple Inc. for personal computers and Android for mobile devices. Windows Server, The operating system for server computers, the latest version is Windows Server 2016. Unlike its clients sibling, it has adopted a strong naming scheme, the main competitor of this family is Linux. Windows PE, A lightweight version of its Windows sibling meant to operate as an operating system, used for installing Windows on bare-metal computers. The latest version is Windows PE10.0.10586.0, Windows Embedded, Initially, Microsoft developed Windows CE as a general-purpose operating system for every device that was too resource-limited to be called a full-fledged computer. The following Windows families are no longer being developed, Windows 9x, Microsoft now caters to the consumers market with Windows NT. Windows Mobile, The predecessor to Windows Phone, it was a mobile operating system
5.
North America
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North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16. 5% of the land area. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7. 5% of the worlds population, North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge. The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago, the Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era ended with the migrations and the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kind of interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants, European influences are strongest in the northern parts of the continent while indigenous and African influences are relatively stronger in the south. Because of the history of colonialism, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, the Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass previously unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a map, in which he placed the word America on the continent of South America. He explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio, for Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespuccis name, but in its feminine form America, following the examples of Europa, Asia and Africa. Later, other mapmakers extended the name America to the continent, In 1538. Some argue that the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty, a minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of Amairick. Another is that the name is rooted in a Native American language, the term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with location and context. In Canadian English, North America may be used to refer to the United States, alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands
6.
Adventure game
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An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving. The genres focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media, literature and film, many adventure games are designed for a single player, since this emphasis on story and character makes multi-player design difficult. Initial adventure games developed in the 1970s and early 1980s were text-based, within the Asian markets, adventure games continue to be popular in the form of visual novels, which make up nearly 70% of PC games released in Japan. The Asian markets have found markets for adventure games for portable and mobile gaming devices. The video game genre is defined by its gameplay, unlike the literary genre, which is defined by the subject it addresses. Essential elements of the genre include storytelling, exploration, and puzzle solving, Adventure games have been described as puzzles embedded in a narrative framework, where games involve narrative content that a player unlocks piece by piece over time. While the puzzles that players encounter through the story can be arbitrary, combat and action challenges are limited or absent in adventure games, thus distinguishing them from action games. In the book Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design, only that combat is not the primary activity. Some adventure games include a minigame from another video game genre. Hybrid action-adventure games blend action and adventure games throughout the experience, incorporating more physical challenges than pure adventure games. This definition is hard to apply, however, with debate among designers about which games are action games. Adventure games are distinct from role-playing video games that involve action, team-building. Adventure games lack the numeric rules or relationships seen in role-playing games and these games lack any skill system, combat, or an opponent to be defeated through strategy and tactics. However, some hybrid games exist here, where role-playing games with strong narrative, finally, adventure games are classified separately from puzzle video games. Although an adventure game may involve puzzle-solving, they involve a player-controlled avatar in an interactive story. Adventure games contain a variety of puzzles, decoding messages, finding and using items, opening locked doors, solving a puzzle will unlock access to new areas in the game world, and reveal more of the game story. Logic puzzles, where mechanical devices are designed with interfaces to test a players deductive reasoning skills, are common. Others have been criticized for requiring players to guess, either by clicking on the right pixel
7.
Nancy Drew
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Nancy Drew is a fictional American character in a mystery fiction series created by publisher Edward Stratemeyer. The character first appeared in 1930, the books are ghostwritten by a number of authors and published under the collective pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Over the decades, the character evolved in response to changes in US culture, the books were extensively revised and shortened, beginning in 1959, in part to lower printing costs with arguable success. In the revision process, the original character was changed to be less assertive. In the 1980s, an older and more professional Nancy emerged in a new series, The Nancy Drew Files, the original Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series started in 1930, and ended in 2004. Launched that same year, the Girl Detective series features Nancy driving an electric vehicle. In 2013, the Girl Detective series ended, and a new current series called Nancy Drew Diaries was launched, illustrations of the character evolved over time to reflect contemporary styles. The character proves continuously popular worldwide, at least 80 million copies of the books have sold. Nancy Drew is featured in five films, two shows, and a number of popular computer games, she also appears in a variety of merchandise sold around the world. Nancy Drew is an amateur sleuth. In the original versions of the series, she is a 16-year-old high school graduate, in the series, she lives in the fictional town of River Heights with her father, attorney Carson Drew, and their housekeeper, Hannah Gruen. As a child, she loses her mother and her loss is reflected in her early independence—running a household since the age of ten with a clear-cut servant in early series and deferring to the servant as a surrogate parent in later ones. As a teenager, she spends her time solving mysteries, some of which she stumbles upon, Nancy is often assisted in solving mysteries by her two closest friends, cousins Bess Marvin and George Fayne. Bess is delicate and feminine, while George is a tomboy, Nancy is also occasionally joined by her boyfriend Ned Nickerson, a student at Emerson College. Nancy is often described as a super girl, in the words of Bobbie Ann Mason, she is as immaculate and self-possessed as a Miss America on tour. She is as cool as Mata Hari and as sweet as Betty Crocker, Nancy is well-off, attractive, and amazingly talented, At sixteen she had studied psychology in school, and was familiar with the power of suggestion and association. Nancy was a painter, spoke French, and had frequently run motor boats. She was a driver who at sixteen flashed into the garage with a skill born of long practice
8.
Nancy Drew: The Haunted Carousel
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The Haunted Carousel is the eighth installment in the Nancy Drew point-and-click adventure game series by Her Interactive. The game is available for play on Microsoft Windows platforms and it has an ESRB rating of E for moments of mild violence and peril. Players take on the view of fictional amateur sleuth Nancy Drew and must solve the mystery through interrogation of suspects, solving puzzles. The game is based on a book of the same name The Haunted Carousel. Paula Santos, the owner of Captains Cove Amusement Park in New Jersey, has asked Nancy for help because there have been mysterious things happening at the park, first, the lead horse disappeared off the carousel. After that the carousel began mysteriously starting up in the middle of the night, then the roller coaster suddenly lost power, resulting in a serious accident. The park is shut down until the city knows what caused it, there is a rumor going around that the park is cursed. Are the painted ponies searching for their missing horse, or is there another explanation for the midnight rides. Nancy Drew - Nancy is an amateur detective from the fictional town of River Heights in the United States. She is the playable character in the game, which means the player must solve the mystery from her perspective. Elliot Chen - Elliott is the art director and is responsible for all the visual components at Captains Cove. He is a major procrastinator and is several weeks behind on his projects. The parks shutdown could seriously help him get caught up and he has no theory on what is happening at the park. Harlan Bishop - Harlan is the recently hired security guard. He is helpful, efficient, and good at his job, hes eager to prove to his bosses that they should keep him permanently. He thinks the mysterious occurrences are just a coincidence, and doesnt believe in the hauntings, Ingrid Corey - Ingrid is the chief engineer of the park and maintains all the rides at Captains Cove, even the ones that have malfunctioned. She is extremely smart, but she is overworked while the park is understaffed during the shutdown and she is interested in holistic medicine and believes the park is actually cursed. Joy Trent - Joy Trent is the bookkeeper, and she is in charge of all of the parks financial records
9.
Nancy Drew: The Secret of Shadow Ranch
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The Secret of Shadow Ranch is the tenth installment in the Nancy Drew point-and-click adventure game series by Her Interactive. The game is available for play on Microsoft Windows platforms and it has an ESRB rating of E for moments of mild violence and peril. Players take on the view of fictional amateur sleuth Nancy Drew and must solve the mystery through interrogation of suspects, solving puzzles. The game is based on the best-selling Nancy Drew book of all time, Nancy Drew is invited to Shadow Ranch in Arizona for a vacation. On the first day there, Nancy discovers that the owners of the ranch, Ed and Bet Rawley, are gone. The previous evening, a horse came galloping up to the ranch, causing a huge commotion. Dirk Valentine, an outlaw from the 1880s, was involved with the sheriffs daughter, Frances Humber. Dirk was arrested and eventually hanged, but local legend says that Dirks horse has come back to avenge its master, Nancy Drew - Nancy is an eighteen-year-old amateur detective from the fictional town of River Heights in the United States. She is the playable character in the game, which means the player must solve the mystery from her perspective. Dave Gregory - Dave is the ranch foreman, always polite and very shy, Dave is a man of frustratingly few words who is mainly concerned with doing his job and doing it well. He grows very fond of Nancy over the course of the game, Tex Britten - Tex is the ranchs head wrangler. An old-fashioned cowpoke, his face and cynical attitude reflect the fact that he feels much more at home with horses. He dislikes city folk, and enjoys putting Nancy in situations that he thinks she cant handle, Shorty Thurmond - The ranch cook, Shorty, is more talkative than the other two ranch hands combined. He loves to gossip and for that reason loves having Nancy around and he also loves to cook, despite doing it badly, and takes great pride in the food he serves. An admitted opportunist, hes looking for ways to get rich quick. Mary Yazzie - Mary is a Native American who runs a store on the adjacent to Shadow Ranch. She knows all about the history of the area, especially as it pertains to the ancient Pueblo people who inhabited the nearby cliff dwellings. She has repeatedly offered to purchase a portion of the Rawleys land, allegedly in search of petrified wood, but her offers have been continuously rejected
10.
The Secret of the Old Clock
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The Secret of the Old Clock is the first volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. It was first published on April 28,1930 and revised in 1959 by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, Nancy Drew is an eighteen-year-old high school graduate. Her father, Carson Drew, is a criminal defense lawyer. The Drews reside in River Heights and employ a housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, in early editions, she is depicted as a mere servant, later in the series she becomes more of a family member. In 2001, the novel ranked 53rd on Publishers Weeklys list of the all-time best-selling hardcover childrens books in English, eighteen-year-old Nancy Drew wishes to help the Turners, who are struggling relatives of the recently deceased Josiah Crowley. Aided along the way by chum Helen Corning, she becomes interested in the case because she dislikes his snobbish nouveau-riche social-climbing heirs presumptive, a nasty encounter at a department store allows Nancy to discredit the Topham sisters when they break an expensive imported vase. Interviewing various Crowley relatives and friends, Nancy learns from an old lady that Crowley hinted that the clue to his will would be found in the family clock. When Helen gives Nancy charity tickets to sell, she sells them to the Tophams to gain entry to their home, Nancy then joins Helen at summer camp to investigate the Topham summer-home nearby. There she is overpowered by the burglars who stole the Crowley Clock and she is imprisoned in the vacant house while the caretaker is locked in a shed nearby. She is able to obtain the clock while the burglars drink heavily at a wayside inn. Nancy is depicted as intentionally hiding stolen evidence from the police, a climactic scene, inserted before the denouement and epilogue, sees Nancy delighted to take the money from the Tophams and see it distributed to destitute family and friends. Nancy comes across as very strong-willed, but also competitive with the Tophams, although charitable and altruistic to the poor heirs, she enjoys seeing others in River Heights society lose their status earned by new money rather than character. Helen now appears older, perhaps in preparation for her eventual write-out after Volume 4 of the series to introduce Bess. Readers have noted two figures illustrated in the vein as the cousins appear in a 1959 illustration at a girls camp). Action is increased significantly and is faster-paced, greater detail is given to develop Nancy and her home. When Crowley dies, promises of being included in his will appear moot as the will, held by the Tophams, eighteen-year-old Nancy Drew is prompted to help the Crowley kin by her affection for Crowleys distant niece, little Judy, whos being raised by the elderly Turner sisters. While looking for the Hoover sisters, Nancy happens upon their farm during a downpour, in the original version the sisters wanted to improve their hatchery and dressmaking skills, here, Allison Hoover wants to take singing lessons. Nancys encounter with the undeserving Topham sisters now centers around a torn evening dress instead of a broken vase, Nancy catches up with the thieves when they stop to dine, instead of drinking illegal-era alcohol
11.
The Hidden Staircase
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The Hidden Staircase is the second volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, published in 1930 and revised in 1959. In the beginning of the edition of “The Hidden Staircase, ” Nancy is home alone while her father and their housekeeper. The doorbell rings and Nancy is introduced to the visitor, Nathan Gomber. When his persistence irritates and insults Nancy, she grows impatient and angrily tells him to leave, soon after, Nancy is surprised at her house by Allie Horner, whom she aided in The Secret of the Old Clock. Allie knows who Nathan Gomber is by reputation and because he stole eggs from her farm. When Carson Drew arrives home, he explains his history with Gomber, Gomber signed over his land to build a railroad, the following day, Abigail Rowen introduces Nancy to the Turnbull sisters, Rosemary and Floretta. They ask Nancy to help them learn the cause of the hauntings of their mansion in Cliffwood. Nancy stays overnight with the Turnbull sisters for over a week to determine the source of their problems and she goes alone and has her own bedroom. Before she leaves, her father gives her a revolver from his desk to protect herself and he explains that he will be out of town on business in Chicago for a few days but no more than a week. They decide that when he knows the day of his back in River Heights. Before Nancy leaves for Cliffwood, she receives a letter telling her to stay away from the Turnbull mansion. While she is there more items are stolen and at one point they find a couple of flying about the mansion. Likewise, they explain that none other than Nathan Gomber owns the stone mansion. Armed with this knowledge, Nancy is certain that Nathan Gomber is the culprit behind the thefts, and is determined to prove it. Meanwhile, her father, who sent a telegram to Nancy to pick him up on a day at the station for their meeting. Nathan confuses Carson and leads him to believe that Nancy has had an accident near Gombers mansion and is waiting there, distraught and believing Gomber, Carson Drew rides back to Gombers mansion, where he is then held prisoner. Nancy never receives the telegram from Carson Drew and worries that something is wrong since she cannot reach him, while she is running through the rain, she sees Gomber walking toward the Turnbull mansion. She decides that this is her opportunity to get into his house
12.
The Bungalow Mystery
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The Bungalow Mystery is the third volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. It was the last of three books in the breeder set trilogy, released in 1930, to test-market the series and it was the final volume edited by Edward Stratemeyer before his death. His daughter, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, extensively revised the novel in 1960, Laura Pendleton rescues Nancy Drew and her friend Helen, who cant swim, when their rowboat capsizes during a sudden, severe storm on Moon Lake. The girls from River Heights befriend the orphaned Laura, who has come to the area to meet her new guardian, Jacob Aborn. Mr. Aborn seems somewhat boorish to the River Heights girls, and Nancy, upon returning home, receives a call from Laura. He expects her to do chores and cook, which seems natural. Laura escapes, and this leads Nancy back to the Aborn house, Nancy eventually enter the bungalow but is quickly hit on the head and knocked unconscious. However, when Nancy comes too, she soon exposes an imposter, the plot is similar, but the mystery takes longer to develop, unusual, in that revised versions of Nancy Drew typically reduce detail and speed up the action. Nancy and Helen meet Laura after she rescues them on the lake, Nancy finds the Aborns gauche but friendly. Nancy is called home to aid injured Hannah Gruen, as in the original, she encounters a tree on the road, but this time a brother and sister appear, upon returning home, Nancy looks after Hannah and takes over the housekeeping chores. Carson Drew assigns her to investigate a long list of individuals suspected of involvement in investment-securities fraud, Nancy tackles this by dressing more maturely and going door-to-door for charity as a ruse to meet the suspects. This subplot adds time and depth to the story, Laura contacts Nancy surreptitiously to ask for her help, and then escapes from her locked room at the Aborn residence to seek refuge at the Drews. Mrs. Aborn had ordered Laura to hand over valuable jewels and they are the couple Nancy couldnt locate in River Heights, who committed the banking crimes her father was investigating. Laura discovers that the real Aborns are wonderful people who would be caring guardians, to reward Nancy for helping her and rescuing her valuables, Laura presents the sleuth with her mothers favorite ring—an aquamarine, a reminder that their friendship began on water. The original 1930 artwork—Nancy peeking into the abandoned bungalow—was created by Russell H. Tandy, in 1937, the three internals were omitted. In 1943, Tandy executed a completely new pen-and-ink drawing for the frontispiece instead of updating earlier illustrations, in 1950, Bill Gillies created new cover artwork, showing Nancy spying on Stumpy Dowd. This artwork was retained for the 1960 revision, which added a frontispiece. In 1965, the cover was updated by Rudy Nappi to show Nancy dressed in a dress, contrasting with the current mod look
13.
The Mystery at Lilac Inn
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The Mystery At Lilac Inn is the fourth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1931 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, mildred Wirt Benson was the ghostwriter for the 1931 edition. In 1961, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams extensively revised the novel, creating a different story. Ethnic slurs and opinions were removed, the story involves Nancy Drew helping her friend Emily Crandall find out who stole her heirloom jewels. In the meantime, Nancy must hire a maid in the absence of Mrs. Gruen. Nancy uncovers the thief, Mary Mason, one of the applicants for the position of maid and she then tracks Mary Mason to a gang, which includes Marys brother, Bud. Nancy is bound and gagged and left aboard the sinking cabin cruiser to die. In the end, Nancy captures the jewel thief, exonerates the guardian, how did you and Helen paddle that canoe up here so fast from River Heights. Cried Doris Drake in astonishment, is the line of the book. Nancy and chum Helen vacation at historic Lilac Inn, recently purchased by friend Emily Willoughby, Nancy quickly discovers that an impersonator is operating and forging her signature to rack up bills back in River Heights. In the meantime, Emily gives reports of strange happenings, including mysterious apparitions in the lilac grove, Nancy is attacked while scuba diving alone, when Dicks best man, John, fails to keep a date. And Emilys inheritance, a fortune in diamonds, is stolen during a dramatic blackout. An explosion and cabin fire, an attack by the woman in the grove. Her sleuthing leads to recognition of a looking for money at Lilac Inn. Nancy must soon meet her evil twin face to face on the river, the novel was extensively rewritten and published in 1961, partially because the original novel featured elements of racism that were considered unacceptable. In the original story, Nancy uses racial terms as far as describing potential replacement housekeepers whom she has rejected, also the character of Mary Mason, the novels central villain, is described as an impudent, dark-complexioned girl, perhaps hinting at her ethnicity. Nancy only realizes that Mary is involved in the theft after seeing her at an exclusive, Nancy comments in particular, upon seeing Mary in the store, Surely a girl in her circumstances cannot afford to buy dresses at such a place as this. The book was printed with a jacket and four glossy illustrations
14.
The Secret at Shadow Ranch
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The Secret of Shadow Ranch is the fifth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1931 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene and this book, as of 2001, ranks 50 on the list of All-Time Bestselling Childrens Books, according to Publishers Weekly, with 2,347,750 sales since 1931. In this book, you are introduced to Nancys best friends, Elizabeth Bess Marvin and Georgia George Fayne, George is a brave, sporty tomboy, while Bess is a girly, shopping, scaredycat. One of Bess and Georges cousins, Alice Regor, travel with Nancy to their Aunt, Nancy reunites Alice with her long-lost artist father, who is suffering from amnesia. Nancy travels with her friends Bess and George to Shadow Ranch, near Phoenix, the ranch is in danger of being shut down, and is threatened by a phantom horse that seems to bring destruction with it each time it appears. The girls soon become friends with the ranch hands who help them. The discovery of a watch with a hidden message about a green bottle. These clues lead her to an ancient Indian dwelling, a prisoner, a chest of gold hearts, a gang of thieves, the revised book had the title changed to of instead of at, and doesnt expand the biographies of the cousins significantly. Whereas the ranch is depicted as slow, and a young doctor is interested in Nancy. Tandy illustrated the original dust jacket and internal illustrations, and the frontispiece, in 1950, Bill Gillies revised the cover art, which featured Nancy on a rearing horse. The art was revised for the new story in 1965, this time by Rudy Nappi, though Ned Nickerson is mentioned in passing in this book as being in Europe, Nancy doesnt actually meet Ned until two books later, The Clue in the Diary, #7. The mistake was made when this title was revised, in the revised text, Nancy is said to be knitting a sweater for Ned, identified as her boyfriend, in the first chapter. George references the sweater and Ned again in the final chapter, since Nancy has not yet met Ned in the series, this error was corrected in subsequent printings in the first chapter substituting Ned with her father, Carson Drew. The last chapter still mentioned Ned as the one who would receive the sweater, many printings later, Georges remark in the last chapter was changed from Ned to your dad when she mentions the sweater Nancy is knitting. However, Ned is still mentioned in book as being in Europe. Sometime in early 2011, interactive entertainment developer, Her Interactive, Shadow Ranch is available only for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, priced at $4.99 for the iPad and $1.99 for the iPhone and iPod Touch
15.
The Secret of Red Gate Farm
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The Secret of Red Gate Farm is the sixth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series, written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, It was first published in 1931. There is no front flyleaf for the 1989 edition of this book, out on a leisurely shopping trip, Nancy, Bess and George encounter an odd French-Chinese perfume saleswoman, who is reluctant to sell a particular fragrance to Bess. On a return trip to River Heights, they ponder her odd behavior and encounter the malnourished Millie Byrd. Millie becomes acquainted with the girls, and when Nancy accompanies her to a job interview, millies grandmother, owner of Red Gate Farm, welcomes the trio and Millie to her farm where they plan to vacation as paid boarders, and assist with waiting on other boarders. Once on the farm, Nancy uncovers a strange group called The Black Snake Colony—a nature cult—who are tenants on a portion of Mrs. Byrds farm. Accused of passing counterfeit money, Nancy shares details of the odd colony, Nancy, Bess, George, and Millie go undercover disguised in the white robes and hoods worn by the cult members, and join them in their cave hideaway. This volume also serves to develop the Bess and George characters. For the 1961 version of the book, the elements did not change much. George is bitten by a snake, and one of the agents is the son of a boarder at Red Gate Farm. Al Sniggs, gruff right-hand man of Maurice Hale, is now named Al Snead, the original cover art and four illustrations were executed by R. H. Tandy. He updated his own frontispiece to pen and ink in 1943, in 1950, Bill Gillies introduced new art which was prominently featured in promotions and advertisements, as well as on one-half of Rudy Nappis endpaper design, introduced in 1953. The iconic image is of Nancy spying on a cave from behind a tree, because the story is nearly the same as the original version, the art was retained when the 1961 revision was introduced. It was never revised again, and remains in print as of 2009, various editions have come under criticism from adult collectors, mainly because the costumes worn by the Colony members resemble KKK apparel
16.
The Clue in the Diary
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The Clue in the Diary is the seventh volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series, and was first published in 1932 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Its text was revised in 1962 and this is the last manuscript Mildred Wirt Benson wrote in her initial run. She would return for volume 11, The Clue of the Broken Locket, as they are driving, a luxurious roadside estate bursts into flames. The girls park the car and make sure no one is trapped inside. In doing so, Nancy sees someone fleeing the property, and she picks up this clue, and as firefighters and gawkers arrive on the scene, she notices an attractive young man moving her car away from the flying embers. At first suspicious of Ned Nickerson, Nancy warms to him when he helps her out of a jam, Ned proves to be a good friend, and is a perennial admirer of Nancys from then on. Meanwhile, Mrs. Swensons husband is missing, and she identifies his diary as the one picked up at the fire. To top it all off, the owner of the house, Felix Raybolt, is missing. Raybolt, it out, swindles inventors like Swenson out of their patents and copyrights. Nancy struggles to decipher the diary and find the two missing men, aided by her best friends, and a new friend, the attentive Ned Nickerson. The 1962 revision added internal illustrations, featuring drawings of an immaculately dressed Nancy and chums sleuthing. All of these drawings are present in editions published through 2009
17.
Nancy's Mysterious Letter
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Nancys Mysterious Letter is the eighth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1932 and was penned by Walter Karig, due to Karig having died in 1956, the 1932 version passed into the public domain in Canada and other countries that have a life plus 50 policy, in 2007. In the late autumn after returning from Red Gate Farm on a day trip, Nancy and her friends enjoy hot cocoa, postman Ira Nixon, nearing retirement, is invited inside, and leaves his mailbag in the vestibule, where it is stolen. Nancy is summoned by postal authorities, who accuse her of being involved in the theft, which threatens the postmans pension and career. In the meantime, she is invited to spend a weekend as a guest of Ned Nickerson at Emerson College, where a big game will take place. Nancy encounters low-brow Mrs. Sailor Joe Skeets, who accuses her of wrongdoing due to her own missing letter containing money, strangely, the letters are re-posted later. Nancy receives a letter from British solicitors informing her of a Nancy Smith Drew, Nancy has no middle name or initial and she searches for her namesake. The primary suspect becomes Edgar Dixon, the brother of her mail carrier. Mrs. Skeets provides a clue, as does George Fayne, Ned performs well in the big game, during which Nancy sees the suspect in the stadium. Nancy tries to contact with Nancy S. Drew. While she investigates during a layover, she and Ned discover a lonely-hearts mail racket where money is solicited for introduction services. Nancy saves the day for Miss Drew, and helps her avoid marriage to a crook, the revised edition is largely condensed, but employs the same plot. Sub-plots involving early snowfall adding days to the Emerson trip and Nancys success at a hotel costume event are eliminated, Ira Dixon becomes Nixon, and the action is accelerated. Nancy still goes to Emerson, but her companion in the original version, the action at Emerson now includes someone attempting to harm Nancy by releasing a heavy curtain after luring her to a deserted theater stage. Nancy is also waylaid at the airport while going there to find her namesake, the teen sleuth is lured into the wash room by a young woman who tells Nancy someone is sick. Once inside, the woman grabs Nancy and holds a cloth over Nancys nose. Forced to breathe the anesthetic, Nancy faints into the womans arms, the details involving the football game are modernized and abridged to reduce this story element. The original 1932 artwork is by the fashion illustrator Russell H. Tandy, Nancy is depicted chasing Edgar at the football stadium, with a glossy frontispiece of Nancy at the postal inspectors office and three glossy internal illustrations included in the original imprint
18.
The Sign of the Twisted Candles
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The Sign of the Twisted Candles is the ninth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. As the second written by Walter Karig, it was originally published in 1933 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. In the course of solving the mystery of an old mans disappearing fortune, the second of three novels by ghostwriter Walter Karig, this story focuses on Nancys encounter with a 100-year-old man at The Sign of the Twisted Candles, a roadside inn and restaurant. Nancy and her friends, Bess and George, take afternoon tea there while waiting out a storm and they encounter Asa Sidney, celebrating his 100th birthday, and the pathetic maid and waitress, Carol Wipple, mistreated by her adoptive parents, Frank and Emma Jemmit. Nancy discovers Mr. Sidney is a relative of Bess and George. This leaves Nancy chumless, as the refuse to associate with Nancy. Carol is named as the benefactress, and Nancy sets out to prove Frank. Nancy also must discover why Asa was interested in young Carol, meanwhile, relatives from the Sidney and Boonton families fight over the money. Carol is discovered to be the great-niece of Asa Sidney and thus owns the rights to a number of inventions awaiting patents from Sidney, the family feud is resolved due to Nancys discoveries. The original 1933 artwork is by the fashion illustrator Russell H. Tandy, in the original edition, Nancy is shown meeting with Mr. Sidney in a simple summer dress and hat. This edition is noted for its internal art depicting Nancy pushed from a ladder and this illustration and two others were dropped in 1936 and subsequent editions. Bill Gillies 1950 cover art shows Nancy watching from a window as Frank Jemmit digs a hole outside, a more simply executed version of this image was used for half of the end paper used from 1953 to 1959. The end papers show the man, while Nancy hides behind a tree. The 1968 cover art shows a flip-haired Nancy near a candle with Asa glowering in the background and this art was also used as a generic cover stock, in red, blue and pink, for library binding or rebound library copies of all titles in the series
19.
The Password to Larkspur Lane
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The Password to Larkspur Lane is the tenth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1933 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, the actual author was ghostwriter Walter Karig in his third and final Nancy Drew novel and his final appearance for the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Due to Karig passing away in 1956, this book and his other 2 Nancy Drews, as of January 1,2007, have passed into the domain in Canada. The story opens with Nancy tending her prize delphiniums when a carrier pigeon lands in her yard. Nancy contacts the registry for carrier pigeon, meanwhile, housekeeper Hannah Gruen takes a fall and must be treated at the local orthopedists office. Her attending physician, Dr. Events led him to believe the patient was being held prisoner, the only clue to the womans identity is a bracelet with a family crest. Nancy, of course, sets out to track the crest, in the meantime, the pigeon registry contacts Nancy about the bird, suspecting criminality is involved. Effie Schneider, a girl who serves as Hannahs substitute. A ferocious woman attacks Nancy and steals the bracelet from her, Nancy and Helen explore the vicinity, finally finding L. S. Lane. Near the little-used road is a surrounded by delphiniums and an electrified fence. Elderly patients are outside on the grounds, Mrs. Eldridge is also outside near the fence and reveals she is indeed a prisoner. Nancy and Helen disguise themselves as an old lady and her nurse, Nancy reaches Mrs. Eldridge and rescues her. She sends Eldridge safely away with Helen before being imprisoned by the doctor and his partners. Nancy escapes from her prison and sabotages the crooks getaway airplane just as the police arrive. The word The is dropped from the title, the plot is similar, although condensed. Bess and George are included in more of the action, a subplot involving supernatural events at Helen Corning Archers in-laws summer place on Sylvan Lake leads Nancy there. The butler, Morgan, is involved in crimes as well. Bess accompanies Nancy in the operation instead of Helen, with Bess dressing like a nurse
20.
The Clue of the Broken Locket
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The Clue of the Broken Locket is the eleventh volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1934, and was written by Mildred Benson under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, the revised 1965 imprint features two separated cousins, and takes place in Maryland. A ghostly launch appears on a lake, and two twin children are missing. The mysterious Pudding Stone Lodge seems to many secrets that have a lot to do with the cousins and are very important to Nancy. Nancy invite Ned and his friends to come to the lake to help, the cover art for the original dust jacket is uncredited. Tandy drew the frontispiece and original three internal illustrations for the volume in 1934, a facsimile of this edition is available from Applewood Books. In 1950, the art was modernized by Bill Gillies. In 1962 the cover art was modernized again, by Rudy Nappi, Nappi inserted himself as an old man with a pipe on the cover. In 1965, when the story was revised, Nappi made another cover, in print today, showing a dark, sinister lake, with Nancy, Bess, and George discovering the title object while wading to a ruined boat
21.
The Message in the Hollow Oak
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The Message in the Hollow Oak is the twelfth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene and first published in 1935, Nancy Drew finds out that she has won a rather unusual prize in a contest, a piece of land in Canada. She takes a trip, her first outside of the United States, as she is traveling by train to Canada, she meets an author named Ann Chapelle. Suddenly, the crashes, and everything is thrown into confusion. Nancy and her two friends, Bess Marvin and George Fayne, are uninjured, but Chapelle is taken to a nearby hospital, gravely injured. Along with this request, Nancy also has another problem, Two men have heard that there might be gold on Nancys land, new York City detectives cant find a clue to a missionarys fortune, which is hidden in a hollow oak tree. Nancy goes to a site in Illinois that is connected to the mystery. She joins an archeological dig and stays on site, in Illinois
22.
The Mystery of the Ivory Charm
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The Mystery of the Ivory Charm is the thirteenth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1936 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, the actual author was ghostwriter Mildred Wirt Benson. This is one of the few Nancy Drew books where an acknowledgement has been made to Mildred Wirt Benson. The acknowledgement from the 1974 edition reads as follows, Acknowledgement is made to Mildred Wirt Benson, the plot finds Nancy, Bess, and George investigating a mysterious boy from India. The boy, Coya, works for a circus, and is treated poorly by his guardian, Rai, also a native of India. Coya runs away from his guardian and seeks asylum at the Drew home in River Heights. Soon after his arrival, the girls begin investigating property owned by the unusual Miss Anita Allison and they encounter a house with no insides, and a hidden tunnel. The property mysteriously catches fire, revealing a hidden cache of jewels, Nancy traces Coyas parentage and uncovers a sinister kidnapping plot involving both Miss Allison and Rai. The climax also reveals a secret about the charm. This version is similar to the original text. Some character names are updated or altered and Miss Allison became Mrs. Allison, harriet Stratemeyer Adams and her employees at the Stratemeyer Syndicate completed the revisions. The 1936 edition featured cover art by Russell H. Tandy, Tandy updated his frontispiece to a plain pen and ink drawing for printings after 1943. Rudy Nappi illustrated new cover art for the picture cover binding in 1962. An uncredited illustrator completed interior illustrations for the revision
23.
The Whispering Statue
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The Whispering Statue is the fourteenth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was originally published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1937, an updated, revised, and largely different story was published under the same title in 1970. Nancy, Bess, and George encounter a troublesome stray terrier on their way to the festivities of a new park. The terrier carries the handbag of one of the guest speakers into a nearby pond, Nancy retrieves the handbag, and uses the terrier to prompt the speaker during her address. Nancy learns that the woman seeks her estranged husband, Nancy keeps the terrier temporarily, and takes it with her when she, her father, and friends go on a retreat to the seashore. On the train, the girls observe elderly Bernice Conger, once there, the girls find a statue that bears an uncanny resemblance to Nancy, in a whispering pose. Further mysterious actions occur when Mrs. Conger acknowledges that she is being swindled, a seaplane accident leads Nancy to the estranged husband she has been seeking. In the climax of the story, Nancy hides behind the statue, Nancy is asked to solve a puzzling mystery, whereupon she encounters a second case. The first mystery concerns a collection of rare books. The second mystery involves the theft of a beautiful marble statue, which is thought to whisper. She becomes an employee of the dealer, with the alias Debbie Lynbrook. The mystery becomes complicated when the marble statue is discovered to be fake. The original 1937 cover art is by Russell H. Tandy, rudy Nappi illustrated the same scene for the 1962 picture cover edition, with updated clothing and hairstyles. Nappi also illustrated the cover of the 1970 edition, which is blue and white. Adult collectors of juvenile series often discuss artwork and plot elements in various fanzines, the original story introduces the recurring character of Nancys dog Togo, who begins as a bull terrier but is mentioned as a fox terrier or illustrated as a Scottish terrier in later appearances. In the revision, Nancy and her friends hide by kneeling inside three empty picture frames, a somewhat laughable idea, the statue whispers because of special holes drilled in the original that the wind could pass through when positioned in a garden. The artwork on the 1970 cover and interior text illustrations make the resemblance to Nancy undeniable. Since the statue is a likeness of a woman, it is anachronistic that the statue sports a hairstyle not popularized until 1960 or later
24.
The Haunted Bridge
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The Haunted Bridge is the fifteenth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was originally published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1937, nancys father Carson Drew is on the trail of an international ring of jewel thieves, and asks her to assist him in his pursuit. The trail leads to a resort area. Before Nancy has a chance to work on her fathers case. In the dense woods nearby is an old wooden footbridge guarded by a ghost, intrigued by the caddys story, Nancy decides to investigate. Several riddles confront the young detective as she attempts to solve the mystery of the haunted bridge and track down a woman suspected of being a key member of the gang of the jewelry thieves
25.
The Clue of the Tapping Heels
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The Clue of the Tapping Heels is the sixteenth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1939, an updated, revised, and largely different story was published under the same title in 1970. The 1939 version is published as an edition by Applewood Books. As of 2006, this title is still in print, Nancy Drew, age 16, has recently heard from her neighbor, Mrs. Carter, that her rare kittens are being stolen. Also, Mrs. Carter has accused a man named Fred of stealing a disabled child’s funds, the action soon takes Nancy to Boston and a cruise ship, where Nancy meets further peril in her attempts to restore the childs funds, and resolve the stolen-kitten quandary. Nancy is appearing as a tap dancer in a charity show, along with chums Bess and George, she begins investigating strange tapping sounds at the elderly Mrs. Purdys home. Purdy is a cat enthusiast who owns mostly valuable breeding stock, Nancy determines there is a hoax afoot, there are attacks at the charity show, and the mysterious tapping sounds continue. Tandy cover art shows an animated and visibly angry Nancy accompanied Bess and they are seizing a ladder at Nancys house by moonlight. Discussions among collectors draw the conclusion that elements of this depiction were incorrect because the art department dictated that the scene must show Nancy with her friends. Also, the house doesnt match the description of Nancy Drews home, the revised cover artwork by Rudy Nappi for the 1962 picture cover shows the same scene, corrected to match the actual text, but lacking action. Nancy, alone, sees the ladder outside her home at night and this version was also painted by Nappi. Adult collectors of nostalgia and juvenile series often discuss book titles in fanzines or list serves. The original Clue of the Tapping Heels places much focus on cats, there is a minor element of politically incorrectness in that one crook, wearing partial make-up and wigs is described as a freckle-faced colored man. Incense is used as a drug against Nancy and George, an element removed from the revision, further, a young boy suffering from developmental and intellectual disabilities regains his full faculties after surgery, which is highly unlikely
26.
The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk
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The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk is the seventeenth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series, published under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. It was first published in 1940 by Grosset & Dunlap, the Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk is sure to please everyone, not only the tween girls it is aimed towards. Nancy plans a trip to South America by boat, along with chums George and they have joined a tour being conducted by an exclusive girls school. To Nancys amazement, the mother of one of the students protests Nancys presence on the tour, Nancy must also unravel the mysteries of smuggled jewelry, and purloined documents from an African government. The 1940 cover art depicts Nancy and George attempting to stop Nancys trunk from being removed from the ship, the 1962 art was updated by Rudy Nappi, and depicts Nancy, Bess and George in the same scene, wearing Kennedy suits. For the revised story in 1976, Nappi presents Nancy against a background of brown, with a montage of images, including a jewel cache
27.
The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion
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The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion is the eighteenth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series published by Grossett & Dunlap, and was first published in 1941. The original text was written by ghostwriter Mildred Wirt Benson, based upon an outline from Stratemeyer Syndicate co-owner Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. Nancys father Carson Drew enlists her help in tracking down a missing heiress and they later hear that someone was murdered near the mansion, and upon investigating they hear strange noises emanating from within. Knowing that he could not possibly be guilty of sabotage, Nancy, during the Drews investigation, Nancy becomes suspicious of an old, spooky mansion. Behind a high enclosure, wild African animals roam about the extensive grounds. Nancy discovers that something besides the training of animals is going on at the mysterious moss-covered mansion estate. The original dust jacket was painted by Russell H. Tandy, and depicts Nancy, Bess, Tandy also illustrated a frontispiece, this volume is the first in the series to have only one illustration on plain paper, previously, glossy, highly detailed art was used. The cover, but not the interior illustration, was updated to the scene, set in the 1960s, with Nancy, Bess and George. Nappi also illustrated the new location with Nancy in the foreground stalked by a panther. An uncredited artist provided five internal line drawings and a frontispiece for the revised text
28.
The Quest of the Missing Map
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The Quest of the Missing Map is the nineteenth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1942 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, the actual author was ghostwriter Mildred Wirt Benson. Nancy investigates a small cottage at the Chatham estate and discovers a connection between the mysterious occurrences at the cottage and an island where a lost treasure is said to be buried. With one half of a map, Nancy sets out to find a twin brother who holds the other half. The mystery becomes dangerous when an assailant hears about the treasure and is determined to push Nancy off the trail, can she endure this and other grave dangers, and recover in time to solve the mystery
29.
The Clue in the Jewel Box
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The Clue in the Jewel Box is the twentieth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1943 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, the actual author was ghostwriter Mildred Wirt Benson. An antique dealers revelation about a former queens priceless heirloom leads Nancy on a series of exciting yet dangerous adventures, madame Alexandra, who is living in exile in River Heights, asks Nancy to search for her long-lost grandson. Using an old, faded photo of the prince at age four, a secret in the old jewel box helps Nancy unveil a slick impostor, and bring the mystery to its thrilling conclusion
30.
The Secret in the Old Attic
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The Secret in the Old Attic is the twenty-first volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1944 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, the actual author was ghostwriter Mildred Wirt Benson. Nancy searches for clues to missing music manuscripts written by deceased soldier Philip March, marchs daughter and his father, living together on the family estate, are rapidly running out of money, and believe some of Fipps music is being sold and played on the radio. Nancy goes to the estate to investigate, with the assistance of Bess, in the meantime, her fathers client solicits her aid in his investigation of a rival company, which seems to be manufacturing silk cloth using his patented methods. In the meantime, the girls are all planning to attend an Emerson College dance, except for Nancy, could Diane Dight, rich daughter of the owner of the Dight firm, which Nancy is investigating, have turned Neds head. And what is Bushy Trott, manic scientist, doing at the Dight plant, Nancy continues trying to solve both mysteries, discovering hidden songs in the process. All the while, she tries unsuccessfully to shed few tears over Ned, the resolution of both cases and her romantic plight are quite climactic. The revised version, still in print, is a version of the original story. It is shorter by five chapters, and includes Diane Dight, collectors of the series seem to greatly enjoy the original art by Russell H. Tandy, which depicts Nancy among highly Gothic elements, by candlelight, in the old attic. In 1962, Rudy Nappi gave Nancy a modern flip hairstyle and changed the color to red and this cover plays heavily on the spooky elements popular during the Dark Shadows era
31.
The Clue in the Crumbling Wall
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The Clue in the Crumbling Wall is the twenty-second volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1945 under Carolyn Keene, a pseudonym of the ghostwriter Mildred Wirt Benson, Nancy and her friends work to find an inheritance concealed in the walls of an old mansion before it can be discovered and stolen by some unscrupulous men. The original art, by R. H, tandy shows Nancy, Bess and George removing a box that they have found while hiding from two men were hacking away at the stone walls of a garden walkway. Bess is depicted with very dark brown hair, and all three girls are in feminine clothing, contrary to what the text of the book describes. Nancy is depicted in the dress in the frontispiece. The cover was updated with revised art in 1962 to show the same scene, the frontispiece was not updated in this edition. The story was revised for a 1973 edition with new art showing a montage of Heath Castle, the vandals. The art work of the 1973 edition included a frontispiece and the illustrations that were described as crude and lacking in detail, according to adult critics
32.
The Clue in the Old Album
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The Clue in the Old Album is the twenty-fourth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1947 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, Nancy witnesses a purse snatching and pursues the thief. She rescues the purse, but not its contents, then is asked by the owner, the source of light will heal all ills, but a curse will follow him who takes it from the gypsies. This is one of the clues Nancy is given to find an old album, a lost doll, and a missing gypsy violinist
33.
The Ghost of Blackwood Hall
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The Ghost of Blackwood Hall is the twenty-fifth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1948 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, the actual author was ghostwriter Mildred Wirt Benson. Nancy Drews jewelers customer Mrs. Putney asks Nancy and her friends to recover her stolen jewels. The search for the thieves takes Nancy, Bess, and George to New Orleans, Mrs. Putneys odd behavior and two young women involve Nancy in a case involving a cruel hoax being perpetrated at the abandoned Blackwood Hall. Nancys father, Mr. Drew, also helps solve this mystery by contacting his workers, and helping him find the man that is connected to this mysterious mystery
34.
The Clue of the Leaning Chimney
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The Clue of the Leaning Chimney is the twenty-sixth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1949 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, the actual authors were ghostwriters George Waller, Jr. and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. A rare and valuable Chinese vase is stolen from a pottery shop, during the investigation, Nancy searches for a leaning chimney, which leads her to missing pottery experts
35.
The Secret of the Wooden Lady
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The Secret of the Wooden Lady is the twenty-seventh volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1950 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, the actual author was ghostwriter Margaret Scherf. Nancy, Bess, and George travel to Boston Harbor to assist Captain Easterly, the ships figurehead of a wooden lady is missing. Once the mystery is solved, the history of the ship is revealed
36.
The Clue of the Black Keys
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The Clue of the Black Keys is the twenty-eighth volume in the Nancy Drew mystery series. It was first published in 1951 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, the actual authors were ghostwriters Wilhelmina Rankin and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. Prof. Terry Scott went to River Heights to ask the help of Carson Drew to help him to find Dr. Joshua Pitt. Mr. Drew thought that the case was more of a mystery, so he referred him to Nancy Drew, before the professors had time to translate the cipher, the tablet disappeared together with Dr. Pitt, leaving only the bottom half of one of the keys. Terry suspected the Tinos because they vanished when the cipher stone, someone tried to steal the half-key. Sergeant Malloy helped them identify the thief, Juarez Tino, Terry gave the half-key to Nancy and that night a burglar broke into the Drews house. A thief stole Terrys things and documents from the hotel room, Nancy asked her fathers advice, and he suggests finding the other expedition members. Nancy and George meet with Dr. Graham, and he says the four expedition members trust one another, ned Nickerson asks Nancy to drive his fraternity brother in Emerson College, Prof. Terence Scott, to his lecture. Bess and George trail Mr. Porterly, and overhear his telephone conversation planning harm to Nancy, Dr. Anderson tells Nancy that Mr. Juarez Tino telephoned to say that hed reveal where the cipher and Doctor Pitt are for a price. After Terry Scotts lecture, Mrs. Lillian Wagnell asked him to decipher her sea captain grandfathers old diary, Nancy doubts Mrs. Wagnells intent, and Mrs. Prescott mentions that Mrs. Wagnell doesnt have a sea captain grandfather. Mrs. Wagnell doesn’t want Terry to borrow the diary so Nancy suggests he take the important pages, Carson Drew received a letter from Caswell P. Breed in Baltimore, a relative of Dr. Pitt, the Drews went to Baltimore but Mr. Breed sent no letter. Terry discovered that the Wagnells and Porters were related to the stuepeds, after those things happened, Terry went to Mexico and Nancy decided to join the educational trip of Dr. Anderson in the Florida Keys. A day before Nancy went to Florida, Juarez searched their house for the half-key, when Nancy got to Florida she asked Dr. Anderson to work on a special assignment with Fran Oakes, to look for the Black Keys amongst the Florida Keys. Fran Oakes introduces Nancy to Jack Walker, her cousin and they went to Two Line Parker who knows about the Florida Keys history. The fisherman told her about the Black Falcon, during their rest, Nancy found the burned letters in Porterlys’ place. There was a part of letter that talked about her. Nancy and Dr. Anderson saw Juarez Tino in a speedboat while they were searching the Florida Keys looking for where the Black Falcon sunk and they tried to follow him but he lost them
37.
The Mystery at the Ski Jump
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The Mystery at the Ski Jump is the twenty-ninth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1952 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, the actual author was ghostwriter Alma Sasse. Nancy, Bess, and George follow the trail of fur thieves to New York, while trying to catch the thieves, Nancy must catch a woman named Mitzi Channing who is using Nancys identity. Nancy finds out that everyone who has been buying from Mizti is in a dreadful trap
38.
The Clue of the Velvet Mask
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The Clue of the Velvet Mask is the thirtieth volume in the original Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was Mildred Bensons final ghostwrite for the series, the plot and story take place largely in Nancys hometown of River Heights. Nancy tries to solve a mystery about a gang of event thieves robbing homes during parties, lectures, musicals, much of the original story contains elements of dramatic crime dramas, the villains are darker in tone than many other entries in the series. As the story opens, Nancy and friends attempt to thwart suspicious, at the party, Nancy finds an odd, black velvet hood, which she retains as a clue, most of the guests are wearing simpler, smaller masks as the evening is very warm. Her acquaintance, Linda, who is an employee of the Lightner company, is suspected of wrongdoing, at subsequent Lightner events, Nancy encounters other thieves, and is nearly suffocated by an evil pair of crooks. Nancy and George rent wigs to switch identities, however, George is kidnapped, her disguise removed, is put under the influence of hypnotic, mind-altering drugs, and threatened. This results in a timid, frightened characterization, paralyzed by fear, George refuses to help in the investigation, Nancy focuses on the executive assistant at Lightners, Mr. Tombar, while she attempts to decode mysterious numbers written on the lining of the mask. She realizes that the numbers actually mark dates of events at which robberies took place and she encounters thieves at a wedding, a musicale, where they nearly smother her, and a lecture. Finally, Nancy attends another masquerade as a girl, and she stops a robbery in process. She and Bess investigate the ramshackle Blue Iris Inn in the countryside, trying to find out why Peter Tombar owns the property. On a hunch, she and Bess take a visit while talking with the recovering George Fayne. Only paranoid George knows where they are, and can identify the clothing last worn by Nancy and she must overcome her mental breakdown and get on the case when the girls fail to return. Crime noir elements feature heavily in this book, and Ned Nickerson is prominently featured as a partner in crime solving. Nancy is accosted by a woman in the chapters, comes face to face with a thief at a wedding reception. George Fayne is drugged and a victim of criminal threat, finally, Nancy and Bess are kidnapped, blindfolded, and abused verbally. Additionally, the revised version removes questionable descriptive elements of Georges drugged status and her discovery of a dress button Nancy has planted at the scene is downplayed. In the original version, Nancy has changed clothes, so only George knows what Nancy and this book was the first promotional release for the 1959 debut of the Nancy Drew Readers Club. The covers of volumes released in group are two-toned pastels, featuring full color jackets and frontispieces
39.
The Ringmaster's Secret
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The Ringmasters Secret is the thirty-first volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in late 1953 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, the actual author was ghostwriter Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. Coincidentally, the Sims Circus, former employer of Nancys equestrian instructor, is coming to town, Nancy investigates the link between the unhappy circus star, young aerialist, Lolita, and her bracelet. Lolita is the daughter of the acting manager, Ringmaster Kroon. Pietro, the young, handsome clown, tells Nancy Lolita has the charm from her bracelet. Nancys regular appearances at the circus, and her detective reputation brings the ire of Kroon, when a bareback rider is injured, Nancy is asked to join the show as her replacement. Bess Marvin stands in at an interview with Kroon, and agrees to audition later, while Nancy lightens her hair, Nancys travels with the circus come to an abrupt end when she and George are kidnapped and left aboard the car of a freight train. After their escape, Nancy continues following up on clues, including a woman in England linked to both the bracelet and Lolita. In the climax of the story, Nancy is rescued by Ned when Kroon tries to imprison her in the lions cage,1974 Edition, the story is a shortened and abridged version of the original, lacking detail in the subplots, and quickening the pace. Nancy uses a wig to resemble Bess, as well, since her hair is titian in the revision, the story is basically a simplified version of the original. Nancy is illustrated as mature, dressed in tailored clothes, in series of book club editions with illustrations by Polly Bolian. The books featured eight internal illustrations on double pages, and a color frontispiece, the books removed prior- and next-book notices and promotions, and all other details that would serve to sequence the books. Nancy is shown as willowy, with short, wavy hair, and this volume is criticized by adult collectors, who regularly discuss and review Nancy Drew plot elements. The original art was executed in 1953 by illustrator Rudy Nappi, and shows a very sedate Nancy in a shirtwaist dress typical of the period, an unknown artist executed the original frontispiece. In 1974, Nappi updated his art to a collage of the ringmaster, an unknown artist executed highly criticized internal illustrations showing Nancy wearing mostly bell-bottoms and t-shirts for the updated edition
40.
The Scarlet Slipper Mystery
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The Scarlet Slipper Mystery is the thirty-second volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was published in 1954 by Grosset & Dunlap and written by Charles S, strong under the house pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Nancy meets the Fontaines, refugees from the country of Centrovia. The Fontaines receive threats from an assailant, and Nancy offers to help. Nancy begins her search for them and becomes involved in a mystery involving a pair of scarlet dance slippers, a painting, there are many people pretending to be friends of the Fontaines, but Nancy does not know if they are lying
41.
The Witch Tree Symbol
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The Witch Tree Symbol is the thirty-third volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1955 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, the actual author was ghostwriter Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. When a neighbor asks Nancy Drew to accompany her to an old uninhabited mansion, a new mystery opens up, Nancy finds a witch tree symbol that leads her to Pennsylvania Dutch country in pursuit of a cunning and ruthless thief. The friendly welcome the young detective and her friends Bess and George receive from the Amish people soon changes to hostility when it is rumored that Nancy is a witch, superstition helps her adversary in his attempt to get her off his trail, but Nancy does not give up. She persistently uncovers one clue after another, nancys intelligence and sleuthing ability finally lead to the fascinating solution of this puzzling case
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The Hidden Window Mystery
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The Hidden Window Mystery is the thirty-fourth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1956 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, the actual author was ghostwriter Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. Nancy and her friends, Bess and George travel to Charlottesville, the girls stay with Nancys cousin Susan. Nancy discovers someone is trying to keep her away from Charlottesville, the mansion they are staying at is said to be haunted by a mysterious ghost. Also Nancys new neighbors brother, Alonzo Rugby is in Charlottesville and is a suspect in this mystery
