Character

Carson Drew

Nancy Drew is a fictional character appearing in several mystery book series, movies, video games, and TV shows as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwritten by a number…

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Nancy Drew is a fictional character appearing in several mystery book series, movies, video games, and TV shows as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwritten by a number of authors and published under the collective pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Created by Edward Stratemeyer, the founder of the book-packaging firm Stratemeyer Syndicate, as the female counterpart to his Hardy Boys series, the character first appeared in 1930 in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series, which lasted until 2003 and consisted of 175 novels. Over the decades, the character has evolved in response to changes in American culture and tastes. Beginning in 1959, the books were extensively revised and shortened, partly to lower the printing costs, with arguable success. In the revision process, the heroine's original character was changed to be less unruly and violent. In the 1980s, an older and more professional Nancy emerged in a new series, The Nancy Drew Files, that included romantic subplots for the sleuth. Launched in 2004, the Nancy Drew: Girl Detective series features Nancy driving a hybrid electric vehicle and using a cell phone. In 2012, the Girl Detective series ended, and a new series, Nancy Drew Diaries, was launched in 2013. Illustrations of the character evolved over time to reflect contemporary styles.

The Nancy Drew franchise has been adapted into other forms of media with varied success. As of April 2020, the character has been adapted into six feature films, three television series, four television pilots, 34 video games produced by the brand HeR Interactive, and two comic-book series. Film and television adaptations of the character have been met with mixed reviews, and the video games by HeR Interactive have often been lauded. The character proves continuously popular worldwide; at least 80 million copies of the books have been sold, and the books have been translated into over 45 languages.

A cultural icon, Nancy Drew is cited as a formative influence by several women, from Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Sonia Sotomayor to former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and former First Lady Laura Bush. Feminist literary critics have analyzed the character's enduring appeal, arguing variously that Nancy Drew is a mythic heroine, an expression of wish fulfillment, or an embodiment of contradictory ideas about femininity.

Characteristics

Nancy Drew is a fictional amateur detective. She is originally depicted as a blonde-haired and blue-eyed 16-year-old high school graduate, but in later editions is rewritten as a titian-haired and blue-eyed 18-year-old graduate and detective. In the series, she lives in the fictional town of River Heights with her father, attorney Carson Drew, and their housekeeper, Hannah Gruen. Carson is very successful in his job, and is often called away on business for days or even weeks at a time, leaving Nancy on her own—and when this happens, he is always shown to have complete faith and trust in Nancy's ability to look after herself, and to solve mysteries. Nancy for her part is very proud of her father and his work, and is unshakable in her respect and admiration for him. She loses her mother at the age of ten in the original versions and at the age of three in the later version. This loss is reflected in her early independence—running a household since the age of ten with Hannah clearly identified as a servant in the earlier series, who is however later referred to as a surrogate parent. As a teenager, she spends her time solving mysteries; some she stumbles upon, and some begin as cases of her father's.

In the opening volumes, Nancy's closest friend is the somewhat flighty but fun-loving Helen Corning, but this character is quickly supplanted by the fifth book by her two long-term closest friends, cousins Elizabeth "Bess" Marvin and George Fayne. Bess is delicate and feminine, while George is a tomboy. The two are very much opposites, although both are both loyal to Nancy, and usually end up assisting her in the solving of whatever mystery is at hand—Bess much more so than Helen, who is only glimpsed very, very occasionally in later volumes. Nancy is also occasionally joined by her boyfriend Ned Nickerson, a student at Emerson College, who is introduced in the seventh book.

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 a Rock Star and as sweet as Betty Crocker." Nancy is well-off, attractive, and amazingly talented:

At sixteen, she 'had studied psychology after and in school, and was familiar with the power of suggestion and association.' Nancy was a fine painter, spoke French, and had frequently run motorboats. She was a skilled driver who, at sixteen, 'flashed into the garage with a skill born of long practice.' The prodigy was a sure shot, an excellent swimmer, a skillful oarsman, an expert seamstress, a gourmet cook, and a fine bridge player. Nancy brilliantly played tennis and golf and rode like a cowboy. Nancy danced like Ginger Rogers and could administer first aid like the Mayo brothers.

Source: Nancy Drew (CC BY-SA)

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