The Clue in the Jewel Box by Carolyn Keene

Turns out the queen had a grandson who was smuggled out of the country to live in hiding in.wait for it.America! The only thing the queen has to remember her grandson is an old picture of him at age four, and she wants Nancy to track the guy down. Alright, so in this installment of the plucky teen sleuth's adventures, Nancy finds out that her elderly neighbor is actually a deposed queen from an tactfully-unnamed country, and not two seconds after Nancy meets her the old lady is inviting her over to tea and letting her mess with all the priceless antiques. She is described in every single damn book as being 'titian haired.' (the original series, anyway I don't even know what they've done with the modern revamps - probably made Nancy an official blonde and turned Ned into a sensitive indie-rocker type) 'Titian' means red hair, people. Also contributing to Nancy Drew's prolific existence were Leslie McFarlane, James Duncan Lawrence, Nancy Axelrod, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., and Margaret Scherf.īefore we get to the review portion, I would like to take a moment to gripe about the Goodreads-provided cover image for this book: stop making Nancy a blonde. The role of the writer of 'Carolyn Keene' passed temporarily to Walter Karig who wrote three novels during the Great Depression. Other writers of Nancy Drew volumes include Harriet herself, she wrote most of the series after Mildred quit writing for the Syndicate and in 1959 began a revision of the first 34 texts. In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.

The Nancy Drew books were condensed, racial stereotypes were removed, and the language was updated. In 1959, Harriet, along with several writers, began a 25-year project to revise the earlier Carolyn Keene novels. The Stratemeyer Syndicate's devotion to the series over the years under the reins of Harriet Stratemeyer Adams helped to keep the series alive and on store shelves for each succeeding generation of girls and boys. It was her characterization that helped make Nancy an instant hit. Mildred wrote 23 of the original 30 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories®, including the first three.

Wirt), who breathed such a feisty spirit into Nancy's character. Edna contributed 10 plot outlines before passing the reins to her sister Harriet. For Nancy Drew, the writers used the pseudonym Carolyn Keene to assure anonymity of the creator.Įdna and Harriet Stratemeyer inherited the company from their father Edward Stratemeyer. The company that was the creator of the Nancy Drew series, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, hired a variety of writers.

Carolyn Keene is a writer pen name that was used by many different people- both men and women- over the years.

The Clue in the Jewel Box by Carolyn Keene