In particular, I loved how she is always a mine of (often unexpected) information: “I’ll wire the International Federation of American Homing Pigeon Fanciers and give them the number stamped on the bird’s leg ring. She doesn’t have to be a stereotypical tomboy to be clever and brave - she’s just as capable of throwing together a delicious dinner or picking out a stylish outfit for a college dance as she is scaling a wall or shooting a gun, as she quite casually does to save her friends from a lynx attack in the original version of The Secret at Shadow Ranch. Speaking foreign languages, steering a boat and riding a horse all come naturally to her. Whatever she attempts - skiing, amateur dramatics, ice-skating, tennis - she turns out to be a pro.
I loved Nancy’s cool-headed intelligence and all-round competence. Katherine Woodfine: I loved Nancy’s cool-headed intelligence and all-round competence.
Even in the early 1990s when I was reading about her in Armada paperbacks I borrowed from Chorley Library, this made Nancy different: in a context in which female characters were still generally on the sidelines, she stood firmly at the centre. It is Nancy who drives the action: no one would dare instruct her to stay behind and make the sandwiches. Although she is young (16 in the original books, 18 in the revised editions) she is always in control: adults and authority figures listen to her respectfully and even her father, “famous lawyer Carson Drew” generally can’t crack a difficult case without her assistance.Īlthough friends Bess and George and boyfriend Ned are there to help, she is resolutely independent: Ned is her sidekick, never the other way round. Throughout the books, she is brave, smart and confident, even in the face of danger. No one could ever describe Nancy as flighty. In these books, it was always the boys who led the way when it came to solving the mystery, investigating the secret tunnels or exploring the ruined castle whilst poor Anne was left behind to wash up the picnic lunch. The girl characters in these books were always depicted as being somehow flighty - impetuous, a bit moody, usually either timid like Anne or headstrong and “difficult” like George, who was continually being reprimanded by Julian and Dick. I read a lot of mysteries at this time - especially series by Enid Blyton, such as the Famous Five, as well as books by (the less well-known) Malcolm Saville. Most of all though, it was the character of Nancy herself. So what was it about Nancy Drew that grabbed my attention? Perhaps it was the romance of the titles ( The Secret in the Old Lace, The Sign of the Twisted Candles ) the exotic locations, or simply the satisfaction of seeing the mystery solved.
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