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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
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The Original Text (OT) The Password to Larkspur Lane is just a crazy mess, but I couldn't put it down because I had never read the OT before and had no idea how it would end.
The ghostwriter was Walter Karig. His first Nancy Drew book, Nancy's Mysterious Letter, was just awful, full of misogynist writings. His second book, The Sign of the Twisted Candles was much better. The Password to Larkspur Lane fell somewhere in-between with me. It was good, but not great. There were quite a few head-scratching sentences. "Nancy, despite her remarkable deductive powers, was a normal, healthy girl, and a bedtime lunch appealed to her as much as it does to any young person." Or, "It was Nancy's turn to look astonished. She often forgot that few people were gifted with her sense of observation and deduction."
In true 1930's form, Nancy's encounters are not what you'd find today. Nancy's in her yard one day picking larkspur for a flower show (I prefer the name delphinium for the flower) when a low flying plane (flying so low she can make out a symbol on the tail) hits a bird that lands in the yard. It's a carrier pigeon. That carrier pigeon is injured, and is carrying a message. Nancy calls the International Carrier Pigeon Association (she does not have to look up the number--Nancy is all-knowing!) and finds out the bird is not registered to them. A rogue pigeon and a mysterious message lead Nancy on to her next mystery.
There's a kidnapped doctor and an elderly woman being held hostage at some shady sanitorium. Karig makes Carson Drew sound not-so Carson Drew-like: "It is more important to me that you are free from harm than that all the mysterious women in the world should have their freedom." That does not sound like the caring Carson Drew I grew up with.
There's the racial stereotypes we often find in these 1930's volumes. Helen Corning just calls her servant Cook, who speaks in broken English like the stereotypical black servant. And once again, Karig forgot that Helen Corning should be married to Jim Archer by now. His Helen has her dating random guys.
One line cracked me up. When Nancy is asking for information about the suspected kidnappers, the hotel proprietor says the Tookers are mysterious because "They don't come to church, or don't subscribe to the local paper." Crazy dialogue. Crazy plot lines, but somehow it works.
The Original Text (OT) The Password to Larkspur Lane is just a crazy mess, but I couldn't put it down because I had never read the OT before and had no idea how it would end.
The ghostwriter was Walter Karig. His first Nancy Drew book, Nancy's Mysterious Letter, was just awful, full of misogynist writings. His second book, The Sign of the Twisted Candles was much better. The Password to Larkspur Lane fell somewhere in-between with me. It was good, but not great. There were quite a few head-scratching sentences. "Nancy, despite her remarkable deductive powers, was a normal, healthy girl, and a bedtime lunch appealed to her as much as it does to any young person." Or, "It was Nancy's turn to look astonished. She often forgot that few people were gifted with her sense of observation and deduction."
In true 1930's form, Nancy's encounters are not what you'd find today. Nancy's in her yard one day picking larkspur for a flower show (I prefer the name delphinium for the flower) when a low flying plane (flying so low she can make out a symbol on the tail) hits a bird that lands in the yard. It's a carrier pigeon. That carrier pigeon is injured, and is carrying a message. Nancy calls the International Carrier Pigeon Association (she does not have to look up the number--Nancy is all-knowing!) and finds out the bird is not registered to them. A rogue pigeon and a mysterious message lead Nancy on to her next mystery.
There's a kidnapped doctor and an elderly woman being held hostage at some shady sanitorium. Karig makes Carson Drew sound not-so Carson Drew-like: "It is more important to me that you are free from harm than that all the mysterious women in the world should have their freedom." That does not sound like the caring Carson Drew I grew up with.
There's the racial stereotypes we often find in these 1930's volumes. Helen Corning just calls her servant Cook, who speaks in broken English like the stereotypical black servant. And once again, Karig forgot that Helen Corning should be married to Jim Archer by now. His Helen has her dating random guys.
One line cracked me up. When Nancy is asking for information about the suspected kidnappers, the hotel proprietor says the Tookers are mysterious because "They don't come to church, or don't subscribe to the local paper." Crazy dialogue. Crazy plot lines, but somehow it works.
For this and other book reviews, check out www.bargain-sleuth.com and join my Facebook page Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews.
Once again, I thought the Revised Text better. There aren't any continuity errors like there were with Walter Karig's OT. Helen Corning Archer is indeed married in this volume. I had forgotten that The Password to Larkspur Lane featured Helen as well as Bess and George; that had never happened before in the series.
Taking out much of the filler of the Original Text, "Carolyn Keene" added a subplot involving Helen's grandparents at their home on Sylvan Lake. Naturally, their favorite dates, Ned, Burt and Dave happen to be camp counselors across the lake at Lake Hiawatha and make several appearances. Of course, the second mystery Nancy gets herself involved in is tied to the first mystery of the elderly woman being held against her will in a shady sanitorium that happens to have larkspur growing on the estate.
Once again, I thought the Revised Text better. There aren't any continuity errors like there were with Walter Karig's OT. Helen Corning Archer is indeed married in this volume. I had forgotten that The Password to Larkspur Lane featured Helen as well as Bess and George; that had never happened before in the series.
Taking out much of the filler of the Original Text, "Carolyn Keene" added a subplot involving Helen's grandparents at their home on Sylvan Lake. Naturally, their favorite dates, Ned, Burt and Dave happen to be camp counselors across the lake at Lake Hiawatha and make several appearances. Of course, the second mystery Nancy gets herself involved in is tied to the first mystery of the elderly woman being held against her will in a shady sanitorium that happens to have larkspur growing on the estate.
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
I read Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys throughout my school and college days.
Nancy Drew is an amateur detective who solves crimes with occasional help from her best friends, Bess and George and, her boyfriend Ned. She also has occasional help from her father Carson Drew who runs a private law practice. From finding stolen goods to missing persons and solving mysterious happenings, Nancy is a force of nature.
Until I discovered that Carolyn Keene is a pen name for a whole bunch of ghostwriters, I used to feel confused about the slight differences in each character from books to book over the many series of Nancy Drew mysteries. I like the character of Nancy best in the original books written by Mildred Wirt Benson where Nancy is truly a character to root for – an independent and street smart girl with a penchant for trouble.
Nancy Drew is an amateur detective who solves crimes with occasional help from her best friends, Bess and George and, her boyfriend Ned. She also has occasional help from her father Carson Drew who runs a private law practice. From finding stolen goods to missing persons and solving mysterious happenings, Nancy is a force of nature.
Until I discovered that Carolyn Keene is a pen name for a whole bunch of ghostwriters, I used to feel confused about the slight differences in each character from books to book over the many series of Nancy Drew mysteries. I like the character of Nancy best in the original books written by Mildred Wirt Benson where Nancy is truly a character to root for – an independent and street smart girl with a penchant for trouble.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
I agree with Shannon. I love these books because they meant so much to me when I was twelve. I can't bear them now, but I'm nothing if not loyal.