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shellroch285's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
I’ve loved Nancy Drew ever since I was little, and I was absolutely devastated at the age of 10(ish) when I found out Carolyn Keene wasn’t a real person. I love this book’s narrative prose. There was never a dull moment as I learned about the two women who were mostly responsible for creating Nancy. Such a joy to read!
Content Warnings
Moderate: War and Death
psykobilliethekid's review against another edition
5.0
This book was f*&king amazing! It's in a tie with Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy as best non-fiction narrative for me! The research is amazing, the story well written, and definitely hard to put down. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who's a fan of Nancy Drew and wants to know her origin story. Definitely going to try and find this one to buy sooner than later. ^_^
mokey81's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. I love the story of Nancy Drew and how she came to be. Admittedly, there was a touch of disenchantment, but it was a super interesting read. You got a little bit of general/cultural history as well as a touch of the history of feminism. It was just interesting. And I love that this author took time to share it with all of us.
jadecobain's review against another edition
2.0
It was interesting but it wasn't as good as I hoped it would be.
charlotte_owl's review against another edition
5.0
I would recommend this book, and not only if you are a Nancy Drew fan. Before I read it, I thought perhaps this book would be a biography of the women who wrote Nancy Drew. But actually it was more than that. It was a history of the book series as a whole, the way the publishing industry around children grew, how publishing and books changed as the decades rolled by, how the public reacted to Nancy Drew, and so on. (And it did have biographical information about the two writers as well). I found this book fascinating. Not just as a Nancy Drew fan, but as a person interested in social history, especially female social history. This book really explains how women's lives changed in the US as the decades rolled by, and how Nancy Drew was a factor in all of them. The way publishing and marketing worked in those days was also fascinating.
ms_aprilvincent's review against another edition
4.0
As a fan of Nancy Drew, I really enjoyed this book. When I was growing up and actively reading the books, I wondered how Carolyn Keene was so prolific a writer; I didn't know anything about the Stratemeyer Syndicate at all.
I liked the details of each book's creation. Stratemeyer would write an outline and send it to an author, who would fill in the blanks, as it were, and send it back. These authors would also be cranking out tons of other stories for the Syndicate; it's absolutely astounding how many books Mildred Wirt Benson, for example, wrote during her lifetime (both for the Syndicate and independently).
The author details the rise of women in the twentieth century, and how Nancy Drew changed with the times (or didn't). Obviously, I'm not the only person in the world who grew up with Nancy Drew, but I had no idea how widespread or influential she was/is.
I liked the details of each book's creation. Stratemeyer would write an outline and send it to an author, who would fill in the blanks, as it were, and send it back. These authors would also be cranking out tons of other stories for the Syndicate; it's absolutely astounding how many books Mildred Wirt Benson, for example, wrote during her lifetime (both for the Syndicate and independently).
The author details the rise of women in the twentieth century, and how Nancy Drew changed with the times (or didn't). Obviously, I'm not the only person in the world who grew up with Nancy Drew, but I had no idea how widespread or influential she was/is.
rhiannatherad's review against another edition
4.0
So much I never knew! Makes me want to read a bunch of Nancy Drew now.
bookrec's review against another edition
2.0
Less than expected
What girl didn’t read Nancy Drew? I was really looking forward to this book. The writing needed editing but mostly this was sad to hear what was actually going on. Be careful what you ask for. I would rather keep the illusion that Carolyn Keene was a magical writer than learn the reality of what was actually going on.
What girl didn’t read Nancy Drew? I was really looking forward to this book. The writing needed editing but mostly this was sad to hear what was actually going on. Be careful what you ask for. I would rather keep the illusion that Carolyn Keene was a magical writer than learn the reality of what was actually going on.