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bibliowrecka's review against another edition
4.0
I was never as obsessed with Nancy Drew as some girls were, especially I think because I was growing up in the 80s and 90s when her popularity was starting to wane a little. I remember browsing the long row of yellow spines in the children's section at the library, though, and discovering the more "grown-up" Nancy Drew Case Files series a few years later on my junior high library's shelves. Whether or not you have fond memories of reading Nancy Drew yourself, there's no doubt that just about every American girl (and a lot of boys) from several generations knows OF her at the very least.
I remember the slight feeling of disillusionment I felt when I learned that Carolyn Keane was a pseudonym under which several people wrote. (I felt almost as betrayed as when I discovered that Ann M. Martin didn't write all the Babysitters Club books herself!) In Girl Sleuth, Melanie Rehak traces the lives of the two women who had the most influence on who Nancy came to be. Harriet Stratemeyer Adams was the daughter of the Stratemeyer Syndicate's founder. The Stratemeyer Syndicate was one of the country's first book packagers (think Alloy Entertainment and its many book and TV series), creating well-known series and characters like the Bobbsey Twins, the Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew, then passing off the writing of the books themselves to ghostwriters, who worked according to detailed plot outlines. Harriet and her sister Edna took over the Syndicate after their father died in 1930 and shepherded Nancy's early years while another writer, Mildred Wirt Benson, wrote most of the first 30 books in the series.
I came away from this book with admiration for Harriet and absolute awe for Mildred. They both worked hard to carve a place for themselves in a literary world still heavily dominated by men and men's taste, while still being very much women of their time. I got the feeling that Rehak liked Mildred a lot more than Harriet, and frankly, I did too. Harriet comes off as strong-willed, determined, intelligent, and successful, but also very much as a slightly vainglorious daughter of the upper class who fell prey to many of the prejudices common to that class and era. She went to one of the Seven Sisters colleges in a time when most women didn't even think of higher education, worked in the women's suffrage movement, took over her father's company and built it into a juggernaut that ran successfully for over 50 years, and fought hard to maintain the rights to a character she felt belonged to her alone. But she also wanted to use the Nancy Drew stories to push a very upper-class set of values, and failed to understand the seriousness of the racist and sometimes sexist content that led to a major overhaul of most of the early books in the series in the 1950s (the yellow spine hardcovers that most girls remember reading are these revised versions).
Mildred just seems like a badass. She was an accomplished swimmer and diver and excelled in college athletics, became one of the first women to graduate from the University of Iowa's graduate school of journalism, insisted on working after her marriage when middle-class women were expected to quit immediately, took flying lessons in her 50s, traveled the globe visiting archaeological digs well into her seventies, and was still writing a newspaper column up until her death at 97. Like I said, a badass. She sometimes found it hard to keep quiet about her role as "Carolyn Keane", especially in later years when it felt to her like Harriet was trying to claim all the credit. I imagine Mildred as being an incredibly forceful personality that you admired and respected even while she sometimes drove you crazy.
To wrap things up, I found Rehak's account of Nancy Drew's creators and their lives and times fascinating and hard to put down. I only have a few quibbles. I would have liked to see more attention paid to the books themselves, and maybe more from the point of view of girls who grew up with Nancy. I know the book is meant to be a biography focused on the two women, but if you didn't know about Nancy Drew you'd probably wonder why in the world such a big fuss was being taken over the authors of a children's mystery series. In later chapters she does go a bit more into the cultural impact the books had, but I would have liked more for the earlier stories, as well. I think maybe what I'm really wanting is a critical review of the Nancy Drew books, so maybe I'm looking in the wrong place for this and shouldn't fault Rehak. One other issue for me: the end notes are not very clearly labeled and organized, which sometimes makes it hard to track down her sources. Otherwise, I found this to be a fun read, worthwhile to anyone who's loved Nancy or is interested in the history of books for children.
I remember the slight feeling of disillusionment I felt when I learned that Carolyn Keane was a pseudonym under which several people wrote. (I felt almost as betrayed as when I discovered that Ann M. Martin didn't write all the Babysitters Club books herself!) In Girl Sleuth, Melanie Rehak traces the lives of the two women who had the most influence on who Nancy came to be. Harriet Stratemeyer Adams was the daughter of the Stratemeyer Syndicate's founder. The Stratemeyer Syndicate was one of the country's first book packagers (think Alloy Entertainment and its many book and TV series), creating well-known series and characters like the Bobbsey Twins, the Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew, then passing off the writing of the books themselves to ghostwriters, who worked according to detailed plot outlines. Harriet and her sister Edna took over the Syndicate after their father died in 1930 and shepherded Nancy's early years while another writer, Mildred Wirt Benson, wrote most of the first 30 books in the series.
I came away from this book with admiration for Harriet and absolute awe for Mildred. They both worked hard to carve a place for themselves in a literary world still heavily dominated by men and men's taste, while still being very much women of their time. I got the feeling that Rehak liked Mildred a lot more than Harriet, and frankly, I did too. Harriet comes off as strong-willed, determined, intelligent, and successful, but also very much as a slightly vainglorious daughter of the upper class who fell prey to many of the prejudices common to that class and era. She went to one of the Seven Sisters colleges in a time when most women didn't even think of higher education, worked in the women's suffrage movement, took over her father's company and built it into a juggernaut that ran successfully for over 50 years, and fought hard to maintain the rights to a character she felt belonged to her alone. But she also wanted to use the Nancy Drew stories to push a very upper-class set of values, and failed to understand the seriousness of the racist and sometimes sexist content that led to a major overhaul of most of the early books in the series in the 1950s (the yellow spine hardcovers that most girls remember reading are these revised versions).
Mildred just seems like a badass. She was an accomplished swimmer and diver and excelled in college athletics, became one of the first women to graduate from the University of Iowa's graduate school of journalism, insisted on working after her marriage when middle-class women were expected to quit immediately, took flying lessons in her 50s, traveled the globe visiting archaeological digs well into her seventies, and was still writing a newspaper column up until her death at 97. Like I said, a badass. She sometimes found it hard to keep quiet about her role as "Carolyn Keane", especially in later years when it felt to her like Harriet was trying to claim all the credit. I imagine Mildred as being an incredibly forceful personality that you admired and respected even while she sometimes drove you crazy.
To wrap things up, I found Rehak's account of Nancy Drew's creators and their lives and times fascinating and hard to put down. I only have a few quibbles. I would have liked to see more attention paid to the books themselves, and maybe more from the point of view of girls who grew up with Nancy. I know the book is meant to be a biography focused on the two women, but if you didn't know about Nancy Drew you'd probably wonder why in the world such a big fuss was being taken over the authors of a children's mystery series. In later chapters she does go a bit more into the cultural impact the books had, but I would have liked more for the earlier stories, as well. I think maybe what I'm really wanting is a critical review of the Nancy Drew books, so maybe I'm looking in the wrong place for this and shouldn't fault Rehak. One other issue for me: the end notes are not very clearly labeled and organized, which sometimes makes it hard to track down her sources. Otherwise, I found this to be a fun read, worthwhile to anyone who's loved Nancy or is interested in the history of books for children.
sarahpottenger's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a blast for anyone who loved Nancy Drew as a kid. Some really great women shaped one of the most beloved characters in fiction.
I don't read a lot of nonfiction because I find it boring, frankly. Nonfiction writers aren't as good at storytelling as fiction writers. But I made an exception for this one, and I'm glad I did.
I don't read a lot of nonfiction because I find it boring, frankly. Nonfiction writers aren't as good at storytelling as fiction writers. But I made an exception for this one, and I'm glad I did.
msinformation's review against another edition
2.0
It took me too long to get through this book. I thought it was filled with too much non-essential information and I found myself skimming quite a few times. Other parts were very interesting as I loved Nancy Drew books as a girl.
tealmango's review against another edition
5.0
This book tells about the background of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, which was responsible for producing Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, the Bobbsey Twins, and many other childrens’ book series that were staples of my childhood. The syndicate worked by having ghost writers complete the books of each series in complete secrecy, so if the syndicate had to switch writers, the readers wouldn’t feel disloyal to the new author. This caused some tension between the writers and the owners of the syndicate, especially in the Nancy Drew series. The two main writers of the Nancy Drew books, Mildred Wirt Benson and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (who was the daughter of the syndicate’s founder), fought for years over ownership of the massively popular series, which kept the syndicate afloat during some of the most difficult years in American history.
Despite all the infighting and family drama, both Mildred Wirt Benson and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams were women who worked hard and pressed beyond the boundaries of what was considered normal and appropriate for women of their time. Along with, of course, describing the origins of this extremely popular mystery series, Rehak also goes into detail about the women’s rights movement and how the authors of the Nancy Drew series–along with Nancy Drew herself–supported and participated in this movement. It was a fascinating read, and if, like me, you grew up reading Nancy Drew, you must read this book. It’s nostalgic but surprisingly pioneering and very well researched. Awesome!
Read more on my blog: http://newberyandbeyond.com/bringing-back-childhood-girl-sleuth-nancy-drew-women-created/
Despite all the infighting and family drama, both Mildred Wirt Benson and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams were women who worked hard and pressed beyond the boundaries of what was considered normal and appropriate for women of their time. Along with, of course, describing the origins of this extremely popular mystery series, Rehak also goes into detail about the women’s rights movement and how the authors of the Nancy Drew series–along with Nancy Drew herself–supported and participated in this movement. It was a fascinating read, and if, like me, you grew up reading Nancy Drew, you must read this book. It’s nostalgic but surprisingly pioneering and very well researched. Awesome!
Read more on my blog: http://newberyandbeyond.com/bringing-back-childhood-girl-sleuth-nancy-drew-women-created/
kedawen's review against another edition
4.0
I love that the history of Nancy Drew has a bit of mystery and intrigue in it, given how the pseudonym “Caroline Keene” encompassed at least 3 writers over the years. I had forgotten how much I loved these stories when I was young and just the names “George and Bess” and "Ned Nickerson" were enough to bring up memories of stories about hidden heirlooms, secret passageways and mysterious disappearances. All solved by a smart, brave young woman who I looked up to.
This book connected the events of the time Nancy Drew was conceived (wars, women's suffrage, the advent of radio and television) to the spirit of the young detective and it was a lot of fun to read. I look forward to seeing more by this author.
This book connected the events of the time Nancy Drew was conceived (wars, women's suffrage, the advent of radio and television) to the spirit of the young detective and it was a lot of fun to read. I look forward to seeing more by this author.
jlmb's review against another edition
2.0
I now know way more than I will ever need to about the company that created the Nancy Drew series. This subject would have made for a good long article in The New Yorker or Atlantic Monthly but as a 300 page book it really drags at times.
librarian_lisa's review against another edition
3.0
I loved The Nancy Drew Files of the 80s, with Nancy and her blue mustang. While this is not the original or iconic Nancy Drew (which I did read some of later on) I give Nancy Drew and Carolyn Keene a lot of credit for my current love and obsession with books, so obviously when I saw this book chronically Nancy's creation and rise to fame I had to pick it up.
Girl Sleuth, details how Nancy Drew was created by Edward Stratemeyer and fully realized by her two main authors Harriet Stratemeyer and Mildred Wirt. The tale begins with Edward Stratemeyer who founds the Stratemeyer Syndicate, which produced such stories as The Hardy Boys, The Bobsey Twins and of course Nancy Drew (although Edward only lived through 4 of these books). While I realize this was where Nancy Drew was born I thought a little less detail could have gone into some of Edward's back story, which dragged at some points. Once Rehak got to the actual birth and development of Nancy Drew though I was thoroughly enthralled with the book. She does a wonderful job of working Nancy and her writers into the reincarnations of feminism that have gone on throughout the life of Nancy Drew.
Girl Sleuth, details how Nancy Drew was created by Edward Stratemeyer and fully realized by her two main authors Harriet Stratemeyer and Mildred Wirt. The tale begins with Edward Stratemeyer who founds the Stratemeyer Syndicate, which produced such stories as The Hardy Boys, The Bobsey Twins and of course Nancy Drew (although Edward only lived through 4 of these books). While I realize this was where Nancy Drew was born I thought a little less detail could have gone into some of Edward's back story, which dragged at some points. Once Rehak got to the actual birth and development of Nancy Drew though I was thoroughly enthralled with the book. She does a wonderful job of working Nancy and her writers into the reincarnations of feminism that have gone on throughout the life of Nancy Drew.
manwithanagenda's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.0
I read this in college and it opened my eyes, on finding a copy on our first venture out this past weekend in a second hand shop I figured it was time to give it another go since I've read a few of the original Nancy Drews now.
'Girl Sleuth' traces the history of the 'Nancy Drew' series from its genesis in a memo from the Stratemeyer Syndicate to the cultural momentum Nancy Drew had achieved by the end of the 20th century. The focus is on the original author of the series, Mildred Wirt Benson, and editor Harriet Adams Stratemeyer who shepherded the series and, infamously, revised the original books and claimed sole authorship for decades.
The story is a fascinating one. It is very hard to feel sympathy for Adams, but Rehak does a fine job on Adams' background and restrictions and the hardships she faced as a woman in a man's industry. Benson, on the other hand, was an amazing woman who would be noteworthy even without her having ghost-written Nancy. A journalist, pilot and - though she refused the title - feminist who paved the way for many after her.
I would have liked there to have been more discussion of the racism and classism inherent in the books written in the '30s and '40s. How much was present in the Stratemeyer outlines that Benson couldn't deviate from, written by Harriet and her sister for the most part, and how much did Benson add? Rehak goes straight into the era when the books needed to be revised. Those images, stereotypes and ideas were a part of the times, but they were not mandatory. Did Benson ever make a statement of regret? Did Adams?
Still a good read for those of us who can't get enough Nancy Drew.
'Girl Sleuth' traces the history of the 'Nancy Drew' series from its genesis in a memo from the Stratemeyer Syndicate to the cultural momentum Nancy Drew had achieved by the end of the 20th century. The focus is on the original author of the series, Mildred Wirt Benson, and editor Harriet Adams Stratemeyer who shepherded the series and, infamously, revised the original books and claimed sole authorship for decades.
The story is a fascinating one. It is very hard to feel sympathy for Adams, but Rehak does a fine job on Adams' background and restrictions and the hardships she faced as a woman in a man's industry. Benson, on the other hand, was an amazing woman who would be noteworthy even without her having ghost-written Nancy. A journalist, pilot and - though she refused the title - feminist who paved the way for many after her.
I would have liked there to have been more discussion of the racism and classism inherent in the books written in the '30s and '40s. How much was present in the Stratemeyer outlines that Benson couldn't deviate from, written by Harriet and her sister for the most part, and how much did Benson add? Rehak goes straight into the era when the books needed to be revised. Those images, stereotypes and ideas were a part of the times, but they were not mandatory. Did Benson ever make a statement of regret? Did Adams?
Still a good read for those of us who can't get enough Nancy Drew.
beks21's review against another edition
2.0
WAY more feminist and women's lib focused than I had anticipated. The first 100 pages or so were very slow to me, and I had to force myself to carry on when I wanted to send it back to the library almost right away.