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molseyanna 's review for:
The Secret of the Old Clock
by Carolyn Keene
Although it's certainly fun to get a hold of the "original" Nancy Drew books (before they were rewritten/revised, beginning in 1959), reading the original version of The Secret Of The Old Clock has made me realize that sometimes, changes ARE for the best. Read both versions for yourself if you're inclined to disagree.
The differences in the plot itself are minor. Nancy still bosses the police around, and has a narrow escape from some evil miscreants, and solves the mystery, making the nice people happy and the mean ones unhappy. (None of these things should be considered spoilers since they happen in nearly every book.) Where you really will notice the differences is in the writing style. The 1930s version is just longer -- heavily padded with unnecessary things, such as "driving" and "hiking." See also: Abject racism.
The revised version actually tightened the plot a little. No offense to "Carolyn Keene," but the original story isn't perfect, and whoever did the revision actually made it better. GASP. Sacrilege. But having read both versions now, I have to say, the revised version is, on the whole, the "Secret Of The Old Clock" you should give to your kids.
The differences in the plot itself are minor. Nancy still bosses the police around, and has a narrow escape from some evil miscreants, and solves the mystery, making the nice people happy and the mean ones unhappy. (None of these things should be considered spoilers since they happen in nearly every book.) Where you really will notice the differences is in the writing style. The 1930s version is just longer -- heavily padded with unnecessary things, such as "driving" and "hiking." See also: Abject racism.
The revised version actually tightened the plot a little. No offense to "Carolyn Keene," but the original story isn't perfect, and whoever did the revision actually made it better. GASP. Sacrilege. But having read both versions now, I have to say, the revised version is, on the whole, the "Secret Of The Old Clock" you should give to your kids.