A review by zmull
Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak

3.0

I got this mostly for the publishing angle. Being both a pop music fan and a comics fan, work-for-hire tales of woe are particular favorites of mine. Girl Sleuth has some elements of that toward the end as the two old ladies most responsible for Nancy Drew very politely dis each other for claiming more than their share of the legacy. It seems, more than a behind the scenes look at series publishing, the author wanted to paint Nancy and her creators into the greater feminist movement of the 20th century. I'm not sure that I buy Nancy Drew's pervasive influence on several generations of progressive women. Maybe Nancy's a stronger rallying point than I realize, but the case certain wasn't made for me by the book. Still, it's interesting for its glimpses behind the pseudonym.