Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her

A plucky "titian-haired" sleuth solved her first mystery in 1930. Eighty million books later, Nancy Drew has survived the Depression, World War II, and the sixties (when she was taken up with a vengeance by women's libbers) to enter the pantheon of American girlhood. As beloved by girls today as she was by their grandmothers, Nancy Drew has both inspired and reflected the changes in her readers' lives. Here, in a narrative with all the vivid energy and page-turning pace of Nancy's adventures, Melanie Rehak solves an enduring literary mystery: Who created Nancy Drew? And how did she go from pulp heroine to icon?

The brainchild of children's book mogul Edward Stratemeyer, Nancy was brought to life by two women: Mildred Wirt Benson, a pioneering journalist from Iowa, and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, a well-bred wife and mother who took over as CEO after her father died. In this century-spanning story, Rehak traces their roles--and Nancy's--in forging the modern American woman.


Publisher: Mariner Books
Published: 09/05/2006
Pages: 384
Weight: 0.81lbs
Size: 8.08h x 5.41w x 0.99d
ISBN: 9780156030564
Age: Young Adult

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 9.2
Point Value: 20
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 108972 / Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her


Review Citation(s):
New York Times 10/22/2006 pg. 28

About the Author
Girl Sleuth earned both Edgar and Agatha Awards.