Collecting Nancy Drew: Crossword Cipher Library Editions & Variations

 

In honor of this past week's National Library Week I wanted to write a little bit about what I have dubbed for around 30 years now, the Crossword Cipher Library Editions. These Nancy Drew library bound editions from Bound to Stay Bound were around in the 80s to 90s. On the back cover was the image of Nancy Drew from book #44, The Clue in the Crossword Cipher, which is the reason for the nickname I have given them. On the back of yellow spine picture covers from around 1969 onward, they started using the Cipher image - in black and white - as well so by including that on the back of these library editions, they were mimicking the regular Nancy Drew picture cover editions. You can see the style in the image below.

This particular style was the type of library edition that I read in my school library as a kid, so they have a special place in my collection - so special that after donating mine to the Toledo Public Library when I donated The Jennifer Fisher Nancy Drew Collection in 2019, I have finished completing the set I donated and have started collecting another set for here at home in my secondary collection. 

I began noticing that some volumes have different color variations when bound - providing more opportunities for collectors to collect the various color variations too. How many variations do you have in your collections?

If you want to support the Jennifer Fisher Nancy Drew Collection at the Toledo Public Library, here's a link to donate at their website. You can also mail in a check to donate. To donate by check, send checks payable to Library Legacy Fund and write "Nancy Drew Fund" on the memo line and send to:

Library Legacy Foundation

The Nancy Drew Fund

325 N. Michigan St.

Toledo, OH 43604

I'll include pictures below of some of the color differences for some of the titles of these editions - you can click on images to see larger views. One image shows two Diaries, same color but height differences.

Donate to the Nancy Drew Fund at Toledo Public Library to help acquire historical Nancy Drew documents and ephemera!

 

Donate to the Nancy Drew Fund at Toledo Public Library 

We have several collectors with Nancy Drew and Mildred Wirt Benson related historical documents and ephemera who are wanting to help the Toledo Public Library acquire these items for their Rare Book Room and archive of Nancy Drew and Benson memorabilia. It helps when the Nancy Drew community can come together to help fund items like this and get them into archives and be preserved and made available to scholars and academics for research. They gain new life being available to the public and to history!

Click here to donate online at the Toledo Public Library's website.

To donate by check, send checks payable to Library Legacy Fund (With "Nancy Drew Fund" written on the memo line!) to:

Library Legacy Foundation

The Nancy Drew Fund

325 Michigan Street

Toledo, OH 43604

Donations help the Jennifer Fisher Nancy Drew Collection grow and expand, and further the legacy of Nancy Drew's amazing history. Funds help purchase historic Nancy Drew and Mildred Wirt Benson ephemera to properly archive and keep Nancy Drew's history alive! Expansion of the collection and digitizing and archiving, special exhibitions and Nancy Drew Conferences are also furthered by donations to this fund. If Nancy Drew could do it, so can Nancy Drew fans! Thank you for all your support!

Nancy Drew & The Case of the Missing Copyrights

Nancy Drew & The Case of the Missing Copyrights 

Today, January 1^st, 2026 marks what some consider a milestone in the Nancy Drew world. This year many works that debuted back in 1930 in both print and film among other genres are going into the public domain. Some of you may wonder how this is possible and want to solve the mystery of what I somewhat cheekily refer to as these “missing” copyrights. Due to laws in previous decades, copyright extension for works like Nancy Drew was 95 years so when the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series debuted on April 28, 1930, we’ve had to wait 95 years for the copyright on those texts to expire.

To clue you in, that means that the original twenty-five-chapter texts of the first four Nancy Drew books published in 1930 – The Secret of the Old Clock, The Hidden Staircase, The Bungalow Mystery, and The Mystery at Lilac Inn – can be reprinted or adapted without violating copyright law. No need to get permission or license these 1930 works. Created by Edward Stratemeyer, of The Stratemeyer Syndicate, these books were ghost-written by Mildred Wirt Benson who would go on to write twenty-three of the first thirty Nancy Drew books. I am currently writing a biography of Benson, a real life Nancy Drew. Stratemeyer created the outlines for these books and passed away just shy of two weeks after the series debuted. 1930 was a difficult year of many to come in the United States with the Great Depression, but Nancy Drew was said to be a great light in a dark time to girls growing up at that time period. She adventured, solved exciting mysteries, and saved the day – and in doing so inspired generations of fans to do more in their lives. She survived the depression years and was outselling the boys’ series by 1934.

Unfortunately, due to lack of knowledge or research, we’re likely to see a few Nancy Drew-style bumbling “crooks” who reprint the twenty-chapter revised text versions of these books, not realizing that DOES violate copyright law. Only the original texts of twenty-five chapters with 1930 copyright dates are public domain. These four books were revised in 1959 for the first 2, 1960 for book 3 and 1961 for book 4 – down to just twenty chapters – and these revisions are what is still in print by Penguin Random House who reprints the first fifty-six classic Nancy Drew books. Complications, though, are something one must ponder. After all, the revisions contain – with the exception of book 4 and to a degree book 2 – whole parts, paragraphs and sentences that were carried over into the revisions from the original versions. Does that complicate things further?

Besides text, there’s also the cover art and glossy internal illustrations created in 1930 by commercial illustrator, Russell H. Tandy. So, only the 1930 Tandy covers and illustrations for these first four books are in the public domain. If sometime tries to reprint second or third cover art or later internal illustrations, then they would be violating copyright law. Also keep in mind, around 1940, Tandy revised the frontispiece art for the books – so someone can’t use a 1940s frontispiece with a 1930 text – it’s not public domain yet.

Solving the mystery is quite simple – while the original 1930 versions in text and art are public domain now, the revised versions and later cover and internal art are not public domain.

Jennifer Jenkins, who writes and researches about the public domain and is director of The Center for the Study of Public Domain and a professor at Duke University School of Law along with James Boyle, a Duke law professor, published information on the public domain issues and what’s going into the public domain in 2026 at this link. There is also a neat blog entry at the Library of Congress.

Jenkins and Boyle have a very good explanation of why it’s important for works to go into the public domain, but they also explain the legalities of it. So, if you’re interested in the finer details of it all, this is a great read!

In the end, it probably doesn’t matter what any of us think about this issue – the law is the law. But I suppose the greater good is public domain in spirit and intention most of the time, but sometimes things get a little sinister. And there are consequences. Being in the public domain opens up these works to everyone for whatever purpose. One could also liken this to a “windfall” in which long lost heirs with little or no connection to someone or their property and livelihood get a windfall inheritance. Intriguingly, the first Nancy Drew book, Old Clock, deals with heirs, an inheritance and a missing will.

Since I have a connection to Nancy Drew – lifelong fan, reader, researcher, historian, author, collector, consultant, historical legacy donation to Toledo Public Library, etc. – I have over 30 years of experience in dealing with this series, its history and its fan base. You can’t buy, binge or cliff-note yourself into that kind of knowledge and understanding of all the facets of Nancy Drew and the fan community. Which is one reason I consult for publishers and companies licensing the brand who need real authentic info and facts plus data and stats. I understand why the public domain can be good and that’s keeping works alive that were published 95 years ago – so they won’t be lost to history, which is important. However, with Nancy Drew – she’s hardly lost to history. This character and various incarnations of her have been in print (and on TV and in movies) for 95 years and counting now. No one is forgetting about Nancy Drew! Of course, the original text versions of the first four books now going into public domain, have been officially out of print by the Nancy Drew publishers since the 1959-1961 timeframe. However, Applewood Books beginning in the early 1990s reprinted the first twenty-one Nancy Drew books. And there’s a plethora of vintage copies of these books one can find at used book stores, antique malls and easily on sites like eBay. There have been millions of these books sold over the last 95 years.

So, my issue with works like this becoming public domain – something out of my control – and which has nothing to do with that sometime feckless term “gatekeeping,” is all the ridiculous copies that will be reprinted by all sorts of “sellers” outside of established publishing houses, who are just trying to make a buck on this without anything inherently interesting about the reprints. Covers that lack authenticity or scenes created not in the book, or other covers still in copyright being used that don’t match the story – many likely created by AI are not interesting to me. Not having historical context for instance, means nothing that would be that interesting to warrant someone buying a newly reprinted copy. Why buy a modern reprint when one could simply buy a vintage copy for pretty cheap – five to 10 dollars, maybe more depending on format and collectability. Reading copies can always be had for cheap! I’d much rather buy a vintage version than a modern reprint that isn’t really interesting. Especially when a vintage version is less than a reprint’s cost. It’s more of a buyer’s market on eBay these days.  The Applewood reprints were sincerely done and the first ten had introductions by famous authors inspired by Nancy Drew. Ghostwriter Mildred Wirt Benson even wrote introductions to books 4 and 5.

On the other hand, paperback reprints are great for format collectors. The original four 1930 books came out with blue boards and dust jackets, never in paperback through the years, except for foreign editions. So, collecting paperback versions might be of interest to collectors because it is a new format to collect. However, as a collector, I’m still going to be very selective with any reprints I purchase. Like the Great Pumpkin, I will pass your reprint by if it doesn’t feel very sincere or authentic.

There will be exceptions to the mass market or print-on-demand reprints that will likely flood the market including those unfortunate copies using the still in print revised and under copyright texts or art of these books. Those exceptions that I will look forward to will be curated by publishers and those reprinting these works who care more about the books, the characters and preserving the history behind it who will strive to do a great job in preserving these texts. As a historian, preservation is an ultimate end goal.

I was asked to write an introduction to a leather-bound set of the first four books which will be out later in 2026 from Thunder Bay Press as part of its Canterbury Classics series. As I introduce these 1930 texts to new generations and nostalgic fans, I discuss Nancy Drew and her mysterious history behind the books and who created and ghostwrote these books. Not only is this preserving the works but it’s adding history and facts behind the creation and publication of the series going back to 1930 which adds enrichment to it. I’m all for preserving works – but I feel like it’s important to add value to that with historical context and historical stories which also lends authenticity to the reprints.

Also, noted Stratemeyer Syndicate researcher and writer, James Keeline, will be publishing a scholarly version of the first four Nancy Drew books with historical information in January 2026, so fans and scholars can look forward to historical authenticity and preservation with this neat four-in-one edition! It will be published through his 24 Palmer Street Press at Lulu.com. He's also written a post at his blog on the public domain of Nancy Drew.

There’s also the use of the characters from these four books for adaptations and what some “creatives” or what I have often referred to rather sarcastically as the “Hollywood Phantom Menace” might do to the books and characters. Sex, drugs, dysfunction and horror films come to mind. Clearly, something never intended to touch these children’s book characters and definitely going against the mantra of the Stratemeyer Syndicate who created Nancy Drew and managed her for decades – that they be “safe and sane” books plus entertaining and a takeaway from the drudgery of real life. The easiest thing for fans whose sensibilities are offended, is to just not support content that doesn’t deserve support. The power of the purse!

I have to roll my eyes about all those dreaded “in name only” projects which might come forth where some popular genre or meme popular today has Nancy Drew thrust into it, her name slapped on an unrecognizable character and in situations that really have nothing to do with the detective genre she comes from, and the real mystery is why? If it’s going to be so different as to be “name only,” I just find this rather crass, over commercialized and boring. However, remember, the character is still under copyright and trademarked in the over 600 books that have been published since 1930 which are not entering the public domain versus the four that are. So, using a character like Nancy Drew is limited to the storylines they appear in in these first four books. You can’t just make anything Nancy Drew and get away with it, you “meddling kids.” Hopefully publisher and copyright owner Simon & Schuster will micromanage all the potential copyright violations to come out of this public domain issue as we see a lot of original versions over the next several decades going into public domain. There is one other outlier, however. Book 38 from 1961, The Mystery of the Fire Dragon –is public domain and has been for some time. Also, the 1961 revisions published that year - The Mystery at Lilac Inn and The Secret of Red Gate Farm. The reason? The copyrights were never renewed, a rather odd oversight for such a popular property.

If you are unfamiliar with what a 1930 public domain Nancy Drew book looks like, I’ve pictured the four cover art here by Tandy and noted that the texts have twenty-five chapters and 1930 copyrights, but you can learn a lot more about this and more at my Nancy Drew Sleuth Unofficial website –www.nancydrewsleuth.com. At my website you can also learn about my donation of my extensive over 5000 piece Nancy Drew Collection to the Toledo Public Library in Toledo, OH in 2019. This donation of books, collectibles and historic ephemera has created an amazing legacy for scholars, researchers, and fans of the books, including today’s generation of Nancy Drew readers. You can visit the collection and see all the Nancys that have been in existence from 1930 to present day. It’s donations like mine that add a lot of value to the history of such an important series upon the popular culture – and which has inspired a lot of women to do more in their lives. And there’s a wonderful Nancy Drew Fund that has been set up by the Toledo Public Library to support the collection and acquisitions of historical ephemera to it to further keep Nancy Drew’s mysterious history alive. Please consider donating to the Nancy Drew Fund to support the enduring legacy of Nancy Drew. And if you have historical Nancy Drew ephemera, consider donating it or selling it to the library to preserve this legacy for generations to come. 

Happy Birthday to Harriet on her 133rd Birthday!

 A Tribute to Harriet “Hattie” Stratemeyer Adams

“Oh, I would have loved to be a teenage detective and solved all mysteries,” Harriet Stratemeyer Adams waxed nostalgically. Though this children’s mystery writer was never a detective in her teen years, she certainly was one particular teen sleuth at heart–her beloved Nancy Drew.

Growing up in the somewhat stern yet fanciful “storybook” home of her father and series book mogul, Edward Stratemeyer, Harriet’s upper-middle class upbringing brought her stability and some freedom in which she blossomed from a tomboy to a vivacious Wellesley girl (class of 1914.) At Wellesley she busied herself in activities ranging from sports, the Wellesley Equal Suffrage League and the Wellesley Press Board. She was a college correspondent for papers including The Boston Globe and The Newark Evening News as she majored in music and English composition.

Frustrated upon graduation in 1914 at having to turn down job offers thanks to her father’s desire that she not work, Harriet persuaded Edward to let her work for him. Though relegated to working from home briefly before marriage, she experienced a small taste of Edward’s world among such Stratemeyer classics as Dramatic Ruth Fielding’s Hollywood adventures and the bubbly Bobbsey Twins on the go as she edited manuscripts.

Married in 1915 to a childhood neighbor whom she teased mercifully, Russell Vroom Adams, Harriet dedicated herself to Russell and having a family of her own. She and Russell were graced with four children and Harriet was a devoted mother as she focused on family and charitable endeavors until tragedy brought her life to a standstill.

Edward Stratemeyer’s brainchild, Nancy Drew, was his last major creation. The first three books: The Secret of the Old Clock, The Hidden Staircase, and The Bungalow Mystery had debuted on April 28, 1930 with a fourth volume on the way. Sadly, he would pass away May 10, 1930, never to fully realize his legacy and the impact of his many books and series on millions of children. 

A proud family, the Stratemeyers came together to make decisions that would ultimately set their lives on a course in unchartered territory. Haste was of the essence as Harriet and her younger sister Edna tried to find a buyer for the Syndicate. Publishers were in need of promised volumes so Edward’s astute assistant Harriet Otis Smith handled immediate needs. Timing, however, was not on the sisters’ side as depressed conditions would not yield a buyer and their endeavor to sell quickly was futile. By July 1930, Harriet and a more hesitant Edna took over the Syndicate and became CEOs at a time when this was practically unheard of–especially in the publishing industry.

“I think my father would be absolutely amazed at what’s happened. I doubt that he thought anyone would carry on,” Harriet reflected years later. For the time being, Harriet and Edna rose to the occasion among their mostly male colleagues and honored their father’s legacy and Syndicate traditions while continuing to forge a legacy of their own.

Building upon a solid foundation that their father had firmly set in place, Edna and Harriet began learning the business side of the Syndicate while studying their father’s books and outlines and keeping current ghostwriters employed and publishers satisfied. Edna tried her hand at outlines and helped Harriet conceive of new series including Doris Force, Kay Tracey, and the Dana Girls. Together the two sisters conceived of plots, wrote outlines that ghostwriters filled in, and edited final manuscripts among other business matters all the while enduring the passing of their mother Lenna in 1935 and the tragic loss of Harriet’s first son, Sunny, in a pilot training accident in 1942. When Edna moved to Florida in 1942, she became a “silent” partner leaving Harriet to manage the business by herself on a daily basis.

By the late 1940s, Harriet had come into her own as head of her company while balancing career and domestic life with the support of her family. Having withstood the depression and the second world war, Harriet found herself and the Syndicate at odds with long time publisher Grosset and Dunlap who was becoming more corporate minded. Amid tensions on both sides, Grosset and Dunlap offered Harriet an opportunity to give up the creation process of plot to outline to finished manuscript and allow the publisher to handle this aspect in the future–a move to gain further control over various Syndicate series.

Never one to be intimidated, Harriet responded, “Rightly or wrongly, I have had a feeling for some time that the new Etat Major of Grosset and Dunlap does not have the same feeling for my heroes and heroines as the former paterfamilias. It worries me to see a growing hysteria to meet printers’ and mail order house demands to a point where all laughter and enjoyment is taken out of conferences.” Of course, she refused their offer. Between troubles with Grosset and Dunlap and manuscript difficulties with ghost writers, by 1952 Harriet made a bold decision to take the writing of Syndicate manuscripts in-house rather than continuing to farm them out. Harriet took over the writing of the Nancy Drew series and kept a watchful eye on Nancy Drew for years to come.

Though the Syndicate’s relationship with Grosset and Dunlap continued until 1979, the years in between were full of constant wrangling over what Harriet conceived and what Grosset and Dunlap ultimately wanted. At the instigation of Grosset and Dunlap, Harriet and her staff embarked upon a revision of volumes in the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series–a process that helped to bring Nancy Drew into the modern era. While battles were often lost over illustrations or non-Syndicate series advertising on Syndicate books, Harriet never backed down over her vision of what Syndicate series should be like. When a manuscript was edited beyond her agreement, she took an editor at Grosset and Dunlap to task, ““I want to remind you that Grosset and Dunlap does not purchase these manuscripts and therefore does not have the right to change them without the author’s approval. It grieves me to say this, Anne, but until I have your assurance that the Syndicate sees and okays the final version of a story, there will be no more manuscripts from this office.”

Though her business relationship with her editors continued as new volumes were churned out, there were constant struggles as editor and colleague Anne Hagan continued to be a thorn in Harriet’s side. “Your sleuthing for mistakes is excellent but there are entirely too many editor’s choices rather than author’s,” Harriet noted. “I thought we had come to an understanding on this subject some time ago, but apparently it has slipped your mind.” Again, she lamented, “I feel you overstepped your position in trying to revamp Nancy’s character. She is not all those dreadful things you accuse her of and in many instances you have actually wanted to make her negative. And don’t forget, every Shakespearian tragedy has plenty of humor in it!” She was beside herself in writing, “You must have known I would not take your vitriolic editing of The Glowing Eye without comments.” Harriet did not find the following comments to be “top quality editing”: “Ned is doltish”, “McGinnis sounds like a dumb cop.”, “This is icky”, “Nancy sounds like a nasty female.” She pondered, “Anne, are your remarks intended to mend story holes or do you get some sadistic fun out of downgrading and offending me? It will take me a long time to live down the remark, ‘Nancy sounds like a nasty female.’”

Of all the series the Syndicate produced under Harriet’s effective management and authorship, Nancy Drew was her favorite and in later years she affectionately referred to Nancy as her fictional daughter–who she firmly believed would have gone to Wellesley College if Nancy had ever decided to seek higher education. Harriet lived by the Wellesley motto Non Ministrari Sed Ministrare–Not to be ministered unto but to minister. She wrote, “Nancy, Frank and Joe Hardy and all their friends are outstanding examples of this.”

It was Harriet’s desire to keep Syndicate books educational and safe for kids. “None of the characters have love affairs or get pregnant or take dope,” she noted. Ultimately, she believed that “children ages eight to thirteen don’t care one whit about social problems. They want to be entertained...They will have time to cry and worry later. Let them be children.” She wrote in TV Guide, “The stories are clean and wholesome but filled with hair-raising adventures and mysteries that tax the ingenuity rather than the muscle of the heroes or heroines and their friends.”

Harriet was dedicated to her work as one former Syndicate partner notes, “I enjoyed working with Harriet. Although she was very focused on her work, very disciplined, she always made time for others. She was interested in people and in children especially. She was a wonderful listener.” While Harriet kept alive the Nancy Drew series we all know and love through her years of dedicated service to children’s literature, sadly things were never the same for many upon her passing in 1982 at the age of 89. While Nancy Drew has endured into present day in various incarnations including college co-ed, romance infused teen, a third grader, and now tells her mystery yarns in first person, many feel that the true spirit of Nancy Drew may have died with Harriet if not upon the close of the family’s Syndicate doors in 1984 when it was sold to current publisher Simon and Schuster.

Though she longed nostalgically to have been a teen sleuth like Nancy Drew, certainly Harriet’s life embodied the spirit of Nancy Drew–graciousness under fire, kindness and the utmost generosity to others in need, and never ever giving up or giving in, no matter how baffling or taxing the situation. Harriet’s legacy is one that should never be forgotten as we ride into the mysterious future of all things Drew.

Bird Haven Farm - The Story of an Original American Garden by Janet Mavec - Interview

The mysterious history behind Nancy Drew wouldn't be complete without a visit to Bird Haven Farm. The farm was once Harriet Stratemeyer Adams's retreat, located in NJ. It's now owned by Janet Mavec and Wayne Nordberg and their restoration of the property and the old Sears kit home that Harriet lived in while at the farm, is a magnificent testament to its rich history and the beauty of nature and a peaceful balance. Members of my Nancy Drew Sleuths organization, a group of fans and scholars of Nancy Drew, visited the farm in 2015 and had an amazing time exploring and hearing more about the farm from Janet. It was somewhat surreal for us to be in such a lovely place, very serene and to be able to put references and stories about the farm from the New York Public Library's Stratemeyer Syndicate archives to real life moments, was a real thrill. Janet even has a neat key necklace inspired by a key to a lock on the farm, she sells in her Janet Mavec Jewelry line - it's the Nancy Drew mystery key.

Harriet spent a lot of time writing at the farm as well as hosting family and friends and employees of the Stratemeyer Syndicate on fun weekend events and holidays. She had a desk on the second floor she outlined a lot of her Nancy Drew books at. They even say her ghost haunts the farm and her presence is noted - a happy presence. It is at the farm, that she passed away in 1982 at age 89. Within two years, the Stratemeyer Syndicate was sold to Simon & Schuster.

I was happy to see that Janet had written a book about the farm and that it was coming out this month on September 2nd - Bird Haven Farm - The Story of an Original American Garden. I ordered a signed copy from her website and reached out to her to ask a few questions for this blog, and she kindly answered. I received a signed copy of the book and it's absolutely beautiful. It's a large hardcover with dust jacket. The book is full of the history behind the farm including a chapter on Harriet, and about how Janet and Wayne restored the farm to its current glory. The photos by Ngoc Minh Ngo are stunning and really help bring to life the flora and fauna of the farm in all the seasons. There are recipes and menus including a delicious applesauce recipe and I can't wait to try them. 

Reading through the book took me back to the visit ten years ago, and I hope to one day visit again. There was something very prescient and calming about being there. Below is my interview with Janet and then also some photos interspersed that I took when The Sleuths visited Bird Haven Farm. There are a couple of shots of the chapter on Harriet and an image of Janet from the book as well as the cover below and I included one with my key necklace.

NDS: What's your connection to Nancy Drew? Did you read them as a kid or discover them more fully when you bought the farm and found the connection to Harriet Stratemeyer Adams? 

JANET: I loved reading Nancy Drew as a kid in Ohio.  To me Nancy was brave, adventurous, kind and determined- all the things I admire in a person.  Plus, she was fashionable.  

NDS: How surreal is it to live in the peaceful splendor that "Carolyn Keene" once loved and herself enjoyed for many years? 

JANET: It is very inspiring rather than surreal.  

NDS: When the Nancy Drew Sleuths organization visited back in 2015, you mentioned that Harriet's spirit was still lively about the farm. Do you still feel her presence there? Why do you think that she still lingers there? Any lessons learned from her presence there? 

JANET: She is definitely still here- I can sometimes feel her presence.  And she helped me write my book! I never got stuck/writers block- The flow was constant.  She still lingers because her spirit got stuck in the thick walls.  and lessons, yes, keep writing, tell the story.   

The Nancy Drew Key to Bird Haven Farm - linked here.

NDS: How do you pay homage to the history of Harriet's ownership and how did this play into renovating the farm and rebuilding it into what it is today? 

JANET: I did the research before making any changes to what was here.  We honored her boxwood collection by making the upper boxwood garden wave.  

NDS: If there was ever to be a fictional tale, The Secret of Bird Haven Farm, what would the mystery be about? 

JANET: The Tale of the Missing Dahlia Tuber. A fine and rare dahlia tuner goes missing.  Nancy is called in.  The dogs are erroneously blamed at first.  The Nancy uncovers that the bear is getting over the deer fence and ate all of them.  

NDS: Tell everyone about the mysterious key and how that inspired the Key Necklace in your Janet Mavec Jewelry line. 

JANET: This impeccably designed, rose-colored key necklace is for a woman who dares for something to stump her. She possesses the tenacity to figure out the real mysteries in life. Like which door this hauntingly well-designed replica unlocks.   The Nancy Drew Key Necklace to Bird Haven Farm unlocks a stone 1700s farmhouse in New Jersey where books in the Nancy Drew series were written. The publisher and writer to the series, Harriet Adams, lived at Bird Haven Farm for over 50 years. Janet Mavec now lives there and designed the Nancy Drew Key Necklace to Bird Haven Farm to unlock the potential to solve all life's problems.   

NDS: What was it like writing about the farm for this book and what do you hope readers gain from being immersed in the beauty of the farm and the wonderful photos and stories inside?  

JANET: I hope the book inspired them to create something beautiful - plant more trees, bushes, flowers, entertain some friends with a home cooked meal, and honor nature.

NDS: Is there anything you'd like to add for the readers of this blog or the Nancy Drew fans about the connections to the farm? 

JANET: To honor the past but live for today.

The window that Harriet's desk looked out over as she plotted her Nancy Drew books...

More info on the book:

Bird Haven Farm tells the story of Janet Mavec's transformation of a historic property in New Jersey into a vibrant and evolving garden paradise. The book chronicles her journey from city dweller to passionate gardener, detailing the challenges and triumphs of blending the old with the new, honoring the land's history (including its connection to Nancy Drew author/publisher Harriet Stratemeyer Adams), and creating a space for community, celebration, and connection with nature. It explores the thoughtful design principles implemented by landscape architect Fernando Caruncho, the contributions of other gardening experts, and Mavec's personal evolution as a gardener and designer. Ultimately, the book celebrates the beauty and bounty of the land, emphasizing the importance of stewardship, sustainability, and sharing the garden's gifts with others. It’s a story about the evolution of a garden and its impact on the lives of those who cultivate and enjoy it. It includes recipes, beautiful photography, and thoughtful essays by contributors.   Photography by Ngoc Min Ngo, menus and recipes with Gail Monaghan, essay contributions by Fernando Caruncho, Celia Hilliard, Wayne Nordberg, Stephen Orr,  Lisa Stamm, and Angus Wilkie.  

Published by Rizzoli, 9/2/25

Where to Buy:

Janet Mavec Jewelry Website - Signed Copies

Amazon

Where to find Janet:

Facebook

Instagram

Nancy Drew: The Case of an America Icon & The Mystery of the Missing Funds * SOLVED

Nancy Drew: The Case of an America Icon & The Mystery of the Missing Funds

Nancy Drew, Mystery’s IT girl for the generations, has inspired a lot of little girls who grew to be amazing women! From educators to detectives to lawyers, even librarians. Very few fictional characters can say they are BFFs with most of the women on the US Supreme Court. But it’s not just an all-girl’s club these days – even a few men read Nancy Drew and a few famous fans include Stephen King.

As we celebrate Nancy Drew’s 95^th anniversary this year, the history behind the mystery is a tale at times even more baffling than Nancy Drew’s most thrilling cases.

And it began with Nancy Drew’s creator, Edward Stratemeyer of The Stratemeyer Syndicate whose very modern creation for the time, was brought to life by the original ghostwriter for the series, Mildred Wirt Benson. Benson, a real-life Nancy Drew in her own right, took a 3-page plot outline from Stratemeyer and gave girls a ray of light in a very dark time. Nancy Drew debuted on April 28, 1930, during the Great Depression, just ten years after women got the right to vote. She was a very intelligent and curious teenage sleuth, whose father treated her as an equal without a mother to reign in her daring exploits. With her trusty roadster, fashionable frocks, and her magnifying glass, she sought to rid her hometown of River Heights of all the crooks and dastardly villains and right wrongs. She wasn’t afraid to chase suspects down dark alleys or tangle with villains. The Nancy Drew of the 1930s and 1940s – a testament to Benson’s skillful writing – was inspiring to young girls and a role model.

Now, 95 years later, with nearly 700 Nancy Drew books published since 1930 in the classic series and various modern spinoffs, fans still fondly celebrate their experiences reading Nancy Drew as kids and how Nancy Drew gave them the gumption to do more in their lives. Not only that, fans – and even Benson herself, have often pondered in perilous situations, WWNDD? Between entertaining mysteries and life lessons learned, fans of all ages have passed the Nancy Drew mysteries down through the generations.

A full-length Nancy Drew documentary by filmmaker Cathleen O’Connell of Desert Penguin Pictures will tackle the fandom of Nancy Drew, how she inspired women through the decades and will pay homage to her mysterious history behind the scenes. However, just like a Nancy Drew mystery, there have been some foibles and detours along the way. With most of the NEH’s funding wiped out earlier this year, part of a production grant O’Connell was awarded from the NEH was wiped out and the Nancy Drew documentary’s fate came to a standstill. But, like many before her, O’Connell pondered WWNDD and created an online Kickstarter campaign to “Save Nancy Drew.” Nancy Drew fans of all ages have turned out in support of the campaign to help get Nancy Drew: The Case of an American Icon over the finish line and fully funded. In helping solve The Case of the Missing Funding, everyone can pitch in and solve that mystery by supporting O’Connell’s documentary project. And you have just one more day to do it! The Kickstarter campaign ends on July 30th.

The Nancy Drew Documentary, the first of its kind, is something that fans have wanted to see done for a long time. Support O’Connell’s vision and pledge through the Kickstarter campaign so you can help solve the mystery behind Nancy Drew. There are so many inspirational stories to tell that come from Nancy Drew’s creators and how Nancy Drew has become such a Pop Culture Icon. Most importantly, the legacy of Nancy Drew is one that continues to bring fans of all walks of life together. Being a Nancy Drew fan isn’t just youthful rite of passage relegate to a memory box in an attic. It’s a real sense of community and sisterhood, a timeless bond that brings everyone to the table for a common good, even when the world is stumbling through time and a bit off kilter. Little girls and women need good role models and Nancy Drew is one for the ages.

Happy 120th to Mildred Wirt Benson & a Huge Debt of Gratitude to Geoffrey S. Lapin

Happy 120th to Mildred Wirt Benson!!

Her 120th birthday since her birth would have been on July 10, 2025, though she passed away at the ripe age of 96 in May of 2002. Several of my good friends in Nancy Drew and I wanted to visit the legendary Geoffrey S. Lapin, the man who discovered Millie was Carolyn Keene and other famous pseudonyms back in the 1960s. We even celebrated with a few cupcakes and special cupcake toppers.

My friend Mary and I were able to make a quick trip up to the Toledo Public Library to donate some wonderful items that Geoff reached out to me about wanting to go to Toledo - including his beautiful 1939 Nancy Drew Reporter movie poster. The library will be framing it to hang in my Jennifer Fisher Nancy Drew Collection room. Geoff also donated the desk contents of Millie’s from The Toledo Blade when she passed which included a lot of notes, notebooks and letters and cards from fans and even schools some of which are pictured below in this blog.

There was an article someone wrote and sent her, pages from The Cool One. An unpublished radio transcript. Most of an outline for the Penny Parker book, Hoofbeats on the Turnpike. Plus, a child reader with a short story first published in St. Nicholas and some bound volumes of St. Nicholas with her short stories in them. They will be invaluable for researchers and fans who visit the Toledo Public Library and will add to and enhance the collection they have there. Geoff even made it official by signing the paperwork to donate his research, articles, signed books and other ephemera related to Mildred Wirt Benson to the University of Iowa Women's Archive to join the papers and collections of Mildred Wirt Benson and Carolyn Stewart Dyer. What an amazing gift and honor!

Many thanks to Geoff for his generous gifts to the library so that fans and researchers can learn so much and learn about his journey to discovering Millie and all the work he did to get Millie recognition for being such a great writer and the woman behind a lot of famous pseudonyms!

Nancy Drew Documentary Kickstarter - Nancy Fans Help Fund This Amazing Project!

 CALLING ALL NANCY DREW FANS & SLEUTHS:

The Nancy Drew Documentary - Nancy Drew: The Case of the American Icon by Cathleen O'Connell of Desert Penguin Pictures was well underway, filming complete but going into production and editing to be finalized when funding from the NEH was wiped out - grants that were going to help fund and finish this! It was quite an honor to receive these grants and so much work was done on the documentary. I am an advisor and was interviewed for the documentary. It's a project dear to my heart and so I wanted to spread the news among the Nancy Drew community that you can help!

To help Cathleen get to the finish line, she's got a Nancy Drew Kickstarter campaign that's running from July 2 to July 30, 2025 to raise funding, though don't let the goal fool you, she really needs more than she's trying to raise in this first funding, so let's get the funding up to $95K for the Nancy Drew anniversary this year and beyond! It would mean the world to her and the Nancy Drew community to see this first ever full-length documentary happen! It will air on PBS and at film festivals, museums, libraries and more if we can help support it!

You can pledge outright and donated to support it or there are pledges for goodies like bookmarks, stickers, totes and more limited rewards - even a reward to get your name in the credits as a thank you - in the film festival version! Don't let July 30 creep up on you and miss out - click this link and pledge now to show your support! 

Cathleen and I are all about keeping Nancy Drew's amazing history alive and this documentary will cement that legacy in a very visually appealing and commemorative way!

Thank you to all of you who support this endeavor, and I appreciate the community coming together to help out Cathleen - it's A Case of What Would Nancy Drew Do! So do your "Drewty" and pledge now!

New Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Box Sets at Sam's Clubs

New box sets out from Grosset & Dunlap, an imprint of Penguin Random House. You can find them a Sam's Clubs - I'll post links below to order online. Publishing date is July 2024 per the photos of the bottom of the boxes. They are called "The Nancy Drew Mystery Collection" and "The Hardy Boys Mystery Collection" - both feature the flashlight editions of book 1 and 2 from each series. The back cover of the box shows the covers of the books inside and a graphic of an open book with text and an internal illustration. The tag line on the back of each is "Add mystery to your bookshelf with" and then "the Hardy Boys" or "Nancy Drew." I'm not sure how long these will be in stores or online so get them while you can! Click here for the Hardy Boys set and click here for the Nancy Drew set.

See more photos below of the boxes - if you are a box set collector, these are neat ones to collect!