365 Days of Nancy Drew Blog Preview 5

I'm adding a preview of what's going on at my 365 Days of Nancy Drew Blog Party below.

Join the Nancy Drew Blog Party that celebrates 80 years of Nancy Drew all year long : So far discussed in just 162 days are books 1-23, we've had 5 trivia contests for prizes, 3 book discussions on Girl Sleuth, Rediscovering Nancy Drew, Not a Girl Detective, and Confessions of a Teen Sleuth, we've done a jewelry craft project, posts about crafty stuff and scrapbooking, a Nancy Drew Cookbook recipe testing project. Other topics include: 80 Little Known Things About Nancy, Things We've Learned From Nancy, Walter Karig, Harriet Adams, Behind the Scenes of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, Sleuthing, Mardi Gras Mysteries, Winter Nancy Drew books, my Today Show appearance, Togo, Bess Marvin, George Fayne, Helen Corning, Ned Nickerson, How the Crossword Cipher cover came to be, Nancy Drew villains, Nancy Drew rewards, Nancy Drew cakes, Nancy Drew vs. Hardy Boys, Nancy's Crook Lists, 1930s ND movies, 2007 ND movie, Nancy Drew computer games, Nancy Drew collecting and tips, Nancy Drew collectibles, 70s TV show, Edward Stratemeyer, Advice from Carson Drew, Aliases, and much more!So hop in your roadsters and enjoy this nostalgia ride back to River Heights along with me!

Click here to join the Blog!

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A tolling bell, a strange cosmetic line, and Tolling Bell Tuna Roll Elves...Let's discuss!

A Few Fast Facts:

Original Ghostwriter: Mildred A. Wirt Benson

2 Illustrators: Russell H. Tandy and Rudy Nappi

Synopsis From My Website:

Nancy, Bess, and George travel to a picturesque seaside town at the invitation of one of Carson Drew's clients. Mr. Drew fails to join the girls, leading to a mystery involving his disappearance and a nearby cliffside cave inhabited by a ghost and his tolling bell.

This is an interesting Nancy Drew book set in a fictional town in Maine, Candleton. It involves a scheming gang involved in various rackets including selling crappy costmetics--which Bess gets duped into purchasing. It also involves an old cave reportedly haunted by a ghost and a tolling bell. Turns out it's just a short villain named Grumper - one of the elves Nancy dreams of after being knocked out. Incidentally in the Nancy Drew Cookbook there's a recipe for "Tolling Bell Tuna Rolls" that might knock your socks of as well--but in a bad way! ;)

The original, though written by Mildred, is a choppier/wordier text which I'll discuss in a future Blog entry.

Original vs. Revised - 5 Interesting Clues:

1. In the original version Bess doesn't like seafood--but she does by the revision.

2. George is skeptical of Nancy's ideas in the original version but it is Bess who is the skeptic in the revision.

3. In the original version Ned is staying up near Candleton, but in the revision, he's selling insurance.

4. Name change - Madame in the original is Mary Smith, in the revision it's Martha Stott.

5. At the end, Ned questions why Nancy changes the subject when he wants to talk about things (romance) other than mysteries, and she just smiles sweetly in the original. In the revised, she gives him the "someday..." line.

3 Mysterious Things About Nancy:

1. Nancy always carries a flashlight in her purse.

2. She's waited tables before.

3. She doesn't like Ned to buy presents for her.

An Important Lesson We Learned From Nancy:

It's a good idea to heed the warnings in notes announcing impending danger!

Sleuthworthy Rating on a Scale of 1-10:

8 - nice mystery with an interesting location and historical bell references.

Jenn:)