31 Days of Nancy Drew Topic #27 1940s Nancy Drew Books

31 Days of Nancy Drew Topic #27

1940s Nancy Drew Books

As I discussed in yesterday's posting, by the mid 1930s, the Nancy Drew series was popular and selling very well. Even the Great Depression couldn't stop Nancy Drew. The 1940s rolled around and the war years came and then era of post-war. During this time period behind the scenes, there was a lot going on. Edna Stratemeyer Squier, who handled the majority of the Nancy Drew books as to plotting and editing up until this point, would soon relocate to Florida and her sister Harriet Stratemeyer Adams would take over full time on the outlines and editing. Ghostwriter Mildred Wirt Benson's first husband, Asa Wirt, would start having a series of strokes that would cause him to be bedridden and in need of lots of care. Millie would have to go to work full time to support them and eventually got on as a reporter at the Toledo Times. Between that and taking care of Asa and writing books at night, there was a lot of work for the weary. Things would become more volatile between Harriet and Millie though the letters at NYPL show a mostly professional and cordial relationship. But letters between Harriet and Edna revealed Harriet's frustrations. Eventually, there would be new ghostwriters beginning with George Waller, Jr., who ghosted #26, The Clue of the Leaning Chimney, and by the 1950s - the subject of tomorrow's posting, I'll briefly go more into that change up and what was going on.

Due to the war and rations, there was a paper shortage - some of the vintage books carry a  paragraph inside that states the book was produced during war time conditions. Paper from these war time books is a cheaper pulp paper that ages and is brittle. If you've ever picked up one of these and found the pages chipping and flaking off or very tanned and dark, that's why. I've included an image of the notice and you can see the aged paper.

As we start off the decade, originally Nancy's cruise in Brass-Bound Trunk involved England, but due to the war, this had to be changed up to South America which the Syndicate took care of. Inside the books, however, the goal wasn't to focus on WW2 or mention it - as to not date the books, but Nancy did some things like walking more or using her bicycle rather than driving, as part of a way to appear to be conserving. She even takes up flying lessons in #22 The Clue in the Crumbling Wall. Regardless of what was going on in the real word, Nancy forged on and solved quite a few thrilling mysteries during the 1940s from #17 The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk to #26 The Clue of the Leaning Chimney, all published from 1940 to 1949. This was the last decade to feature the lovely Russell H. Tandy illustrated covers and frontispiece illustrations. And the introduction of the wrap spine to the dust jackets beginning with #23, The Mystery of the Tolling Bell. By #24, The Clue in the Old Album, the revised book cover 1940s silhouette missing the scarf, shadow and high heels debuted. We get a fun format during this decade that I like, which is the 30s silhouette but in blue instead of orange for a print run before the 40s silhouette debuted. I'll include an image of that. Some printings or a portion of a print run even used up old maroon Dana Girls endpapers but not all books are found with these. The books I've found - listing to Tolling Bell on the dust jacket's front inner flap - are #'s 3-7, 9, 12, 14, and 18. It is possible they might exist for #'s 1-2, 8, 10-11, 13, 15-17, and 19-24--if anyone has these volumes with these endpapers, let us know.

 

In the 1940s we get to meet Chief McGinnis for the first time, Nancy's cat Snowball makes a one time appearance (Brass-Bound Trunk) and housekeeper Hannah Gruen becomes even more motherly and a part of the family. Nancy's dog Togo becomes more involved in Nancy's sleuthing - like in  #25, The Ghost of Blackwood Hall, a requirement that Harriet had in sending the outline to Millie. Romance is more of a focus - at least in #21 The Secret in the Old Attic, requested by Harriet and you'll see that play out in the mystery with the dance, the invitation stolen by Diane Dight, and the ever-annoying Horace Lally who tries to get Nancy to go with him to the dance. Then there's the memorable and melodramatic rescue of Nancy by Ned breaking into the secret room off the old attic, sweeping her up in his arms and carrying her out of the evil tarantula's (was a black widow in the revision) clutches and then getting to ride in the backseat together while the others ride up front ;-)  Ooh la la. Behind the scenes, Harriet wanted Millie to bring in a more modern take on romance to the book and had to add a few touches here and there, because romance wasn't Millie's strong suit. The romance, though more pronounced in this book, was still a minor focus, because the old attic mystery kept Nancy pretty busy. Sorry Ned! Did she end up going to the dance with Ned? Read it and see.....

Throughout the 1940s, Nancy sails to South America, investigates a moss-covered mansion, searches for treasure on Little Palm Island, sleuths in what is most likely Maine on a quaint coastal mystery involving a tolling bell and a strange dream sequence involving "elves," deals with swindlers and thieves, travels to New Orleans briefly, and gets to sail her own boat. In #20, The Clue in the Jewel Box, Nancy even gets involved in a mystery involving Madame Alexandra and discovering Madame's long lost heir - a mystery inspired by the Bolshevik Revolution and the killing of the Tsar and his family and the mystery that transfixed the world about the possibility of one of the Romanovs escaping - Anastasia. While not specifically referenced in the letters, it's clearly obvious, based on the story in Jewel Box and the Russian background, that the background material was indeed this. We have a fantastic article written by Pamela Hancock on Jewel Box and the back story for our upcoming March/April 2019 issue of The Sleuth which focuses on Jewel Box.

 

Nancy is much less brash in the 1940s and less "rough and tumble" - Harriet's idea of Nancy is more of a Wellesley girl, after all, so this decade begins the taming of Nancy Drew in some degree to a little more demure, more respectful of authority figures, relying more on her friends and Ned at times, and we'll see that full transformation by the 1960s and 1970s.

Here's but a few of the many things we learned about Nancy from the 40s books:

1. Nancy keeps an atlas in her bedroom.

2. Nancy often smiles "wanly" after bad things happen to her.

3. Wherever she goes, intrigue follows.

4. Nancy keeps a scrapbook.

5. An owl hoot signal is one of her sleuthing specialties.

6. Nancy's taking flying lessons.

7. Nancy always carries a flashlight in her purse.

8. Nancy has dolls, but she doesn't play with them!

9. Nancy likes to fish.

10. The police wish they had her woman's intuition.

 

Here's some fun lessons we learned from Nancy:

If you suspect your purse may be snatched, hide the important contents in a skirt pocket.

You can weed out an impostor by checking for distinguishing marks like a birth mark!

As important as it is to use your own wits and rely on yourself, sometimes it just feels really good to be rescued by a cute strong boy.

You can tail someone by pressing your ear to the ground to listen for footsteps.

Kids are easily bribed to spill the beans by offering candy and soda.

It never pays to flimflam the public!

Small footprints with a short stride might mean a villain is using height-enhancing shoes.

 

In the comments, let us know if you've read any of the 1940s versions of books 17-26 (they all have 25 chapters, remember that tip!). Do you have a favorite among these books? When reading these, did you notice a change of writer between #25 and #26? (You would if you read them back to back.) Were there any particular mysteries in the 17-26 that you preferred over the others?