Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and The Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak

Ever since I was a girl, I just loved Nancy Drew books. I started off reading my mother’s original printings that she picked up during her childhood, and from there, I was hooked. Nancy Drew is probably the reason I am still hooked on reading as an adult. In Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and The Women Who Created Her, Melanie Rehak writes a behind the scenes history of Nancy Drew and her creators. She asks why has Nancy Drew survived through the Depression, World War II, the sixties upheaval, feminism, and still captured the hearts and minds of girls throughout all of these changes in our social structure. Who created her, and how did they influence the world of our girlhood?

Melanie Rehak introduces us to the Stratemeyer clan, the creators of Nancy Drew and many other childhood 50-cent novels beginning in the early 1900s. Edward, the father, began writing stories like the Bobbsey Twins and developed the idea of Nancy Drew, but his daughter Harriet carried on the dream of Nancy Drew way into the 1980s. The Stratemeyer clan hired ghostwriters to work on their novels based on detailed outlines; Mildred Wirt Benson was hired to write the first Nancy Drews. Mildred created the character of Nancy, and she used much of her own character to build Nancy. After awhile, Mildred broke off her association with the clan, and other writers took over, including eventually Harriet Stratemeyer herself.

Harriet protected Nancy Drew through the years, including protecting her basic character during the1960s and forward, when publishers wanted her to be sexier and boy-crazy. Then came trouble in the business, and a big question over which author was the real creator of Nancy Drew. Melanie Rehak digs through all of the history to bring out the truth. She never judges and presents an equal side for each woman involved. She even follows the history of Nancy into the 80s and 90s, into the new Nancy Drew Files, the new novels I remember from my teenage years.

I loved this book. Not only did it bring back wonderful memories of Nancy Drew (I actually found copies of all the books and the Nancy Drew Files and added them to my Amazon Wish List), I found another series I remember from my aunt’s childhood that unexpectedly was written by Mildred Wirt Benson. I found out more about the girl who captured my imagination and the vibrant, intelligent, and forward thinking women that created her and formed so many girls hopes and dreams throughout the 20th century. Melanie Rehak wrote with passion but never overstepped and made judgments. If you ever loved reading Nancy Drew, or knew a girl who did, you should read this book.

Rating: 5 Purrs