The Dana Girls

The Dana Girls mystery stories, 1932 - 1968, were created by American author Harriet Stratemeyer Adams to capitalize on the popularity of both the Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys books. The first four books were written by Leslie McFarlane who wrote 19 out of the first 25 in the Hardy Boys series. The rest of The Dana Girls books were mainly written by Adams and Mildred Wirt Benson, who also wrote many of the early volumes in the Nancy Drew series.

"The adventures of resourceful Louise Dana and her irrepressible sister Jean are packed with thrills, excitement and mystery," read the back covers of the "picture editions," as they are known (originally produced with dustjackets), the series—like most others—gave way to "picture covers," (which is self-explanatory). The series was one of Stratemeyer Syndicate's most successful. When its popularity began to wane in the sixties, the series was revamped—a number of titles were dropped, the remaining ones re-ordered, a few new ones written, and new seventies artwork substituted for the fifties look that had prevailed. This makes the Danas unique in series fiction history--a series that was stopped not once, but twice (the series stopped in 1945 and was out of print for four years), then out of print for about three years (1969, 1970, and 1971) before their modernized version was presented. NOTE: the only changes in the series from its 1934-45 run and its reintroduction in 1949 was that all dust jackets were full-color, with wrap spines, and the internal frontispiece was modernized in style. From 1934-1945, the books only had a four color jacket (first lilac and apple green with black and white, later cadet blue with scarlet red).

Indirect evidence (including the less-expensive dust covers) seem to indicate they didn't benefit from the same promotion as Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys, even though the Danas are copied after the Hardys. The girls are part-orphans (guardians are sibling aunt and uncle) and attend an exclusive girls prep school. Not only do they encounter the rich and famous in this setting (and in their hometown), the stories feature subplots involving athletics, drama, art, and educational studies, as well as comic relief provided by an arch-rival, Letitia (Lettie) Briggs, and her crony, Ina Mason. Stories combine (unevenly at times) schoolgirl plots with mystery elements. The school conveniently burns and takes enough time for refurbishment to allow for trips to the far east and the Western United States.

Series titles

• By the Light of the Study Lamp (1934)
• The Secret at Lone Tree Cottage (1934)
• In the Shadow of the Tower (1934)
• A Three-Cornered Mystery (1935)
• The Secret at the Hermitage (1936)
• The Circle of Footprints (1937)
• The Mystery of the Locked Room (1938)
• The Clue in the Cobweb (1939)
• The Secret at the Gatehouse (1940)
• The Mysterious Fireplace (1941)
• The Clue of the Rusty Key (1942)
• The Portrait in the Sand (1943)
• The Secret in the Old Well (1944)
• The Clue in the Ivy (1952)
• The Secret of the Jade Ring (1953)
• Mystery at the Crossroads (1954)
• The Ghost in the Gallery (1955)
• The Clue of the Black Flower (1956)
• The Winking Ruby Mystery (1957)
• The Secret of the Swiss Chalet (1958)
• The Haunted Lagoon (1959)
• The Mystery of the Bamboo Bird (1960)
• The Sierra Gold Mystery (1961)
• The Secret of Lost Lake (1963)
• The Mystery of the Stone Tiger (1963)
• The Riddle of the Frozen Fountain (1964)
• The Secret of the Silver Dolphin (1965)
• Mystery of the Wax Queen (1966)
• The Secret of the Minstrel's Guitar (1967)
• The Phantom Surfer (1968)

External links

• The Dana Girls Page (http://nancydrew.bobfinnan.com/dana.htm)
• The Unofficial Nancy Drew Home Page (http://nancydrew.bobfinnan.com)
• The Hardy Boys Unofficial Home Page (http://hardyboys.bobfinnan.com)