The Secret of the Old Clock
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The Secret of the Old Clock is the first book in the Nancy Drew mystery series by Carolyn Keene. Nancy Drew is a young detective, about 16 years old when the series starts, and her father is a well-known lawyer in River Heights, where the Drew family lives. Nancy's mother died when Nancy was a little girl, and now they have a housekeeper, Hannah, who is like a mother to Nancy.
In the original, Nancy is a 16 year-old high school graduate, who desires to help the poor, struggling relatives of Josiah Crowley, deceased. She is spurred on by her dislike for his "heirs," snobbish, wealthy rivals in the community. Traveling through the rural area in her blue roadster, Nancy investigates by interviewing various relatives and friends of Crowley, and has a run-in with thieves in trying to recover Crowley's mantle clock, in which the clue to the whereabouts of his last will are hidden, including an exciting car chase involving guns and police. Along the way, Nancy is briefly aided by Helen Corning, a chum, and encounters girls her own age, the Horners, who stand to inherit by the discovery of the later will. Many of the meetings are accidental. Racist depiction of African-American caretaker is included.
In the 1959 version, Nancy is 18, and is most prompted to help the Crowley kin by her affection for a young child who is a distant relative. The Horners are now the Hoovers, and Nancy helps to discover musical talent in their family. She uses her high-powered navy blue convertible to aid her in her search. This Nancy is more refined and sedate, the gun chase is toned-down, her rivals are depicted as very undeserving of wealth, and Helen is older (in preparation for her initial "write-out," after volume 4 of the revised series. No minorities are depicted at all, and the servant is more a member of the family.
External Links
- The Unofficial Nancy Drew Home Page (http://nancydrew.bobfinnan.com)