Going back to River Heights
"Don't judge a book by its cover" goes the adage, but in many instances, it was precisely the cover -- along with the title -- which determined my choice of reading material as a child.
Doesn't a title like The Mystery of the 99 Steps sound absolutely intriguing? I certainly thought so for I remember picking it out as my first Nancy Drew book. Frankly, the specific details of my acquiring the book escape me now, though I do recall that "mystery" and the prospect of a 99-step staircase caught my fancy.
Before reaching my teens, I had finished reading about Nancy's adventures, her friends Bess and George, haunted mansions and secret panels, and learned words such as "astonished," "hunch" and "blood-curdling" via the classic Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series from volume 1 to 55. Only recently did I realize that there was a number 56. "Huh? The Thirteenth Pearl? How come I had never heard of that?" I asked in astonishment. This was around the time I had just finished re-reading one of my all-time favorites -- The Mystery at Lilac Inn -- after coming across it in a box of old bric-a-brac then experiencing a wave of nostalgia as I pored over the yellowing pages.
I decided to get a second-hand copy of volume 56, went along for the ride that had Nancy and her friends tracking down the culprits behind a series of jewelry thefts and ending with the mystery solved (of course).
Not only did the read give me hours of enjoyment; it re-awakened my interest in the titian-haired sleuth as well. Soon after, my online research led me to some pretty fascinating discoveries that piqued my curiosity. Among them:
* The first books came out in 1930 (Wow, talk about vintage)
* There are original-text (OT) and revised-text (RT) editions of the books (What?!)
* The copies I had as a child were the RT version (Whaaat?!) as far as volumes 1-34 are concerned (Oh, okay)
After coming upon this discovery about original stories undergoing revisions, I set out to search for copies of the OT editions. A few have come into my possession and I would say that each was acquired mostly by chance. I am still on the lookout for affordable copies of specific titles but have decided to put the brakes on any active search for these vintage treasures for the time being.
Be that as it may, I have grown to truly appreciate the stories in their original form. Many of those I have gotten to read were penned by a lady named Mildred Wirt Benson, the first "Carolyn Keene," the brilliant writer who brought Nancy Drew and her feisty, resourceful, courageous and smart yet kind and ladylike character to life (too many adjectives, I know, but they all describe the teen detective character as she originally was before being somewhat toned down post-revision and post-volume 34).
My admiration of Mrs. Benson's writing in its original version continues. Notwithstanding the temporary halt to book-hunting, I aspire to someday have in my hands all 23 of the mysteries she wrote (1-7, 11-25, and 30). At the same time, thanks to an online group of fans of the book series, which I joined, the marvelous cover art and internal illustrations have come to my attention, too. Since I grew up reading the matte yellow revised edition produced in the 1960s and 1970s, that's what I had been familiar with all these years. Seeing the covers that came out in the series' first decades, therefore, was fascinating.
Artistic styles that prevailed in the age of the Great Depression till the years following World War 2 are remarkably different from those that characterized the era during which groups like the Beatles shot to fame and when fashion and societal norms reflected the general relaxed attitude of the next decade. I would say that the elegance of Russell H. Tandy's art, more than any other quality, is what I find appealing.
Mr. Tandy is the gentleman behind the artwork for 25 of the original Nancy Drew covers as well as a good number of internal illustrations between 1930 and 1949. According to Nancy Drew Sleuth, these include the original art dust jackets for volumes 1-10 and 12-26, and the internal illustrations for volumes 1-26. I have yet to see and study more of his work; at the moment, I am immensely taken by the lone illustration among the pages of The Haunted Bridge -- my first OT in the tweed format. The pen-and-ink work of art is simple yet rich, and I find Nancy depicted quite beautifully.
Just today I came across an image of The Clue in the Old Attic cover by Mr. Tandy. The image was huge, taking up almost my laptop's entire screen. Looking at the various elements of the painting, I understood for the first time the wonderment with which many book collectors and avid readers I've come to know, regard the cover. A closer look at the painting, magnified to such a size, reveals details that would normally be overlooked -- fortunately, I was afforded a view of the image that brought to light those details, changing the way I previously saw the picture.
Midway through re-reading Lilac Inn a couple of months ago, I was heartened that the thrill which comes with reading a mystery could still be experienced a second time as an adult, and decades later at that. How wonderful to realize that a renewed interest in the teen detective from River Heights can likewise lead to a deeper appreciation not only of the fruits of the writer who clutched the pen but also the talent of the artist who held the paintbrush.
Doesn't a title like The Mystery of the 99 Steps sound absolutely intriguing? I certainly thought so for I remember picking it out as my first Nancy Drew book. Frankly, the specific details of my acquiring the book escape me now, though I do recall that "mystery" and the prospect of a 99-step staircase caught my fancy.
Before reaching my teens, I had finished reading about Nancy's adventures, her friends Bess and George, haunted mansions and secret panels, and learned words such as "astonished," "hunch" and "blood-curdling" via the classic Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series from volume 1 to 55. Only recently did I realize that there was a number 56. "Huh? The Thirteenth Pearl? How come I had never heard of that?" I asked in astonishment. This was around the time I had just finished re-reading one of my all-time favorites -- The Mystery at Lilac Inn -- after coming across it in a box of old bric-a-brac then experiencing a wave of nostalgia as I pored over the yellowing pages.
Not only did the read give me hours of enjoyment; it re-awakened my interest in the titian-haired sleuth as well. Soon after, my online research led me to some pretty fascinating discoveries that piqued my curiosity. Among them:
* The first books came out in 1930 (Wow, talk about vintage)
* There are original-text (OT) and revised-text (RT) editions of the books (What?!)
* The copies I had as a child were the RT version (Whaaat?!) as far as volumes 1-34 are concerned (Oh, okay)
After coming upon this discovery about original stories undergoing revisions, I set out to search for copies of the OT editions. A few have come into my possession and I would say that each was acquired mostly by chance. I am still on the lookout for affordable copies of specific titles but have decided to put the brakes on any active search for these vintage treasures for the time being.
Be that as it may, I have grown to truly appreciate the stories in their original form. Many of those I have gotten to read were penned by a lady named Mildred Wirt Benson, the first "Carolyn Keene," the brilliant writer who brought Nancy Drew and her feisty, resourceful, courageous and smart yet kind and ladylike character to life (too many adjectives, I know, but they all describe the teen detective character as she originally was before being somewhat toned down post-revision and post-volume 34).
My admiration of Mrs. Benson's writing in its original version continues. Notwithstanding the temporary halt to book-hunting, I aspire to someday have in my hands all 23 of the mysteries she wrote (1-7, 11-25, and 30). At the same time, thanks to an online group of fans of the book series, which I joined, the marvelous cover art and internal illustrations have come to my attention, too. Since I grew up reading the matte yellow revised edition produced in the 1960s and 1970s, that's what I had been familiar with all these years. Seeing the covers that came out in the series' first decades, therefore, was fascinating.
Artistic styles that prevailed in the age of the Great Depression till the years following World War 2 are remarkably different from those that characterized the era during which groups like the Beatles shot to fame and when fashion and societal norms reflected the general relaxed attitude of the next decade. I would say that the elegance of Russell H. Tandy's art, more than any other quality, is what I find appealing.
 |
| Art: Russell H. Tandy (1943)/The Haunted Bridge by Caroline Keene (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1937) |
Mr. Tandy is the gentleman behind the artwork for 25 of the original Nancy Drew covers as well as a good number of internal illustrations between 1930 and 1949. According to Nancy Drew Sleuth, these include the original art dust jackets for volumes 1-10 and 12-26, and the internal illustrations for volumes 1-26. I have yet to see and study more of his work; at the moment, I am immensely taken by the lone illustration among the pages of The Haunted Bridge -- my first OT in the tweed format. The pen-and-ink work of art is simple yet rich, and I find Nancy depicted quite beautifully.
Just today I came across an image of The Clue in the Old Attic cover by Mr. Tandy. The image was huge, taking up almost my laptop's entire screen. Looking at the various elements of the painting, I understood for the first time the wonderment with which many book collectors and avid readers I've come to know, regard the cover. A closer look at the painting, magnified to such a size, reveals details that would normally be overlooked -- fortunately, I was afforded a view of the image that brought to light those details, changing the way I previously saw the picture.
 |
| Art: Russell H. Tandy (1944)/The Secret in the Old Attic by Carolyn Keene (New York: Grosset & Dunlap,1944) |
Midway through re-reading Lilac Inn a couple of months ago, I was heartened that the thrill which comes with reading a mystery could still be experienced a second time as an adult, and decades later at that. How wonderful to realize that a renewed interest in the teen detective from River Heights can likewise lead to a deeper appreciation not only of the fruits of the writer who clutched the pen but also the talent of the artist who held the paintbrush.
 |
| Postcard-size Nancy Drew Mystery Stories cover art from The Lost Files of Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 2007) |
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