This post is part of the Nancy Drew Review Project; visit the project index here.
The Secret of the Old Clock is the book that started it all—”it all” in this case being hundreds of bestselling novels, movies, TV shows, computer games, assorted memorabilia, and decades of fond memories from millions of readers. I’ve read this novel countless times since my parents first bought me a set of the glossy flashlight editions when I was 4 years old. Recently, I’ve decided to re-read the series, and while I was at it, I thought I’d acquire the original text versions for the sake of “scholarly comparison.” (LOL.)
“Original text,” you ask? Well! The Secret of the Old Clock was originally published in 1930, and was quickly followed by 34 sequels between 1930 and 1956. These books all had 25 chapters. However, at some point, the Stratemeyer Syndicate decided to completely rewrite the first mysteries in the series, shortening and simplifying them in order to compete with newfangled television shows—and the authors also removed a great deal of “objectionable” content (racial stereotypes, Nancy breaking the law, etc.). The rewritten books, which are still in print, have only 20 chapters. All books written after 1956 were never revised, because they already complied with the 20-chapter, non-racist standard. The revised texts are what most people have read, since they’ve been in publication since the 60s, and they’re obviously intensely popular even now.
However, collectors and most academics tend to prefer the original text stories. A lot of critics feel that in the process of cutting out old-fashioned bigotry (good idea!), the authors also completely diluted the essence of Nancy Drew as a person. Personally, I myself have always felt that Nancy’s character is a little “too perfect,” so with the help of some eBay sleuthing, I purchased reading copies of the first 34 Nancy Drew mysteries in their original 25-chapter glory. For science.
Welcome to my completely objective, very serious, and utterly academic Nancy Drew Review Project™.
1959 Revised Text
The two versions of The Secret of the Old Clock largely follow the same basic premise, so I’ll summarize here: old Josiah Crowley dies, leaving everything to his unlikable cousins, the Topham family—however, Josiah’s other relatives insist that there must be a second will. Nancy Drew, daughter to a locally famous attorney, decides to poke around and search for a second will after taking a liking to some of old Josiah’s “more deserving relatives.” After some mishaps, Nancy is successful, and she’s delighted to get the money to the people who deserve it most.
I’ve read the revised text at least 5 times over the past 20 years. Even in 2021, I appreciate Nancy’s cool logic, resourcefulness, and independence. She doesn’t need help from anyone to do what she wants to do, be it pursuing robbers, changing a flat tire, or going out on a date. Yet in spite of all this, I’ve never been a big a fan of the series as some others seem to be, mostly because the revised texts are extremely short and so action-focused that it’s hard to do more than take a deep breath before Nancy’s off on some other adventure.
Still, the revised text is solid. Solid enough that it convinced me to read the rest of the series, multiple times. A good 3 out of 5 stars.
1930 Original Text
Oh boy. Within about two pages, I could see right away why readers complained about the revised text. More than being a capable investigator, this Nancy is a real person. We see her teasing her dad, acting “impetuously” when excited, and not only admitting that she doesn’t like the Tophams, but honestly enjoying when they get their comeuppance. This Nancy isn’t a picture-perfect automaton, and she’s so much more likable!
The additional 5 chapters of material also enable the author to space out some of the action, to give more attention to description, and to show more of Nancy’s processes and inner thoughts. Now Nancy doesn’t just change a flat tire—she admits to herself that she hates the job, but does it anyway because there’s no other alternative, and she doesn’t mind when her clothes get ruined. She laughs of the entire incident with good humor and a shrug. This one scene explains so much more about our protagonist than anything I’ve read in all of the revised texts combined.
Aside from just more content, there are a few differences in the original text. Nancy doesn’t stick to speed limits when she’s on a chase, and she willfully conceals the fact that she’s in possession of stolen property from police officers. There are a few more characters/subplots in the revised text as well (which is weird considering the shorter length). Also missing is a bit from the revised text where Nancy offers to drive a man to town, and he drives the car for her; in the 1930 text, he sits in the passenger seat while Nancy drives her own damn car, thank you very much. There’s also some illegal drinking (Prohibition era) and a police shootout in the original text, both of which make the story so much more interesting.
Of course, there’s also a fairly racist scene in the original text that was rightfully excised during revisions. At one point, Nancy encounters the Black caretaker of the Topham’s summer bungalow, who speaks entirely in the same “dialect” that Gone with the Wind is infamous for. Nancy speaks to the Black caretaker a little impatiently, but this is because he’s drunk and derelict in his duties, and not really on account of his race. Considering this, I don’t really understand why, in revisions, the authors made this character white—it would have been simpler to edit out the racist dialect but keep everything else. If the author was concerned about portraying drunkenness on-page, they could have given a different excuse for the caretaker’s poor performance in protecting the property and Nancy’s resulting annoyance. Instead, not only is the caretaker in the revised text white, he’s also elderly, and Nancy speaks to him with kindness and respect. It’s a whole switch, and probably somebody could write a lengthy essay about why the authors were okay with a drunk Black caretaker but not okay with a drunk white one. (Alas, I don’t have the time.)
But apparently, this is a common motif throughout all of the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys revisions that the Syndicate completed in the 60s and 70s; rather than commit to good representation of BIPOC characters, the authors just made everyone white. To be fair, this is still happening today. Rather than do the work to confront internalized prejudices, authors and screenwriters just opt out of depicting BIPOC entirely. Which, honestly, does less harm than outright racist scenes, but doesn’t do much good, either.
Anyhoo. If you can tolerate / look past / grudgingly forebear with one chapter of racialized dialect, then the original text of The Secret of the Old Clock is, like…massively good. I honestly can’t believe that the publishers have been trying to feed us that off-brand Nancy impostor for the past 60 years when this Nancy Drew existed. What a waste of good writing and character development.
The Verdict
Although dated, the original 1930 text is better than the revised text in almost every respect, especially for modern readers who are used to protagonists who have realistic flaws and make mistakes. Impetuous Nancy who’s triumphant at the downfall of her nemeses is far better than mature, even-keeled Nancy who lets a man drive her precious car just because he’s a man. (Honestly, what the actual fuck.)
The Secret of the Old Clock’s original text wins by a mile.
[Disclaimer: cover art scans are from this site.]
