This post is part of the Nancy Drew Review Project; visit the project index here.
The Clue in the Diary is the seventh Nancy Drew mystery, and the last of the original set of stories written by Mildred Wirt Benson, the series’ most famous and popular ghostwriter. This book was first published in 1932, and it was subsequently rewritten and reissued in 1962 during the general overhaul the Nancy Drew series had around that time.
For many fans of Nancy, The Clue in the Diary is most memorable because it introduces the character of Ned Nickerson, a charming, dark-haired college man whose unrestrained attraction for the young girl sleuth gives him the role of reliable date / investigating partner. Following this, Ned appears (or is at least mentioned) in practically all Nancy’s adventures, which number in the hundreds. Ned/Nancy is one of the longest-running ships in the game, as the somewhat aloof Nancy cleverly keep the puppy-doggish Ned on his toes, never making a definite commitment beyond their next scheduled date. Personally, I think it’s astonishing that the authors have successfully kept the “will they won’t they” tension alive for almost 100 years at this point. (Also, yes, there is a contingent of fans who prefer the Nancy / Frank Hardy ship, and they deserve to be acknowledged as well.)
In any event, both the 1932 original text and the 1962 revision follow nearly identical plots: while driving home from a carnival with Bess and George, Nancy sees a large mansion literally explode into flames. She rushes to the house to help any potential victims, and glimpses a mysterious man fleeing the scene—leaving behind a diary as he goes. The diary is written in Swedish, and Nancy undertakes to discover the man’s identity, help a newly impoverished single mother, and make a date with her new beau, Ned.
Naturally, the ever-capable Nancy is able to accomplish all this and more, and never with a single strand of her curly blonde hair out of place!
1932 Original Text
I must admit that I didn’t remember enjoying The Clue in the Diary very much prior to this, but I honestly loved the original text! Like the book that came immediately before, The Secret of Red Gate Farm (#6), this book is “classic” Nancy Drew. And by that I mean that’s it’s wholesome, light-hearted, but sufficiently suspenseful to keep me entertained. Wirt Benson’s writing is as strong as ever, and she has a great knack for giving Nancy opportunities to prove just how capable she is.
Even though at this point in the series, Nancy is now flanked by her three constant companions: Bess, George, and Ned, it’s still very much Nancy’s show. The girl cousins are mostly along for moral support and editorializing, and newbie Ned has nowhere near the brains as his newfound crush. Nancy cruises through the plot efficiently and with a lovable gumption. I thought that the dialogue between all of the characters was charming, and often pretty funny—all of the characters tease Nancy about Ned, who is adorably earnest in his pursuit, and a scene between Nancy and her father made me laugh out loud.
Overall mechanics aside, the mystery itself is pretty solid as well. Like most Nancy stories, there are two mysteries that Nancy undertakes to solve, but in this case, it becomes obvious much more quickly how the two plots are connected. And for a change, instead of Nancy trying to find the bad guys, she spends most of her energies trying to prove that the apparently guilty party is actually innocent! This gives the book some variety, which is always welcome in an otherwise fairly formulaic series.
1962 Revised Text
The Clue in the Diary, like the majority of the first 34 mysteries, was perfectly fine in its original incarnation, and didn’t actually “need” any revising (no racism, etc.) The revised text obviously streamlines the original plot, but huge chunks of Wirt Benson’s original action and dialogue are lifted wholesale from the 1932 text—which suited me fine! I was especially happy to see that all the cute moments and teasing re: Ned were kept in the revisions.
The authors didn’t remove any aspects of the original plot during revisions, but the did add some elements, which I thought was a bit strange, honestly. There’s a subplot involving mail fraud, which Nancy handily exposes in a single afternoon, that I didn’t think added much to the original story. It seems that the authors needed more “action” to liven up the revised and condensed plot, but I don’t quite understand how they were able to take a 25-chapter text and shrink it down to 20 chapters, only to add two more chapters of mail fraud? The new story doesn’t feel rushed or overly truncated by any means, but it’s a weird editorial decision to be sure.
But as I said, the revised text still feels coherent and is just as entertaining as the original text. Wirt Benson is a very good children’s author, and I was happy that the revisers kept so much of her original story for the reissue.
The Verdict
Obviously, I prefer the original text. Both versions of the story are perfectly good, but any time you abridge a book and reissue it without making major face-lifts, the “revisions” probably only serve to cut out important character development and description. I thought the original text was extremely charming and wholesome, and I would point to it as a good example of what has made this series so eternally popular: capable girl solves mysteries but still has time left over to develop a well-rounded social calendar and wide social acquaintance.
[Disclaimer: cover art scans are from this site.]
