'Girl Detectives' Still Draw from Drew

After 75 years, Nancy Drew is still going strong.

I, like many of my peers, couldn't get enough of the Nancy Drew books while growing up. I remember entering a speech contest in 4th grade for which the topic was, "If I could be anyone in the world, it would be..."

Despite the fact that I dreaded public speaking, I entered and spoke about being Carolyn Keene. I so admired this woman who wrote endless exciting mysteries that were read by girls all over the world. To be an author!

It wasn't until I was done with high school and working in my first position as a Youth Services Assistant that I learned the ugly truth. To quote from the article:

"It's hard to imagine the legacy Nancy Drew's creator, Carolyn Keene, could have envisioned for her beloved character — actually, it's impossible. That's because "Carolyn Keene" was and still is a pen name for an evolving group of male and female writers called the Stratemeyer Syndicate."

Part of me is still a smidge bitter.

Sigh.

Anyway, pretty good article on Nancy's endurance. Read the rest.