Queen Duckee!

Ducks rule! At least they do in my world. 2 bad if you don't think so.

Today I am going to review something great: MYSTERY... of Nancy Drew. What is the history of Nancy Drew? If you've ever wanted to know, read this NOW! (Or 4ever hold your peace.)

The History of the Famous Girl Sleuth: by Amy S.
In 1930, Edward Stratemeyer thought up the idea of spunky, independent, outgoing Nancy Drew. He asked a writer, Mildred Wirt (later Benson), to write the series. There never was a Carolyn Keene.

A year later, Edward Stratemeyer died, leaving the business to his two daughters. They kept it up well, but after a while, one sister left, leaving the other to run the business. She was Harriet Adams.

Harriet Adams ran the company, Stratemeyer Sindicate, successfully for a very long time. She kept the series going... but she didn't keep the author around for the duration of the series. She thought that the way Ms. Wirt made Nancy was too spunky, and that Nancy should settle down a bit. When Adams first took control of the syndicate, she politely asked Wirt to tone it down a little. However, after a few years, she was becoming what some might call dictatorial. She declined whole parts of books, and, although at the time she herself didn't actually write them, she made strict outlines for Wirt to follow.

After awhle, when the company was struggling, Adams cut the pay from $125/ book to $75/book. Although most of the writers accepted this, Wirt did not think it was worth it. She left after having written 23 books. Other authors took over.

In the late 1950's, sales of the series was decreasing, supposedly due to the shorter attention span of children caused by TV's. Adams decided to give the books a total makeover. Rewriting whole parts of books, she gave Nancy a whole new feel. In some books, there had been racial discrimination; this was cut out of the books when Adams was re-making Nancy Drew.

After many years, in the 1980's, the syndicare finally could hold out no longer. After a series of complicated legal cases involving the rights to publishing the books, the syndicate closed up, and control of the series was handed over to Simon & Scheuster.

However, despite all the changes, Nancy Drew fans still love the books, proving that Nancy Drew is a timeless classic.

So the moral of the story is: Duckees rule! And I'm Queen Duckee :)