Nancy Drew Mystery Stories

Publishing history

Mildred Wirt Benson is credited with writing 22 of the first 25 novels in the series. Other authors contributed as well, but in 1959, Edward Stratemeyer's daughter, Harriet Adams began rewriting the earlier books in the series, sometimes substituting entirely new plots while retaining the same title.

In the Harriet Adams revisions, Nancy is depicted as a less impulsive, less headstrong girl of Stratemeyer’s and Mildred’s vision, to a milder, more sedate and refined girl— "more sugar and less spice", with an extensive wardrobe and a more charitable outlook. Helen Corning appears older, perhaps in preparation for her "write-out" after volume 4 of the revised series (no explanation was made in the original series) and to introduce Bess and her cousin George. Perceived racial stereotypes were omitted. Action increased significantly and became faster-paced. Greater developmental detail was given to Nancy and her home.

In 1979, after a court battle between the Stratemeyer Syndicate and Grosset & Dunlap, the original publishers (in hardback) of the first fifty-six Nancy Drew titles, publication rights to new stories were granted to Simon & Schuster. Titles from #57, The Triple Hoax (1979), were thereafter published primarily in paperback.

Books #57-78 were initially printed under Simon & Schuster's Children's imprint Wanderer as digest sized paperbacks (although some were also later published in the regular paperback format, which was also the format of choice for some foreign editions, especially the UK Armada releases). Limited numbers of hardback editions are also known to have been produced, mostly for libraries.

The titles were initially presented in set cover format referred to as the "Arch" design, with most covers drawn by Ruth Sanderson. The twenty-two titles were also reprinted under the Wanderer imprint in a new "checkerboard" design before the series moved, from #79 on, to the new Minstrel imprint, whereupon they received still newer covers in the "checkerboard" design. The series ultimately moved again to Simon & Schuster's Aladdin Paperbacks imprint, undergoing two further cover revamps, "White" and "Paint".

Grosset & Dunlap

The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories were first published in the United States in 1930 by Grosset & Dunlap in a series of hardbacks. Revision of all titles through Volume 34 began in 1959.

In the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories order form (found in the near-end page of each Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins and Hardy Boys books) by Grosset & Dunlap, the series only shows 56 titles, that is, from The Secret of the Old Clock to The Thirteenth Pearl. It doesn't show the 57th to 64th titles.

Simon & Schuster

In 1979, the Stratemeyer Syndicate switched publishers for many reasons. Even though 57-64 were first published by Simon & Schuster, they have been re-published by Grosset & Dunlap as of 2005.

United Kingdom

The Nancy Drew Mystery Series was published in a series of hardbacks and paperbacks in the UK, starting in 1971 and 1973. The British publisher was Collins Publishing, and its paperback imprint Armada Books (which also published the Hardy Boys and Three Investigators, among other series'). When the Nancy Drew series was published in England, the order was changed significantly and the titles' numbering was revised from the American standard.

Thus, the original fifty-six American Grosset & Dunlap-published titles become the first fifty UK titles, with #57-78 being published as #51-72. Collins, therefore, had a deal in place with both American publishers and, indeed, were obliged "for contractual reasons" to publish some of the later Simon & Schuster titles before some of the Grosset & Dunlap ones. Collins/Armada published the twenty-two Simon & Schuster/Wanderer titles in sequence, albeit off by six, and then finished publishing the six "missing" Grosset & Dunlap titles (including the first, The Secret of the Old Clock).

The twenty-two (US) Wanderer-imprint titles were produced between 1979 and 1985, after which the main Nancy Drew Mystery Stories went on a short hiatus. During this time, Simon & Schuster began publishing The Nancy Drew Files series for older teenagers, and subsequently re-aligned the 'main' series, moving it to a new imprint in 1987, with The Double Horror of Fenley Place, the first Nancy Drew title published under the American Minstrel imprint. Accordingly, after publishing twenty-two Wanderer (and seventy-eight overall) titles in the main Nancy Drew series, the Collins/Armada licence terminated in June 1992. The following month, Simon & Schuster itself began publishing the more recent Minstrel-imprint US titles under their Pocket Books UK imprint, starting with the now numerically aligned Volume #79. For contractual reasons, Armada was "obliged to publish No. 51 onwards before publishing Nos. 41-50".

The Reader's Club or Cameo editions

Nancy Drew was issued as a book club feature, the Nancy Drew Reader's Club, from 1959 to early 1961. In all, twelve volumes were issued, six in 1959 and six in 1960. These volumes were issued with new illustrations by artist Polly Bolian. The volumes matched Grosset & Dunlap's other Doubleday Book Club publication, Young Library. A full color jacket illustration was repeated as the frontispiece, and double-page pen and ink drawings highlighted the texts. References or notices for other volumes, and volume numbering, was removed from the text and the jackets.

Plans for additional titles were abandoned after two years and the series ceased publication in early 1961. The volumes are highly desired by today's collectors due to their original artwork and the scarcity of their dust jackets, made on inferior, lightweight matte paper instead of heavier-gauge glossy paper used on other editions. The books with jackets are considered scarce, those with a 1960 date being much more difficult to find by collectors.

Book Club Editions

Nancy Drew was issued in the yellow-spine picture format, as a book club, in 1962. The back covers were solid yellow, and spines feature no volume numbers. "Book Club Edition" appears on the title page. Only Volumes 1–32 were issued. In the 1970s, a book club offer was available directly from the publisher, but these volumes were exactly the same as regularly purchased volumes; they were simply mailed on schedule to the subscriber.

Twin Thriller

Several Nancy Drew books were published as two-volumes-in-one in the 1970s. Covers featured geometric clover designs on lilac grey, with a vignette from one of the two volumes' original cover art. All of the volumes are sequential, i.e., 1–2, 3–4, except for the final two issued. Volumes 17 and 24 appear together as one, as they were not revised until the mid-1970s.

Applewood Books reprints

Applewood Books began reprinting facsimile editions of the early Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys in 1991. The books feature the original dust jacket art, original illustrations (although not scattered through the text), original texts, and duplication binding of the early Nancy Drew format. Many of the volumes contain forewords from adult author fans of the series, such as Sara Paretsky. Applewood issued original series titles up to #21, The Secret in the Old Attic. Although Volumes 22 and 23, The Clue in the Crumbling Wall and The Mystery of the Tolling Bell, respectively, were featured in the 2006–2007 catalogue, these additional titles were not ultimately published as company representatives stated that sales of later volumes had tapered and plans to extend the line were discontinued in 2007. Reprints of several early volumes remain available directly from Applewood.

Literarture Nancy Drew Dust Jacket Collection reprints

In late 2006, Literarture, licensed by publisher Simon and Schuster, began releasing prints of classic Nancy Drew dust jacket artwork by Russell Tandy, Bill Gillies and Rudy Nappi derived from pristine vintage art elements and, in some cases, following extensive research, the original paintings themselves. The jackets, issued as limited edition offset lithographs, can either be framed or wrapped comfortably around most series book formats. The line was discontinued after many dust jackets were offered for sale.

Nancy Drew originals

In early 2007, Grosset and Dunlap began retailing special volumes of Nancy Drew mysteries with original artwork but revised content in different product assortments and packaging.