gudetamama’s Reviews > The Secret of the Old Clock > Status Update

"As Nancy stood looking wistfully at the old clock she little dreamed that in the near future she would be involved in The Hidden Staircase mystery, a far more baffling case than the one she had just solved."

Nice job advertising the next book at the end of the first one.

This is her dad's reaction after Nancy returns from being locked up by the robbers: As the lawyer kissed his daughter good night, he added, “My dear, you were in serious danger when you encountered those thieves. I don’t like to have you take such risks. I am very grateful indeed that you are back home safe.”

Wow that's it? If I were her dad I'd be worried sick and be mad and totally ground her.

People attend luncheon. Nancy wears gloves when driving. She also speaks to the mayor. So classeh.

And illustrations! Fuck yeah.

"The child looked very cunning in a pink play suit."

"Nancy drove as rapidly as the law permitted" - so responsible

Nancy seems to do a lot of thinking out loud. Guess we can't all have our own Watson.

Though Nancy is 18 here, the words are simple and paragraphs kept really short, for the target audience. If I were ten years old and reading this, it would be like having a cool older sister/cousin to look up to.

I thought I'd dip into some Nancy Drew. It's certainly a blast from the past. The writing and thought processes seem almost unnatural. Certain words like "she asked excitedly" reveal how dated this is. In the first paragraph Nancy is immediately described as attractive, and later on, "becomingly dressed". Her father is also described as handsome. It's like looking at the pages of an old magazine set in Pleasantville.