Girl Sleuth Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her [Paperback]

A plucky “titian-haired” sleuth solved her first mystery in 1930. Eighty million books later, Nancy Drew has survived the Depression, World War II, and the sixties (when she was taken up with a vengeance by women’s libbers) to enter the pantheon of American girlhood. As beloved by girls today as she was by their grandmothers, Nancy Drew has both inspired and reflected the changes in her readers’ lives. Here, in a narrative with all the vivid energy and page-turning pace of Nancy’s adventures, Melanie Rehak solves an enduring literary mystery: Who created Nancy Drew? And how did she go from pulp heroine to icon? 
 
The brainchild of children’s book mogul Edward Stratemeyer, Nancy was brought to life by two women: Mildred Wirt Benson, a pioneering journalist from Iowa, and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, a well-bred wife and mother who took over as CEO after her father died. In this century-spanning story, Rehak traces their roles—and Nancy’s—in forging the modern American woman.

PRAISE FORGIRL SLEUTH 
[An] absorbing and delightful book. --The Wall Street Journal

Girl Sleuth is an enjoyable, thorough piece of detective work. It would earn a nod of approval from Nancy Drew herself. --The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

Girl Sleuthearned both Edgar and Agatha Awards.

The Stratemeyer Clan

These suggestions are for a new series for girls verging on novels. 224 pages, to retail at fifty cents. I have called this line the Stella Strong Stories, but they might also be called Diana Drew Stories, Diana Dare Stories, Nan Nelson Stories, Nan Drew Stories or Helen Hale Stories . . .

Stella Strong, a girl of sixteen, is the daughter of a District Attorney of many years standing. He is a widower and often talks over his affairs with Stella and the girl was present during many interviews her fathl³¹