56 Weeks with Nancy Drew - The Secret of the Old Clock

Week 1, Book 1

Welcome to the 56 Weeks with Nancy Drew series! If you are new here, welcome. You can find my introductory post to this series here. 

There is one thing I wanted to talk about before we get started and that is the issue of plot spoilers. I tried to write this post without spoilers and I then when that proved too difficult, I thought I would add a notice when a spoiler was coming up, but it just got too cumbersome. So I left the spoilers in. But here's the thing. We don't read for plot points, do we? I mean, if we did we could go around reading book summaries and not bother with books at all. This is a mystery series for children. We know everything is going to turn out right in the end. And isn't that the point? Isn't that at least part of the reason we turn to these books as adults, because it all turns out right in the end? 

Here's a pro tip. It's also the mother of all spoilers, so hold on to your hat... The titles of the Nancy Drew books are spoilers in themselves. I mean, The Secret of the Old Clock? Are you kidding me? Why not Nancy's First Case or The Last Will and Testament of Josiah Crowley? Okay, maybe not that last one, but you understand what I'm saying. 

Also, I went a little crazy and added citations in case you wanted to look up a section I am referring to in the same edition and also because I'm a big geek.

Oh, and one last thing. I apologize for getting this out a day later than I had said I would. It took me a little longer to put this together than I had expected.

Now, without further ado. Let's get started!

Edition pictured: Revised text (20 chapters, 180 pages)

Illustrated by: Rudy Nappi

Revised text publication date: 1959

Original text publication date: 1930

Ghostwriter: Mildred A. Wirt Benson

Editor: Edward Stratemeyer

Revised by: Harriet Stratemeyer Adams

Setting: River Heights & Moon Lake (fifty miles away) USA

The Secret of the Old Clock was originally published in 1930 and written by Mildred Wirt under the name Carolyn Keene, as all of the Nancy Drew books were and continue to be. I will be reviewing the revised text edition, published in 1959, pictured above.

Nancy's curiosity is aroused when the Topham family become the sole heirs of Josiah Crowley's fortune. But Josiah promised a number of needy friends and relatives that he would leave them something in his will. The Topham's are already wealthy, so they do not need Josiah's money like the others do. 

Not only that, but after years of not having time for their cousin, Josiah, the Topham's begged him to make his home with them and eventually he consented. (15) 

In Nancy's very first case on her own, she sets out to find Josiah Crowley's missing will and see that the rightful, and much nicer, heirs inherit.

She stops a gang of thieves, meets a whole cast of characters who she helps along the way, and she even has time to play badminton and tennis, go hiking, swimming, waterskiing, and canoeing, get stranded on a lake in a motorboat, fix the motorboat, change a flat tire, wrap an injured ankle, and eat 17 meals, two late night snacks, and one slice of birthday cake with chocolate frosting. Phew!

There is no direct mention of what time of year it is, but I suspect it is sometime in the late spring to early summer due to the reference that is made to Nancy going to stay at Moon Lake with her friend Helen Corning. Helen's Aunt Martha runs Camp Avondale and Helen is staying there for two weeks before the regular summer camp opens (82).

The other clue to the time of year is that when the will is eventually found, it is dated in "March of this year" (158). Josiah Crowley knew enough to have the signing of his handwritten will witnessed, so why didn't those witnesses come forward when there was this issue with the wills? Both men, Dr. Nesbit and Thomas Wackley, died in April (158).

From those bits of information my guess is that it is May or June. June makes the most sense to me, as Nancy and her friends go swimming and spend time out on the water at Moon Lake. In one scene, Nancy is stranded out on the water in a broken down motorboat and she gets uncomfortable from the hot sun beating down on her (98). Later, Nancy is locked in a closet by a gang of thieves. It gets very hot and stuffy and she finds herself longing for the fresh air and lake water on the other side of the door (109-116). 

I would like to add that I found this scene very worrying when I read it as a child. It did not help that Nancy, who is normally coolheaded and logical, gets agitated and increasing desperate. Of course, she is successful in talking herself out of her panic, but she does oscillate back and forth for a bit and when she realizes she has been left there "to starve" (110) the reader cannot help but fill in the words she isn't saying, "to death!".

There are a few scenes at Moon Lake, but most of the action occurs in and around the town of River Heights where Nancy lives with her father, the prominent lawyer Carson Drew, and their housekeeper, Hannah Gruen. Hannah has been an integral member of the Drew household since Nancy's mother died when Nancy was three years old.

In the original versions of these books, Nancy is said to have been 10 years old when her mother died. I suspect Nancy's age was lowered so as to avoid having to make mention of Nancy's mother, except to say that she had died. Losing her mother at three years old would most likely mean that Nancy would not remember her mother at all. The writers could then avoid the tricky task of writing about a young girl grieving for her mother. But this is all speculation on my part, not having read enough of the original editions to know if Nancy's mother is referred to in them. If anyone out there has read a number of the original books, please let me know if there are is any mention of Nancy's memories of her mother.

While we are on the subject of the original version of this book, I will mention that while I do not own a copy of the original, I have read it. Unfortunately, it was many years ago, and I'm sorry to say I don't remember much about it. I know that Nancy was 16 years old in the original, not 18 as she is in the revised. I have to say that I think Nancy being 16 makes a lot more sense as to why she doesn't have a job and there is no mention of her going to university. Surely, in 1959 an 18-year-old with Nancy's privileged background and intelligence would be planning to go to university, even if it was only thought of as a stopgap before getting married. Don't you think?

Now, I love these books. I loved them as a child and they make me feel very nostalgic. But sometimes reading them as an adult can be a bit... troubling.

For example, this book opens with Nancy driving down a country road in her new, dark blue convertible (1). 

    "It was sweet of Dad to give me this car for my birthday," she thought. "And it's fun to help him in his work." 

    Her father, Carson Drew, a well-know lawyer in their home town of River Heights, frequently discussed puzzling aspects of cases with his blond, blue-eyed daughter.

    Smiling, Nancy said to herself, "Dad depends on my intuition." (1)

He depends on your intuition, Nancy? Why not your intelligence? 

But perhaps I'm being a bit hard on Nancy. I like to think of 28 April, which is the day this book was first published in 1930, as being Nancy's birthday. From the quote above we know that Nancy has a new car that her father has given to her as a birthday present. And if we subtract 18 years from 1959, the year the revised edition was published, that makes Nancy's birthday 28 April 1941. As this would make Nancy about the same age as my mother, then maybe we can forgive Nancy for diminishing her intellect with a comment about her intuition. My mother used to refer to women's intuition, which sounded to me a lot like ideas popping into one's head by accident and without any skill of deduction. But then again it seems all the more odd that Nancy would refer to her intuition when she is constantly using her skill of deduction in her detective work.

If Nancy doesn't take her abilities seriously, or is just too humble to comment on it even to herself, at least her father believes in her intellect.

    "Dad, don't you believe Josiah Crowley made a second will?" Nancy questioned suddenly. 

    "You sound like a trial lawyer, the way you cross-examine me," Mr. Drew protested, but with evident enjoyment. (17)

On other occasions, he talks to her about the case and tells her that she is a good detective (149). I really respect that while he cautions her to be careful, especially after the closet incident, the re-telling of which leaves Hannah particularly shaken (146), he does not tell her to drop her search for the will. He doesn't even suggest it.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. What I did want to mention is that in the original version Nancy's outlook towards the Topham girls is less generous than in this one. After Nancy has a run in with Ada and Isabel Topham, I found myself thinking that Nancy seemed a lot less nice than in the revised edition. She also seemed more realistic and relatable.

There is one instance I remember where Nancy actually drives her roadster over the speed limit when she is pursuing the bad guys, and in the revised edition they kept it! Although, of course, her mode of transportation has changed.

    "I'm afraid I'm exceeding the speed limit," she thought. "But I almost wish a trooper would stop me. Then I could tell him what happened to the poor Turner sisters." (11)

As the series progresses, Nancy drives as fast as the law allows, no faster. As such, the baddies often outrun her. Thank goodness, in Nancy Drew books all criminals are stupid and even the slightly more clever of them prove to be no match for Nancy Drew.

As this blog post has ended up being much longer than I had originally expected, I am going to it conclude here. I think it's safe to say, I could go on for days. Good thing we've got 55 more weeks ahead of us!

I would love to hear your thoughts on The Secret of the Old Clock, the series, and Nancy Drew, the person. I mean... character!

Ooo! And if you read these books as a child, and again as an adult, tell me what about them surprised you most when you revisited them!

Let's end on my favourite quote from this one. "They've left me her to--to starve!" That's Nancy. Always thinking of her stomach!