Nancy Drew: My First Feminist
By Mary Matus

In the history of 20th century literature, there is one author who is often overlooked but who certainly deserves to be remembered. She should be admired not only as an author but also as a feminist. She created what may have been one of the first female role models in popular literature. I’m referring to Carolyn Keene, the creator of the Nancy Drew series.

Diehard fans of the series may know that “Carolyn Keene” is not a real person. It was a pseudonym used by several ghostwriters over the decades. The original writer didn’t even come up with the concept. Nancy Drew was created in 1930’s by Edward Stratemeyer and Stratemeyer Syndicate, creator of the Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift and the Hardy Boys series. Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson was the original Carolyn Keene and wrote 23 of the original 30 novels. Born in 1905, she died last May.

I learned about her death this month when, feeling rather nostalgic, I watched the recent Nancy Drew movie. Watching the movie and seeing the dates of her life flash on the screen may have made me realize the effect this woman has had on my life.

I don’t remember how old I was when my aunt gave me some old Nancy Drew books from the 1950s. A bookworm ever since I could read, I loved leafing through those old books. I was immediately sucked into the adventures of the teen sleuth. It wasn’t long until I was picking up a new Nancy Drew book every time I went to the bookstore.

I’ve loved writing ever since I could write. More than any other books I read as a child, the Nancy Drew series made me want to write my own mysteries.

Not only did the Nancy Drew books inspire me to become a writer, they were probably the first books to awaken the feminist within. In many children’s stories (including almost all fairy tales), it is the woman who needs to be rescued - the damsel in distress. Not Nancy. Oh sure, maybe the boyfriends would need to be recruited to help from time to time. But most of the time, it was Nancy and her two best friends, Bess and George, who were doing all the dirty work.

Right from the first book it is clear that Nancy is a model heroine. In The Secret of the Old Clock, the first book, Nancy decides to help an elderly pair of women. Although she has just met them, she feels pity for them when she learns they have not received an expected inheritance from a favorite relative. While tracking down a missing will, Nancy chases a gang of thieves. After already being locked in a closet by the thieves, she races off to find them again. She cares more about her new friends than about her own safety. Many young girls probably wish they could be that brave.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about this series is that it was originally written in the 1930’s, a time when there were not a lot of role models for young women. Even though one web site said the books have been revised over the years and Nancy has been made stronger and modernized, it is still impressive just to have a teenage girl solving mysteries on her own.

Throughout the years, Nancy Drew has been the subject of not only books but movies and television series. The books themselves have evolved over the years. In addition to the original series, there have been several reincarnations including Nancy Drew Files and Nancy Drew On Campus, both aimed at teen readers. Despite these minor changes, however, the original concept has remained the same. It is still the story of a strong, independent young woman, who has been and who will continue to be a strong role model for young women.