Nancy Drew Mystery Stories®

Still in print today are the classic Nancy Drew Mystery Stories®--volumes 1-56. You might be surprised in purchasing the yellow spine picture covers at your local bookstores to find that the first 34 stories are a rather baffling mystery! They may be shorter than you remember them, the language has been updated, and Nancy's snappy roadster is now your run of the mill convertible. In short, they have been revised.

Beginning in 1959 until 1978, the first 34 stories were revised by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. These revisions removed stereotypes, outdated language, and overall updated the stories and shortened them for modern readers.

Never fear, if you are missing an original text or want to read one and you cannot find one in grandma's attic, you can sleuth them out at used bookstores, antique malls, or online at eBay.com. Applewood Books reprinted 1-21 of the originals--just as you remember them. The key to deciphering whether you have an original or not, is that your book will have 25 chapters( not 20. )

These books are considered the "classic" series due to their being the original mysteries and being in print for over 75 years and counting while paperback series and spin-offs have come and gone. These are the stories that have been passed down from generation to generation and have become favorites of Nancy Drew® readers.

Over the years, the cover illustrations and internal illustrations underwent changes as well. Visit the Anatomy of a Series Book section of the Sleuth site for a breakdown of artwork changes as well as format information on the various styles of dust jackets, cover board styles, endpapers, and yellow spine picture cover types.

Below, you will find a list of all the classic series Nancy Drew® books and the original text and revised text copyright dates. By clicking on an individual title, you can view the various cover art styles over the years and a synopsis of each story. Keep in mind, the cover art for volumes 35-56 did not change, nor did the texts. For those books that have been revised--volumes 1-34--there may be two synopses listed. One will be for the original and one for the revision where the revision varies significantly in plot or story from the original. Comparing the originals to the revisions and title changes will be discussed in the originals v. revised section of the Sleuth site.

Volumes:

• 1 The Secret of the Old Clock 1930, 1959
• 2 The Hidden Staircase 1930, 1959
• 3 The Bungalow Mystery 1930, 1960
• 4 The Mystery at Lilac Inn 1930, 1961
• 5 The Secret at Shadow Ranch 1931, 1965
• 6 The Secret of Red Gate Farm 1931, 1961
• 7 The Clue in the Diary 1932, 1962
• 8 Nancy's Mysterious Letter 1932, 1968
• 9 The Sign of the Twisted Candles 1933, 1968
• 10 The Password to Larkspur Lane 1933, 1966
• 11 The Clue of the Broken Locket 1934, 1965
• 12 The Message in the Hollow Oak 1935, 1972
• 13 The Mystery of the Ivory Charm 1936, 1974
• 14 The Whispering Statue 1937, 1970
• 15 The Haunted Bridge 1937, 1972
• 16 The Clue of the Tapping Heels 1939, 1969
• 17 The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk 1940, 1976
• 18 The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion 1941, 1971
• 19 The Quest of the Missing Map 1942, 1969
• 20 The Clue in the Jewel Box 1943, 1972
• 21 The Secret in the Old Attic 1944, 1970
• 22 The Clue in the Crumbling Wall 1945, 1973
• 23 The Mystery of the Tolling Bell 1946, 1973
• 24 The Clue in the Old Album 1947, 1977
• 25 The Ghost of Blackwood Hall 1948, 1967
• 26 The Clue of the Leaning Chimney 1949, 1967
• 27 The Secret of the Wooden lady 1950, 1967
• 28 The Clue of the Black Keys 1951, 1968
• 29 The Mystery at the Ski Jump 1952, 1968
• 30 The Clue of the Velvet Mask 1953, 1969
• 31 The Ringmaster's Secret 1953, 1974
• 32 The Scarlet Slipper Mystery 1954, 1974
• 33 The Witch Tree Symbol 1955, 1974
• 34 The Hidden Window Mystery 1956, 1975
• 35 The Haunted Showboat 1957
• 36 The Secret of the Golden Pavilion 1959
• 37 The Clue in the Old Stagecoach 1960
• 38 The Mystery of the Fire Dragon 1961
• 39 The Clue of the Dancing Puppet 1962
• 40 The Moonstone Castle Mystery 1963
• 41 The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes 1964
• 42 The Phantom of Pine Hill 1965
• 43 The Mystery of the 99 Steps 1966
• 44 The Clue in the Crossword Cipher 1967
• 45 The Spider Sapphire Mystery 1968
• 46 The Invisible Intruder 1969
• 47 The Mysterious Mannequin 1970
• 48 The Crooked Banister 1971
• 49 The Secret of Mirror Bay 1972
• 50 The Double Jinx Mystery 1973
• 51 Mystery of the Glowing Eye 1974
• 52 The Secret of the Forgotten City 1975
• 53 The Sky Phantom 1976
• 54 The Strange Message in the Parchment 1977
• 55 Mystery of Crocodile Island 1978
• 56 The Thirteenth Pearl 1979

Free counters provided by Andale.

Copyright © 2003-2010 by Jennifer Fisher. All Rights Reserved. Nancy Drew® and the Hardy Boys® are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved. This site is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by Simon & Schuster, Inc. Any of Simon & Schuster's Copyright material appearing on this site complies with fair or acceptable use principles established in U.S. and International coypright law for the purpose of review, study, criticism, or news reporting.