Good Morning from the posting desk! The Secret of the Old Clock gives us a wonderful introduction to Nancy, her father Carson Drew, and their beloved housekeeper, Hannah Gruen. The two editions in the top photo are mine; the one beneath is a picture from a seller on Etsy. I would like to purchase that soon so that I have each of the covers. The "tweed" cover belonged to my mother. She gave me several of her books when I was a little girl, and this is worthy of its own post one day soon.
As the editions changed, the number of chapters typically diminished from 24-25 to 20. I am most familiar with the latter edition here--I need to read Mama's again to note the differences. I think that Nancy's personality mellows a bit with the revised versions.
In this mystery, Nancy encounters a snooty family, the Tophams. Their daughters have been unkind to Nancy in their school days, and the parents are "shady" at best. Their actions may be responsible for a host of difficulties for other characters--to set things right involves a search for an old clock!
Nancy's kindness is as present as her inquisitiveness. She treats everyone courteously and compassionately. We certainly need that model today.
In this opening volume to the series, we aren't yet introduced to her River Heights friends, Helen Corning, Bess Marvin, George Fayne, and the young men, Ned, Dave, and Burt. We will see Helen in the next installment, The Bungalow Mystery.
'Til then, have a great week reading!
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