Nancy Drew Shocker

I have to confess, I’d never read a Nancy Drew book until recently, even though I’ve been crafting the hardcover books into clutch purses for years. My granddaughter and I decided to read one together on the nights when she slept over. I’d saved the text from The Secret of Red Gate Farm, so that’s what we started with a few months ago. We just finished it.

It was… interesting

Right away, my granddaughter was incredulous at how nosy the titian haired sleuth was, even rude. Lil asked, “Aren’t there laws, like, privacy laws, against a someone snooping around like that?” and, “Would a policeman really tell her to go ahead and investigate on her own?”

We laughed at the dialogue tags (Joanne exclaimed, George chided, the attendant remarked, Nancy expunged, offered, admitted, pontificated, etc.) and the overuse of adverbs (Bess observed cynically, he demanded bluntly, she said brusquely).

Then the story got weird

The”nature cult” called the Black Snake Colony rented the property adjacent to the Red Gate Farm. Nancy thought they were might suspicious, and talked her cousin and friend into dressing up like the colony members to infiltrate one of their meetings.

My granddaughter thought this was a bad idea. She groaned.

What astounded me was the illustration of the members, unmistakably gowned and hooded like the Klu Klux Klan.

Turns out the cult was actually a counterfeiting ring, but I had to wonder who approved this illustration for the book. I think about the impressionable preteens who may have read this book the thirties. Might they have assumed that the white-hooded men of the KKK were simply petty criminals? Or did the cult think that the KKK was a good cover for their activity?

I did several searches and could find no explanation for this illustration other than this from Wikipedia:

The original cover art and four illustrations were executed by R.H. Tandy. He updated his own frontispiece to pen and ink in 1943. In 1950, Bill Gillies introduced new art which was prominently featured in promotions and advertisements, as well as on one-half of Rudy Nappi’s endpaper design, introduced in 1953… It was never revised again, and remains in print as of 2009. Various editions have come under criticism from adult collectors, mainly because the costumes worn by the Colony members resemble KKK apparel.

I am shocked that the editors couldn’t find a costume alternative to pointy hoods and white sheets for the cult.

In the end

When we finished the book, my granddaughter was greatly disappointed that Nancy didn’t fight back against the counterfeiters when cornered in the cave (By the time the others reached her, she had given up the struggle and stood quietly waiting for the worst to come), and that the girls were ultimately saved by a young man who regularly visited the Red Gate Farm.

“Nancy gave up too easy. I wanted to see her and the others fight their way out,” she said, and kicked out her leg while karate-chopping air.

I agree with her. So disappointing.

I understand that the books have been rewritten/updated over the years.

Early readers of the Nancy Drew series may be surprised to find the modern version of this spirited sleuth’s adventures to be quite different. The character of Nancy Drew, as well as the appearance of the books, has changed over the years in many ways. The early classic Nancy of the 1930s-1940s is bold, independent, fearless, and capable. With the revisions starting in the 1950s, Nancy is not so outspoken and accepts more help from others making her seem less heroic.

from The Evolution of Nancy Drew

It’s hard to believe editors would want to make Nancy less of a hero.

So, next, my granddaughter and I going to read an original version of The Sign of the Twisted Candles that my mother had saved, which was published in 1933, to compare.

Did you read Red Gate Farm when you were a girl or young teen? Do you remember wondering about the hooded cult members?

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Linda K. Sienkiewicz is the author of the award-winning novel In the Context of  Love, a story about one woman’s need to tell her truth without shame. Discovering who you want to be isn’t easy when you can’t leave the past behind.

2017 New Apple Book Awards Official Selection
2016 Sarton Women’s Fiction Finalist
2016 Eric Hoffer Book Award Finalist
2016 Readers’ Favorite Finalist
2016 USA Book News Best Book Finalist

“…at once a love story, a cautionary tale, and an inspirational journey.” ~ Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of National Book Award Finalist, American Salvage, and critically acclaimed Once Upon a River,and Mothers, Tell Your Daughters

“With tenderness, but without blinking, Linda K. Sienkiewicz turns her eye on the predator-prey savannah of the young and still somehow hopeful.” ~ Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of the #1 NY Times Bestseller, Deep End of the Ocean

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