| The Secret of the Old Clock | |
 |
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| Author | Carolyn Keene |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Russell H. Tandy |
| Cover artist | Russell H. Tandy |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Nancy Drew Mystery Stories |
| Genre(s) | Juvenile literature |
| Publisher | Grosset & Dunlap |
| Publication date | 1930 |
| Media type | print (hardback & paperback) |
| ISBN | NA |
| Followed by | The Hidden Staircase |
The Secret of the Old Clock is the first volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. It was first published in April, 1930. Nancy Drew is a sixteen-year-old recent high-school graduate, and her father is well-known criminal defense lawyer Carson Drew. The Drews reside in River Heights, and employ a housekeeper, Hannah Gruen. In early editions, she is depicted as merely a servant. Later in the series, she becomes more a member of the family, and this is the role she plays throughout all the revisions, as well.
As of 2001, it ranked 53rd on a list of the all-time best-selling hardcover children's books in English; according to Publishers Weekly, it had sold about 2.7 million copies.[1].
Plot summary - 1930 edition
Nancy is a sixteen-year-old high school graduate who desires to help the Horners, who are poor, struggling relatives of recently deceased Josiah Crowley. She is spurred on by her dislike for his "heirs," who are snobbish, wealthy, social climbers. A clue to the whereabouts of Crowley's will are hidden in an old clock. Nancy interviews various relatives and friends of Crowley, and has a run-in with thieves while trying to recover Crowley's mantel clock. Along the way, Nancy is briefly aided by Helen Corning, a chum. Much of Nancy's motivation is not only to help destitute friends and family of Josiah Crowley, but also to discredit and take away wealth awarded to snobby rivals, the Topham family. A nasty encounter at a department store allows Nancy to discredit the Topham sisters when they break an expensive vase. Nancy is overpowered by criminals and locked in a vacant house, while the African-American caretaker, made drunk by the robbers, recovers from his drinking spree. She is able to obtain the clock of the title while the three robbers drink heavily (illegal in 1930) at a wayside inn. Nancy is depicted as intentionally hiding stolen evidence (the clock) from the police, and gunfire is involved in the police-robber chase. A climactic scene, inserted before the denouement and epilogue, sees Nancy delighted to take the money away from the Tophams and see it distributed to worthy, but destitute family and friends. Nancy comes across as very strong-willed, but also a bit competitive with the Tophams.
1959 revision
Nancy is 18, and is prompted to help the Crowley kin by her affection for a young child who is Crowley's distant relative. The Hoover Sisters (Changed from 1930 "Horner") and Nancy help one of the Hoover sisters obtain singing lessons to develop her skills; in the original version, they sought to improve their hatchery and dress-making skills. This is a more refined and sedate Nancy; Crowley's initial "heirs" are depicted as very undeserving of wealth; and Helen is older (in preparation for her eventual "write-out" after volume 4 of the revised series - no explanation is made in the original series to introduce Bess and George, although two figures illustrated in the same vein as these girls appear in a 1959 illustration at a camp for girls.) The action is increased significantly, and is faster-paced. Greater detail is given to show Nancy described as wearing a variety of fashions in the book, and her encounter with the undeserving Topham sisters now centers around a torn evening dress instead of a broken vase, as in the original story. Racial stereotypes and all minority characters are omitted, and Nancy encounters an additional difficulty with her car--a faulty top switch, resulting in her chance meeting of the Hoovers while caught in a deluge driving the open car. The final scene, reading of the will which disinherits the Tophams, focuses on the delight of awarding deserving Crowley kin, instead of Nancy's desire to harm the snobbish Topham family.
Artwork
In 1930, this volume was published with the white-spine dust jacket shown, with artwork by Russell H. Tandy, and four glossy black and white interior illustrations, also by Tandy. In 1937, three of the illustrations were eliminated, leaving only a frontispiece. In 1943, the artwork was updated to conform to current 1940's style. In 1950, the dust jacket was revamped as a wraparound jacket, with the picture continuing onto the spine of the book, and with cover art by Bill Gillies that was more in keeping with 1950s style. When the text was revised in 1959, five illustrations were added. In 1960, this volume was given entirely new artwork, including eight ink drawings and a color frontispiece, which served as the jacket illustration, all by Polly Bolian, for the Reader's Club (Cameo) edition. In 1962, dust jackets were eliminated by the publisher, and the books were issued with the art directly on the cover with yellow spines and backs; the Bill Gillies art was used. In 1965, the cover art was updated with an illustration by Rudy Nappi, featuring the same dress Nancy wears on Gillie's cover for another book. The internal illustrations remained intact.
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