The Hidden Staircase (Nancy Drew 2-in-1 mysteries, #6) (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #2)

by Carolyn Keene

So I discovered the original Nancy Drew. I now understand the hype.

1930 Version: 4 stars.
Nancy's got a real dry wit. It's hilarious. And she's brave in the face of danger - she stays calm and composed and uses her brains to figure out a way out of the situation. She acts more like a kid at times and it makes her more relatable. Like when she asks her father if she can stay at the Turnbull sisters for the week and he says yes, she dances around saying Goody, Goody. Plus she's more practical - her father gives her his revolver to take - none of this taking danger on but thinking the best of people or whatever nonsense is in the later ones. Plus there's actual danger. Carson Drew is kidnapped and held hostage. Gombet threatens to dope Nancy up in order to abduct her. You never really get a sense of that in the later books, it all seems to wholesome to be real. This mystery is much more exciting. I like the relationship between Nancy and Carson - they really respect each other and it's nice to see in fiction. I will say I am a little concerned about how the law works - when the guilty parties are captured - they're just thrown straight in prison? Uh, shouldn't there be a trial or something?

1959 Version: 2 stars.
Well this was better than the first one but she's just so bloody wholesome. And every criminal just pours out their soul to her. What criminal is likely to confess when there's no evidence they're even guilty? And no one but Nancy can solve the crime. Absurd. On the other hand, Barbie is the same - but I grew up reading Barbie - so I remember her fondly whereas this just annoys me. Still it was an alright read and I'm sure younger kids would enjoy. The mystery itself had a lot of moving parts and while not overly complicated was enough to keep me interested. 2.5 stars.