Sundries

 

Nancy didn't begin to wear flats, in the style of loafers, until the 1960's, but that didn't stop her from performing feats of daring and intrigue. Nancy wore elegant but modest clothing as she zipped along the byways of River Heights in her blue, then maroon, and later two toned black and green (I believe) roadster. I recall being very interested in the details surrounding her wardrobe choices in the tales, and visualizing her in the settings described. Nancy was 16,  intelligent, competent, intuitive, always had enough cash, and blessed with non-interfering adults in her life. What more could be asked for?  Her dad was always giving her a car and a generous clothing allowance, which she never used up, she was thrifty and had good taste. She was a true feminist, maybe the first young girls would encounter for perhaps the first 50 years of her publication. She and her boyfriend Ned had an egalitarian relationship with true fondness but without distracting romantic drama being a factor.  Nancy was not a character that would help a young girl soothe or explore the emotional complexities of pre-adolescence, like more well developed characters from literature, but she was inspirational. I devoured these 1940's editions during my 4th-5th grade years, purchasing them from the older sister of a grade school friend. Periodically I return to them as comfort food for a world weary mind.  Recently, I had purchased an edition online, but was not pleased with it since it was a 1980's edition which meant that instead of the 25 chapters the novels originally had, it had been reduced to 20, along with many other edits of original dialog and descriptive passages of setting and tone. I prefer the 1930-40's editions with illustrations by Russell Tandy, than the later editions, they convey the high drama of the scenes and are so well executed.

I have a goal of acquiring the first 16 stories, 13 of which were written by Mildred Wirt, in their faded indigo hardcovers. Though all the ghostwriters for the series used the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, Wirt's stories were the first and her development of Nancy's character is what I recall as being the 'real' Nancy, who did change somewhat over all the years of publication.  In the meantime, each early story I can get my hands on will accompany me to a pile of pillows and and a blanket for a soothing read where the things of this world are set right once again, by an intrepid teenage girl. Sure they are formulaic, but they always contain some educational nuggets, and some taste of a world gone by. Comfort reading, it's what I need right now. 

~Dorothy Dolores