tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157530669780468545.post7167499584868656937..comments2024-03-21T21:37:03.772-05:00Comments on Series Books for Girls: Revisiting The Secret of the Old ClockJennifer Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10405593758228423001noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157530669780468545.post-33308021280089499932013-01-20T13:33:47.469-06:002013-01-20T13:33:47.469-06:00The introductory volumes of the Nancy Drew series ...The introductory volumes of the Nancy Drew series don't hold my interest as much as books in which she sleuths with her chums. Nancy Drew needed companions (Helen Corning in the early books) or Bess Marvin and George Fayne to make the stories more interesting. <br /><br />I may not have continued reading the Nancy Drew books if she had continued to work as a solo sleuth in the series. Using helpers when sleuthing gave the series more depth.<br /><br />Despite my lack of comfort about Nancy working solo, I still found the books very exciting because of the mystery. In the original book, Nancy wanted to locate Josiah Crowley's second will to disinherit the snooty Tophams. In the revised text, her motivation was kinder; she wanted the deserving relatives to inherit.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14624544298432376315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157530669780468545.post-15447277452603127852012-12-30T12:39:44.100-06:002012-12-30T12:39:44.100-06:00There was a scene early on in the (I think) origin...There was a scene early on in the (I think) original version of the book that had the Tophams trying on dresses and stepping on one, but it didn't tear. The broken vase was later on. Sounds like the revised version combined them. Seems silly since the broken vase was dramatic enough on its own. I'm going to have to read these revised versions sometime - thanks for the idea!Judyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00574444810627087032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157530669780468545.post-15142222380380589672011-12-01T07:18:42.293-06:002011-12-01T07:18:42.293-06:00I think a lot of the revisions put in more fancifu...I think a lot of the revisions put in more fanciful motivations. Whereas the originals were rather practical, the revisions added a lot of voice lessons, famous people, and oranges rigged to explode.<br /><br />I think a fun fanfiction thing to do would be to take the originally short books and flesh them out more so they are 25 chapters long, too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157530669780468545.post-76099125048151700832011-11-30T17:39:24.613-06:002011-11-30T17:39:24.613-06:00I also read the the two versions of Old Clock back...I also read the the two versions of Old Clock back to back about a year ago. I read the original text first as I had not read that version in childhood. It made me smile how coincidences were so integral to the plot, and of course, always helpful to Nancy in figuring out the mystery. I didn't remember that from my first readings of Nancy's adventures - the plots must have seemed realistic or more plausible to me at the time. :) <br /><br />I was shocked when the revised text started with a totally different scene - Nancy saving little Judy. It seemed unnecesasary to create this character and I actually felt more sympathetic to the Hoovers in the original text. After reading both versions, I can say I preferred the original text to the revised text. Although the revised text is the one that got me hooked on Nancy Drew, I checked my childhood collection and found that most of the books I read as a child were the original text versions; so I may prefer the original text because it is closer to the Nancy I remember in general. <br /><br />Anyway, it is an interesting intellectual exercise to compare and analyze the two versions of the stories from the eyes of an adult, but I don't think I could do it for all 34 books. The stories don't hold my interest as they once did and I prefer to remember the magic of "devouring" them as a girl. I don't think it was the stories or the plot details that made us lifetime Nancy Drew fans. It was the character of Nancy herself, how she influenced us as a role model, and fed our dreams of what we could do and what kind of person we could be.Paulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15336088009042727636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157530669780468545.post-743561866341461302011-11-30T16:27:34.464-06:002011-11-30T16:27:34.464-06:00Very interesting post, Jenn. I've never read a...Very interesting post, Jenn. I've never read any of the original versions where I had the revised text to read also and note the differences. I'd love to be able to do that sometimes.<br /><br />I only have a couple of original texts: Hidden Window and one or two others.Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16658812757286301418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7157530669780468545.post-11366497236167725732011-11-30T00:47:54.218-06:002011-11-30T00:47:54.218-06:00Research into the revisions has revealed the main ...Research into the revisions has revealed the main reason for the revisions--$$--it was cheaper to produce a 20 chapter book than a 25 chapter book--and they went to that format with #35 onward so went back and did this with the first 34. Harriet wasn't too keen on the revising process but G&D pushed it. The benefit for some was the removal of stereotypes and that sort of thing and then also modernization here and there. A lot of the revisions where they are not an all new story, keep a lot of the written words and phrases from the originals where things are not shortened or new subplots added--sometimes complete sentences and paragraphs, in other places they are shortened or removed for space. Several years ago I did a read through of the first 56 and read the original first for the 1st 34 and then the revised and made copious notes on the changes and such. I found it pretty interesting to see that past #18 with some exceptions, the revisions were mostly the same as the originals--with less added subplots and things of that nature. <br /><br />Jenn:)Jenn Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04009283572472491086noreply@blogger.com