There are no sex scenes and all of the food looks horrible
Notes on updating a classic: Nancy Drew, of course.
Hello, friends. Mountain content returns next week. I’m working on a presentation about the Clear Creek Canyon Historical Society, and some of the miners’ descendants have sent in great stories that I’ll share here — including, of course, unsolved mysteries.
First off, the food really does look horrible:
And there never was sex, to begin with. But if the market works its usual magic, you’ll soon be inundated with post #MeToo, post Strangers, post Nolan’s Odyssey versions of an amateur sleuth who was born in 1930 in a small town outside Chicago. An only child whose mother died young, she was raised by an indulgent father who nonetheless instilled an unyielding moral code. Naturally, she grew up to be a troublemaker crime-solver.
The original Nancy Drew was an impulsive, spoiled 16-year-old, and one of the most seamless rationalizers of her own behavior you’ll ever meet. She was loyal, fair-minded, and unafraid to pursue justice in the face of danger or social approbation. It never hurt that she liked a good frock.
Nancy was also athletic, pretty, straight, white, and upper middle-class, traits that remained mostly static through her many adaptations. She is unfashionably well adjusted. But the first four books in the original series entered the public domain earlier this year. Will authors take Nancy farther than James Bond or Sherlock Holmes? How much fun can we have with the main character, not just the sidekicks?
I don’t know but I look forward to watching the latest interpreter of “Carolyn Keene” take down the blockbuster adaptation.
One project has already been announced, a novel titled simply Nancy, starring “a divorced 40-something Brooklyn mom whose sleuthing days are behind her but who must team with her ex–childhood best friend to solve a case.”
It almost goes without saying that Nancy’s most appealing qualities are timeless, but they’ve remained frozen in the amber glow of youth. I think Gen X and Millennial readers do want to know she can survive divorce, financial hardship, grief, and betrayal, not only intact but stronger, more dangerous. Who is Nancy after her heart’s been broken, her father is no longer there to back her up, and her frozen shoulder ruins her weekly pickleball game?
My publisher came up with this brilliant tagline for my novel: “If Nancy Drew were 47 … this is the mystery she’d be solving.” It’s brilliant because my main character, Wendy, was inspired in many ways by 1930s Nancy, but the “If … were …” leaves room for the marks left by life’s heavy hand. Wendy’s not chaste or a teetotaler, not after 25 years in a tanking marriage and a soul-draining career.
Beginning in the 50s, ghostwriter Harriet Stratemeyer Adams added a couple of years and a layer of feminine propriety to Mildred Wirt Benson’s feisty teenager.* The 1980s Nancy Drew Case Files were fun. The titles are grittier and the covers often emphasized Ned’s involvement. In keeping with the Buffy times, the CW’s 2019 series went supernatural–Nancy discovers she’s the spawn of a powerful and corrupt family of witches and spends the series fighting a roster of monsters and evil spirits, including a lust-inducing wedding gown.
If Nancy can be possessed by a horny pile of satin and tulle, I don’t think late-night skinny-dipping is an issue, but I do wonder about the weed. Up to Her Neck is set in Colorado in 2018. Pot’s been legal for six years at this point. The daughter of a hippie-commune mother, Nancy enjoys her neighbor’s homegrown stash from time to time. She even inhales.
This was one reason an agent passed on the manuscript in an earlier stage. “I think you may run into this with many cozy mystery publishers,” she wrote, “who find it unacceptable to subrights buyers and potential tv/streaming rights buyers like Hallmark.”
I cleaned up the storylines, as she suggested, but left in the “casual drug use.” I was always more of an HBO girl, anyway. And the plot deals with some of the unintended consequences of the legalized pot industry.
Like Nancy, Wendy was raised by a single parent who passed along a strong moral code, and encouraged an unusual amount of independence (Wendy might argue neglect, but her mother would point out that parenting norms have changed a lot in the last two generations, and anyway she never signed on for all of that patriarchal bullshit. Think Lily Tomlin as Tina Fey’s mom in Admission). An overdeveloped sense of justice and fair play causes her to stomp on toes and rush into dangerous situations. Unlike Nancy Drew, she is not always right.
She’s also not as well-dressed. When you’re trying to open a hot-springs spa while a murderer is on the loose, the silk dresses stay in storage so there’s enough room in the Airstream for fleece layers and hiking boots. But maybe Wendy could take a page from classic Nancy Drew camping style.
When women write about what Nancy meant to them, they often talk about her independence, her confidence, and her risk-taking. But underpinning all of that, Nancy is good. Non-situational, no-asterik good. She doesn’t have many excuses to fall back on if she weren’t. Affluenza, maybe.
If Nancy did have some explanation for failing to live up to her own standards, she wouldn’t use it. It’s the essence of the character, and it’s the least modern thing about her. We look for permission to take the easy way out. The world is crooked, people are bad, the injustice is so grave it is beyond us.
Nancy, with her coiffed hair, her new blue roadster, her doting father, offers compassion and allowances to the people she helps, but never to herself. More than her fearlessness, her independence, her cheerful competence, this is what makes Nancy Drew a timeless cultural treasure, and I hope some of it has rubbed off on Wendy.
*Adams tried to claim sole authorship before a court trial revealed Mildred Wirt Benson to be the original “Carolyn Keene” – a juicy publishing story for another time. If you are into this sort of thing, you should join the Nancy Drew Book Fans page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/nancydrewfans.
How would you update Nancy? Or would you?
BOOK NEWS
We are less than six months out from pub day for Up to Her Neck! Starting September 2 (a two-week date change; our real live graphic designer was out of commission for a few days), I will be doing some extra-special promo here and on Instagram, including a Nancy Drew inspired prequel murder mystery you can help solve. There will be clues, prizes, and some sneak peaks for the book. Please join us, and invite your friends.
Order this adorable cap – which looks good on absolutely every face and noggin – before the Instagram live finale November 18 and you’ll be entered in the drawing to win a signed Advance Reader Copy of Up to Her Neck, which means you’ll have it in your hands weeks before everyone else.
Help me promote Up to Her Neck!
Share this post with your friends
Preorder the book (Thank you, dear friends who already did! And don’t forget to message me so I can add you to the swag list.)
Ask your book club to add it to their 2027 calendar (and preorder copies). Email me if they do! I will be visiting several cities and towns next year and if the timing works out, I would love to meet with your club, sign books, and hand out some swag. (Check out our first reader guide here. No spoilers!)
Ask your local bookstore to order Up to Her Neck. Name-drop me and mention I might be coming to town and would love to do a community talk and book-signing.
Ask your local library to order a copy.
Ask your favorite book reviewer, Instagrammer, or BookTokker to review Up to Her Neck. ARCs will be available in October.
Would you like to be an early reader? Active on NetGalley? Email me to get on the ARC list. You can always reach me directly with questions, comments, and ideas at elainewolff at me dot com.
Thank you for being here!
XX
Elaine
BONUS Content:
Here’s a fun Instagram reel I made about the 1950s updates to Nancy Drew:
You know someone’s going to be unhappy about this.