I am holding in my hot little hand a book with a dark blue cover called “The Secret at Shadow Ranch,” copyright 1931, by Carolyn Keene. Embossed in orange under the title is the silhouette of slender and stylish Nancy Drew staring intently down at a magnifying glass while looking for clues.

This image is repeated on the inside front and back covers. It also has been permanently embedded in the minds of young girls, their mothers, their grandmothers, and their great grandmothers who once read or are currently reading the books.

The fact that Carolyn Keene is a concocted name, and that it originated with children’s book author Edward Stratemeyer, who then delegated the series to a succession of ghost writers (including his daughter) is a muddle of credentials and proprietary claims admirably explained in “Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women who Created Her,” by Melanie Rehak.

But none of that concerns us here, because my Nancy Drew ... our Nancy Drew ... the beloved Nancy who was never properly portrayed in movies or on TV was brilliantly immortalized in the first 30 books of the series, all but seven of which were written by Mildred Benson. Mildred is my hero. I’ll tell you more about her later. But first: Nancy.

Unlike so many fictional detectives, Nancy Drew did not have an admiring sidekick to whom she revealed her methodologies when investigating a crime ... while all the time withholding just enough so that she could explain who did what to whom in the denouement. Instead, Nancy had a father, Carson Drew, who was a famous defense attorney, girlfriends – cousins Bess Marvin and George Fayne – and a boyfriend, Ned Nickerson.

BESS... chubby, dreamily romantic, and game for adventure, even if too terrified to really enjoy it. GEORGE ... slim, tomboyish, and comparatively brave, if not quite as fool-heartedly fearless as their best friend. NED … Dark. Handsome. Always eager to go dancing or on a picnic, and occasionally on hand to help Nancy rescue people from fires, floods, and general mayhem.

Nancy Drew belonged to what I call the “Snatch and Grab” school of crime solving. Unlike cerebral detectives like Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, she would snatch a challenge out of the air:

“What she had learned only served to whet her interest. Was it not possible, she asked herself, that she had accidently stumbled upon a mystery!”

And wherever she found it, she would snatch and grab at her next bit of evidence, too.

“The mysterious stranger must have passed this very spot. Could he have dropped the book? ‘Perhaps I’ve stumbled upon a clue!’”

Then she would plunge into her mystery.

Also setting her apart from classic detectives, Nancy kept no secrets. At least, not from her father and her best friends. During routine investigations, such as peeking through windows or tracking down witnesses, George and Bess often tagged along for the ride. But when she was exploring caves, searching abandoned mansions, or meeting with homicidal kidnappers, Nancy’s sole companion was usually ... just Nancy herself. That is, Nancy and us. For we, the readers, were at her side as she detected, deduced, explored, discovered, and dared.

Although Nancy Drew’s first love was solving mysteries, in many ways, she was an ordinary extraordinary girl. She liked to go on picnics, go to the movies, and go dancing with Ned. She cared about those less fortunate than she, and with her gal pals, generously gave of herself and her wallet. But most importantly, Nancy never second-guessed herself; she trusted her own judgment. If she leapt before she looked, it was because she already had processed all of the variables, and she knew where she was going to land.

“Sensing that the morale of the group was about to break, Nancy Drew knew that she must assume definite leadership. Though her own courage was at low ebb, she must not disclose by word or action that she feared the worst.”

Nancy was slim, active, brave, beautiful, and as hungry for solving crimes as a bear poking at a bee hive for honey.

A villain, encountering her in an abandoned shack, shouted, “Don’t make a move ... Put up your hands and march straight ahead!” But instead, Nancy “swung her arm directly into his startled face ... As he stumbled backwards, Nancy gave him a push, and over he went!”

And when horseback riding through the mountains with George and Bess, “Nancy caught a glimpse of a prowling lynx. Taking aim, she fired. The bullet struck the animal in the shoulder. It snarled and turned, ready to spring. Her heart in her throat, for she realized that she must not fail, Nancy fired once more.”

When a man whose life she had saved tried to foist money on her in gratitude, Nancy refused, simply declaring, “I do it for the fun!”

So did Mildred Benson. For love of the written word. For money. And for fun. Not only did she ghostwrite as Carolyn Keene for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, she also wrote the “Ruth Fielding” series, “The Dana Girls,” “Honey Bunch,” and her favorite, the “Penny Parker Mysteries,” which she authored under her own name.

Between 1926 and 1959, Mildred wrote over 135 novels – including 23 of Nancy Drew’s best books. A period during which she also nursed her dying first husband, had a baby, began a 58 year career as a journalist, married again, became a pilot, flew to ancient Mayan sites in Central American, and at age 96, died two weeks after she penned her last newspaper column at The Toledo Blade. Who could have a better role model?

Now, a little about me:

For over 30 years, I, too, (inspired by my childhood heroine) detected crime. But with a difference. Nancy Drew was a gifted amateur, whereas I was a plodding licensed professional. Like Nancy, I explored derelict buildings, abandoned warehouses, and spooky basements, looking for clues. Unlike Nancy, however, my late husband Charlie was always at my side. He was my backup.

Nancy Drew, a thousand times braver than I will ever be, did what I did.

But she always did it alone.

Copyright © Shelly Reuben, 2024. Shelly Reuben’s books have been nominated for Edgar, Prometheus, and Falcon awards. For more about her writing, visit www.shellyreuben.com