The Secret of the Old Clock

The Secret of the Old Clock, published in 1930, marked the debut of the classic line of Nancy Drew mysteries. It led to an initial series of 64 novels in all, in which the ever-teenage Nancy solves over 500 mysteries.

In this book, sixteen-year-old Nancy, the daughter of prominent attorney Carson Drew, is drawn into the case of a disputed will by the late Josiah Crowley, a well-to-do but eccentric old man. The will grants all of Crowley’s wealth to the grasping and arrogant Topham family, but there are other claimants.

Nancy is drawn into the case when she rescues a small girl, Judy, from a near-miss by a suspicious moving van. Nancy meets Judy’s caretakers, the elderly Turner sisters, who are relatives of Josiah Crowley. Crowley led them to believe that he remembered him in his will, but that is not the will that was found.

Other Crowley relatives surface: the Hoover sisters, the Mathews brothers, the invalid Abby Rowen. All of them are severely needy, and all had been told that they were remembered in Crowley’s will.

Nancy’s sleuthing reveals that the clue to the true will lies in an old clock of Josiah Crowley’s, now in the possession of the Tophams. Nancy’s search for the clock leads her into further revelations—and danger.

The Nancy Drew mysteries debuted in a fast-changing America, where women were rapidly discarding traditional roles and asserting themselves. Nancy models this new American woman: strong-willed, intelligent, indomitable, as well as educated and sophisticated.

In the nearly 100 years since their premiere, the Nancy Drew mysteries have become an integral part of the American feminine mythos.

The Secret of the Old Clock, like the others in the series, is attributed to the pseudonymous Carolyn Keene. In fact Nancy was the creation of publisher Edward Stratemeyer, who engaged a number of ghostwriters to develop the books. Mildred Wirt Benson is credited with writing The Secret of the Old Clock.

The evergreen popularity of the Nancy Drew series led to many film and television adaptations. Today, nearly 100 years after their launch, the Nancy Drew books remain classics of young adult fiction.