Was reading the paper this morning (something I hope will be an option for many years to come) and came across this.
To which I can only reply, "Well duh!"
If I were attractive, titian-haired Nancy, I would hurry downstairs, jump into my roadster, and drive off to fetch boyish George and plump Bess to figure out why anyone would find it at all mysterious that women who ended up triumphing mightily in the field of law got a thrill out of solving mysteries with these girls.
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marcialerner.com 
That is sort of interesting. I wonder if, 50 years from now, female justices will have more choices of smart, interesting female problems solvers from their childhood. I personally always loved the “Trixie Belden” books (and secretly still do), though I will admit to having been put off by the description “girl detective.” But there really haven’t been a lot of choices for girls looking for a smart investigator their own age.
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I never have read Nancy Drew (ducks to avoid being slapped). I was a bit boy crazy and read The Hardy Boys instead. Now, having two daughters, I know I need to get these books into my house. Thanks for the reminder!
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I always disliked the Nancy books. I read probably six before just ditching them entirely. I found them tiringly formulaic and very shallow in characterization for everyone but Nancy. I guess that’s why I ended up being a underemployed lit major instead of a supreme court justice. 🙂 I agree, though, that I really, really hope that future justices will have more selection of plucky young heroines.
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I loved them as a child; my daughter loathes them. I think it’s the old timey-ness of the mysteries. or maybe it’s the old attic smell of the books themselves. But I’ve seen an updated nancy in the bookstores. Does she text and listen to an ipod?
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ps: forgot to say I met Carolyn Keene before in a locker room!
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I adored the Nancy Drew books. My doting grandmother bought me 1-100 so I could have them in my home, lining my bookshelves, available to me at all times. I discussed her in my college interview (“What’s your favorite book? Not Crime and Punishment or Catcher in the Rye, thank-you-very-much”) to the pleasant surprise of the interviewer. I read the books from ages 7-10 or so and then gradually moved on to Agatha Christie and other grownup mystery writers.
And, Jessi, there are lots and lots of plucky young heroines available for young readers. The thing is that there aren’t tons of mysteries for children in the same way as there are for adults. Adult mysteries pretty much always feature a dead body or two, and that doesn’t fly in children’s lit.
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