The Secret of the Old Clock facts for kids
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Original cover by Russell H. Tandy
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| Author | Carolyn Keene |
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| Illustrator | Russell H. Tandy |
| Cover artist | Russell H. Tandy |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Nancy Drew Mystery Stories |
| Genre | Juvenile literature |
| Publisher | Grosset & Dunlap |
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Publication date
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| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 210 (1930–1959); 180 |
| ISBN | 0-448-45530-7 |
| Followed by | The Hidden Staircase |
The Secret of the Old Clock is the very first book in the exciting Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was written by an author using the pen name Carolyn Keene. The book was first released on April 28, 1930. Later, in 1959, it was rewritten by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams.
The main character, Nancy Drew, is a smart and brave young woman. In the first version of the story, she is sixteen years old and has just finished high school. In the 1959 rewrite, her age was changed to eighteen. Nancy's father, Carson Drew, is a famous criminal defense lawyer. Nancy and her father live in a town called River Heights. They have a kind housekeeper named Hannah Gruen, who becomes like a family member to them.
This book has been very popular! In 2001, it was ranked 53rd on a list of the best-selling hardcover children's books ever published in English. About 2.7 million copies of the book have been sold.
Contents
What is the Story About?
The Original 1930 Story
In the 1930 version, sixteen-year-old Nancy Drew wants to help the Turner family. They are distant relatives of a recently deceased man named Josiah Crowley. The Turners are having a tough time, and Nancy believes they should inherit some of Crowley's money. She tries to find a missing will that could give them a claim to his estate.
Nancy gets involved because she doesn't like the Tophams. The Tophams are a snobby family who think they are better than others because they have new money. They expect to get all of Crowley's wealth. Nancy's friend, Helen Corning, helps her along the way.
Nancy has a tricky encounter with the Topham sisters at a store. She manages to show them up when they accidentally break an expensive vase. Nancy talks to different relatives and friends of Mr. Crowley. She learns from an older lady that Crowley hinted about his will being hidden in the family clock. Helen gives Nancy tickets for a charity event to sell. Nancy sells them to the Tophams so she can visit their home and ask them about the clock.
Later, Nancy joins Helen at a summer camp. This allows her to investigate the Topham family's summer house nearby. While there, a burglar overpowers Nancy. The burglar steals the Crowley Clock and other furniture from the Tophams' house. Nancy is left tied up inside the empty house, and the caretaker is locked in a shed. Nancy is clever and manages to get the special clock. The burglars are caught later.
In this original story, Nancy is shown as very strong-willed. She is also quite competitive with the Tophams. While she is kind to the poor relatives, she enjoys seeing the snobby Tophams lose their high social standing.
The 1959 Rewritten Story
In 1959, the book was rewritten by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. In this new version, Nancy is a bit different. She is less impulsive and more calm and polite. She also has a large wardrobe of clothes and a more generous attitude. Helen, Nancy's friend, seems older in this version. This might have been to prepare for her character to leave the series later on. Any old-fashioned or unfair descriptions of people were removed.
The rewritten story has more action and moves faster. It also gives more details about Nancy and her home life.
In this version, Josiah Crowley's relatives are worried. The selfish Tophams, who are very proud of their new wealth, have taken Mr. Crowley into their home. They don't let him see other family members, like the Turner and Hoover sisters. When Mr. Crowley passes away, it seems his promises to include others in his will won't happen. The will the Tophams have says everything goes to them. Eighteen-year-old Nancy Drew decides to help Crowley's relatives. She especially cares for little Judy, a distant niece of Crowley's, who is being raised by the elderly Turner sisters.
Nancy finds the Hoover sisters' farm during a rainstorm. She takes shelter with them because her convertible car top stopped working. In this version, one of the Hoover sisters, Allison, wants to take singing lessons.
Nancy's encounter with the Topham sisters now involves a torn evening dress instead of a broken vase. Nancy catches up with the thieves when they stop to eat, rather than when they were drinking.
The final scene, where the will is read and the Tophams lose their inheritance, focuses on the joy of rewarding the deserving Crowley relatives. It's less about Nancy wanting to see the Tophams lose their social status.
Artwork and Illustrations
The first edition of The Secret of the Old Clock in the 1930s had a white dust jacket with artwork by Russell H. Tandy. It also had four black-and-white pictures inside the book, also by Tandy. You can tell the first edition apart because it doesn't have a silhouette picture on the front cover and its inside pages are blank.
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In 1937, three of the inside pictures were removed, leaving only one main picture at the front of the book. More information and pictures were added to the dust jacket. In 1943, the main front picture was updated to look more modern for the 1940s.
In 1950, the dust jacket was changed to a "wraparound" style. This meant the picture continued onto the spine of the book. The new cover art was by Bill Gillies and matched the style of the 1950s. Gillies' picture of Nancy, which was based on his wife, looked older than 16 (Nancy's age in the book at that time). She wore a 1950s version of her famous blue suit. The way she was kneeling made it hard to tell the exact style of her clothes, which helped the art not look old-fashioned too quickly. The scene in the picture doesn't exactly match the story.
When the book's text was rewritten in 1959, five new illustrations were added. The new text even described the scene shown on the cover in detail. In 1960, a special Reader's Club edition of the book got completely new artwork. This included eight ink drawings and a color picture at the front, which was also used for the jacket. These were all done by Polly Bolian.
In 1962, the publisher stopped using dust jackets. Instead, the artwork was printed directly onto the book cover. These books had yellow spines and backs, using Bill Gillies' artwork.
In 1965, the cover art was updated again with a picture by Rudy Nappi. This picture showed Nancy wearing the same dress she wears on Gillies' cover for The Secret of the Wooden Lady. The pictures inside the book stayed the same. While the way the books were bound and the spine designs have changed over time, the main cover art, all the inside pictures (except for the endpapers), and the story text have remained the same since then.
Copyright Information
Understanding copyright can be a bit tricky, but it's about when a book's text becomes free for anyone to use.
In Canada, the rewritten text of The Secret of the Old Clock will become public domain on January 1, 2055. This is because Harriet Adams, who rewrote it, passed away in 1982. However, the original text, written by Mildred Benson (who passed away in 2002), and the character of Nancy Drew herself, will not enter the Canadian public domain until January 1, 2073. This follows Canada's Copyright Act.
In the United States, the original text of the book became public domain in 2026. This is 95 years after it was first published. The rewritten text, however, will not become public domain in the U.S. until 2055.
Other Stories and Shows Inspired by the Book
The story of The Secret of the Old Clock has inspired other adventures!
The 12th game in the Nancy Drew point-and-click adventure game series is called Nancy Drew: Secret of the Old Clock. This game is loosely based on the book. It also includes ideas from other Nancy Drew books like The Hidden Staircase, The Bungalow Mystery, and The Mystery at Lilac Inn.
An episode from the Nancy Drew television series, called "The Curse of the Dark Storm," was also inspired by this novel. In that episode, Nancy and a character named Ned find a clock that Tiffany Hudson had hidden. The clock holds something Tiffany wanted Ned to have after she passed away.
