Review by clong (2007-08-18)
One of my sisters-in-law passed on the family set of Nancy Drew hardbacks to my eldest daughter and I recently read through volume 1 as bedtime reading.

I came to the story with very modest expectations, and I'd have to say that it in one aspect it was far worse than I expected. I can forgive Nancy's poorly judged risk taking, and I can forgive the comically one-sided depiction of the evil Topham family, and I can forgive the ludicrious actions of the deceased Josiah Crowley. But I can't forgive the underlying assumption that poor people are hapless, helpless simpletons, doomed to a life of empty drudgery if not rescued by a spunky heroine.

(This review refers to the 1959 version titled “Secret of the Old Clock, the”)