#77 - The Bluebeard Room

Romance and danger await Nancy on the craggy coast of Cornwall, England. There to help a friend who could be in danger, Nancy finds more than she bargained for!

I've been re-reading a few of my old Nancy Drew books, just to get back in the swing of things. I recalled thinking this one was a little strange when I first read it. And now that I'm reading it again, I understand why I felt that way.

First, let me emphasize the 'romance' part of this book. Because in essence, it reads like a bad romantic fan fiction. The first ten chapters or so include about 5% actual mystery, and 95% Nancy hitting up the London nightclubs and running about with some hot rock star- swooning when he flirts with her, running tearfully to the bathroom when either A) she learns he's supposedly getting married or B) the tabloids run stories about their escapades or C) someone calls her a groupie. Nancy Drew is not a groupie! *sob*

For anyone who hasn't read these books, it's also pretty common for each chapter in a Nancy Drew book to end with some frightening situation. Nancy lost her footing and plummeted down toward the rapidly flowing water of the river! Just as Nancy stepped into the foyer of the dark mansion, the front door slammed shut- she was trapped! Etc., etc. In this particular book, however, the ending of each chapter generally has something to do with Lance Warrick (Mr. Rock Star). Here are some examples:

Ch.2 (19)
Mrs. Harwood called out, "Nancy dear, where are you going? Lance wants to dance with you!"
"No thanks. Tell him I appreciate the honor, but I'd rather have another glass of punch."

Ouch. Snubbed by Nancy Drew? Now that's a killer.

Ch.8 (70)
"... Well, Nancy dear, may I offer a word of advice?"
"Of course."
"Don't get too fond of him."
"Why not?"
"We haven't broken the news yet, even to the rest of the group, but you see, Lance and I plan to marry soon."

Oh no! What will she do?! Apparently, play it off as totally cool and then start crying as soon as she's alone. What a heroine.

Ch.9 (78)
Nancy's heart danced. "In a word- wonderful!" She leaned out of the window and blew him a kiss as her train pulled out of the station.

Don't you have a mystery to solve? Better get on that, we're halfway through the book now.

Ch.13 (118)
Nancy shook off his hand scornfully.... "Please understand once and for all, Lance- I am not one of your groupies!"

Great. Now that we've finally established that, let's get down to this case... although at this point most readers have forgotten what the mystery was about.
See, one of the things I loved most about Nancy Drew books was that Nancy never needed a guy to complete her. There was Ned, of course (starting in book 7, The Clue in the Diary) but never did I read a book in which her feelings and emotions revolved entirely around her hometown sweetie- or any other guy, for that matter. In fact, Nancy has always been strong-willed, opinionated, and independent. She is hardly the type of girl to forget about the case and get hung up on romantic drama, because heck- simply put, she is not the type of girl who has romantic drama. What happened to good old Ned? According to this book, they are 'taking each other for granted' and 'dating other people'. Which is another way of saying that this ghost writer thinks that after 70 books, it's time for sweet Ned to GTFO. Poor guy!

On another point, we also see a much more vain Nancy Drew in this book. She goes shopping with Bess and George at Bloomingdale's (I also found it unusual that tomboy George so obligingly agreed to go shopping), puts on her prettiest dresses on a daily basis, and touches up her makeup before talking to guys. Since when did she care so much about her appearance? The Nancy we all know and love didn't wear makeup (at least not often), and when it came time to go sleuthing she threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and made sure her backpack carried a notebook, lock-picking set, and a penlight. She was fully prepared to fall down a dark well or snoop around someone's office.

My point is this: Nancy Drew represents a teenager that girls can look up to; she is independent, courageous, never backs down. She refuses monetary gifts, stands up for her ideals, is always there for a friend (or enemy) in need, and has her heart in the right place (this does not involve British rock stars).
Trying to change this persona by adding new romances or dozens of shopping bags sends an undesirable message to young girls: if Nancy Drew is so caught up in looking cute and running around with shady boys, it must be all right. Now if I had taken that message to heart, imagine what I would be like... probably not such a nerd, for one thing; I might have a more up-to-date wardrobe; and I would likely not enjoy reading as much as I do. It was the role model I found in this girl sleuth that made me so intent on being my own person, no matter how off-beat or awkward other people find me. Perhaps James Duncan Lawrence (the ghostwriter for this book) thought he was doing girls a favor- this was 1985, after all, and with peer pressure becoming more prominent in young girls it probably seemed more important that Nancy be a hip role model for her readers.

FYI, it was never important that Nancy be 'cool'. And if you were at all successful, I think I'd have been Miss Popularity in school- I was not and that was always perfectly fine by me.