Updated List

Just a few small updates to my list. For my birthday, I received three new books (The Bungalow Mystery, The Mystery of the Tolling Bell, and The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes). I also counted a few more that have surfaced since I began this endeavor. I own nearly 100 now!

1. The Secret in the Old Clock *#
2. The Hidden Staircase *#
3. The Bungalow Mystery #
4. The Mystery at Lilac Inn *#
5. The Secret at Shadow Ranch *#
6. The Secret of Red Gate Farm #
7. The Clue in the Diary #
8. Nancy's Mysterious Letter #
9. The Sign of the Twisted Candles #
10. The Password to Larkspur Lane
11. The Clue of the Broken Locket *#
12. The Message in the Hollow Oak *
13. The Mystery of the Ivory Charm *
14. The Whispering Statue
15. The Haunted Bridge
16. The Clue of the Tapping Heels #
17. The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk *
18. The Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion
19. The Quest 0f the Missing Map *
20. The Clue in the Jewel Box *
21. The Secret in the Old Attic *#
22. The Clue in the Crumbling Wall
23. The Mystery of the Tolling Bell #
24. The Clue in the Old Album *
25. The Ghost of Blackwood Hall *
26. The Clue of the Leaning Chimney #
27. The Secret of the Wooden Lady
28. The Clue of the Black Keys
29. The Mystery at the Ski Jump
30. The Clue of the Velvet Mask
31. The Ringmaster's Secret
32. The Scarlet Slipper Mystery #
33. The Witch Tree Symbol
34. The Hidden Window Mystery *
35. The Haunted Showboat
36. The Secret of the Golden Pavilion
37. The Clue in the Old Stagecoach
38. The Mystery of the Fire Dragon
39. The Clue of the Dancing Puppet *#
40. The Moonstone Castle Mystery *
41. The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes #
42. The Phantom of Pine Hill *#
43. The Mystery of the 99 Steps *#
44. The Clue in the Crossword Cipher
45. The Spider Sapphire Mystery
46. The Invisible Intruder
47. The Mysterious Mannequin
48. The Crooked Banister
49. The Secret of Mirror Bay *#
50. The Double Jinx Mystery #
51. Mystery of the Glowing Eye *
52. The Secret of the Forgotten City
53. The Sky Phantom #
54. The Strange Message in the Parchment *#
55. Mystery of Crocodile Island
56. The Thirteenth Pearl #
57. The Triple Hoax #
58. The Flying Saucer Mystery
59. The Secret in the Old Lace
60. The Greek Symbol Mystery
61. The Swami's Ring #
62. The Kachina Doll Mystery
63. The Twin Dilemma *#
64. Captive Witness
65. Mystery of the Winged Lion
66. Race Against Time
67. The Sinister Omen
68. The Elusive Heiress *
69. Clue in the Ancient Disguise
70. The Broken Anchor *
71. The Silver Cobweb
72. The Haunted Carousel
73. Enemy Match
74. The Mysteious Image
75. The Emerald-Eyed Cat Mystery #
76. The Eskimo's Secret #
77. The Bluebeard Room *#
78. The Phantom of Venice *#
79. The Double Horror of Fenley Place *#
80. The Case of the Disappearing Diamonds
81. The Mardi Gras Mystery *#
82. The Clue in the Camera
83. The Case of the Vanishing Veil *#
84. The Joker's Revenge
85. The Secret of Shady Glen *#
86. The Mystery of Misty Canyon
87. The Case of the Rising Stars
88. The Search for Cindy Austin *#
89. The Case of the Disappearing Deejay
90. The Puzzle at Pineview School
91. The Girl Who Couldn't Remember *
92. The Ghost of Craven Cove *#
93. The Case of the Safecracker's Secret
94. The Picture-Perfect Mystery *
95. The Silent Suspect
96. The Case of the Photo Finish
97. The Mystery of Magnolia Mansion *#
98. The Haunting of Horse Island
99. The Secret at Seven Rocks #
100. A Secret in Time *
101. The Mystery of the Missing Millionairess *#
102. The Secret in the Dark
103. The Stranger in the Shadows *#
104. The Mystery of the Jade Tiger *#
105. The Clue in the Antique Trunk *
106. The Case of the Artful Crime #
107. The Secret of Miner's Creek
108. The Secret of the Tibetan Treasure
109. The Mystery of the Masked Rider *
110. The Nutcracker Ballet Mystery *#
111. The Secret at Solaire
112. Crime in the Queen's Court *#
113. The Secret Lost at Sea *#
114. The Search For the Silver Persian
115. The Suspect in the Smoke *#
116. The Case of the Twin Teddy Bears *#
117. Mystery on the Menu
118. Trouble at Lake Tahoe *#
119. Mystery of the Missing Mascot
120. The Case of the Floating Crime *#
121. The Fortune Teller's Secret *#
122. The Message in the Haunted Mansion *#
123. The Clue on the Silver Screen #
124. The Secret of the Scarlet Hand *
125. The Teen Model Mystery *#
126. The Riddle in the Rare Book *#
127. The Case of the Dangerous Solution *#
128. The Treasure in the Royal Tower *#
129. The Baby-Sitter Burglaries *#
130. The Sign of the Falcon
131. The Hidden Inheritance
132. The Fox Hunt Mystery *#
133. The Mystery at the Crystal Palace *#
134. The Secret of the Forgotten Cave
135. The Riddle of the Ruby Gazelle *#
136. The Wedding Day Mystery *#
137. In Search of the Black Rose *#
138. The Legend of the Lost Gold
139. The Secret of Candlelight Inn *#
140. The Door-to-Door Deception
141. The Wild Cat Crime *
142. The Case of the Capital Intrigue
143. Mystery on Maui *
144. The E-Mail Mystery *#
145. The Missing Horse Mystery *#
146. The Ghost of the Lantern Lady *#
147. The Case of the Captured Queen *#
148. On the Trail of Trouble
149. The Clue of the Gold Doubloons #
150. Mystery at Moorsea Manor *#
151. The Chocolate-Covered Contest *#
152. The Key in the Satin Pocket *#
153. Whispers in the Fog *#
154. The Legend of the Emerald Lady *#
155. The Mystery in Tornado Alley *#
156. The Secret in the Stars *#
157. The Music Festival Mystery #
158. The Curse of the Black Cat *#
159. The Secret of the Fiery Chamber *#
160. The Clue on the Crystal Dove *#
161. Lost in the Everglades *#
162. The Case of the Lost Song *#
163. The Clues Challenge *#
164. The Mystery of the Mother Wolf *#
165. The Crime Lab Case *#
166. The Case of the Creative Crime *#
167. Mystery by Moonlight *#
168. The Bike Tour Mystery *#
169. The Mistletoe Mystery *#
170. No Strings Attached *#
171. Intrigue at the Grand Opera *#
172. The Riding Club Crime *#
173. Danger on the Great Lakes *#
174. A Taste of Danger *#
175. Werewolf in a Winter Wonderland *#

* = Read (93)
# = Owned (96)

#43 - The Mystery of the 99 Steps

This is the first of the original 56 books that I'm covering. I know it sounds pathetic that it's taken me so long to read it, when it's only 30 pages longer than the paperback books. Well, I'll admit this isn't one of the most interesting ones that I've read, in terms of plot. But regarding those many 'Nancy Drew moments'- varying from the obscure motivations for pursuing a mystery to the random cliffhangers at the end of each chapter- I had quite a time reading this book.
The plot itself is a little questionable. In short, the mystery begins when a neighbor of Bess and/or George, Josette Blair, confesses to Nancy that she has been having a strange recurring dream. In said dream, she is a small child in France again, and she is blindfolded, about to fall down a flight of stairs made up of 99 steps. She also receives a message from one 'Monsieur Neuf'' (Mr. Nine in French) warning her not to speak of the 99 steps. So, in Nancy's words, the case can be summed up like this:

'It's our job to find Monsieur Neuf and where the 99 steps are, and- well, solve the mystery so poor Mrs. Blair can sleep again' (4).

Oh, Nancy. You can make a mystery out of anything if it gives you an excuse to go to France on vacay with your two besties. Certainly you'd turn down the case if it meant you were stuck in River Heights... again.
Quick notice by the way: this entire post will pretty much be a medley of quotations from the book that made me laugh. And believe me, there are a lot.
To begin with, as Nancy is telling Bess and George all about their plans and the mystery, they hear a helicopter flying dangerously low above the house....

An instant later a strong downdraft of air burst from the chimney. It sent sparks, soot, and ashes over Nancy and into the room' (5).

Dear Criminal Guy Who's Trying to Throw Nancy Off the Case:
How on Earth did you think this plan would pan out? I have to wonder, first of all, how you knew that Nancy would be in her sitting room and (more specifically) that she would be standing right beside the fireplace with a fire going. And second, if your intention was simply to spread soot and ashes all over the Drew's living room by flying low over their house in a helicopter, how was that supposed to serve as a warning to stay off the case?
For the time being, you're pretty much a failure of a criminal.

So Nancy goes to France, ignoring threats on her life, and meets with danger on her very first day while climbing a flight of stairs in the cathedral of Notre Dame:

Coming down toward her was an enormously fat woman, who blocked the entire width of the staircase. Without regard for those below her, she descended swiftly and thoughtlessly, not moving sideways to give Nancy any room.... 'S'il vous plait-' Nancy began. The fat woman paid no attention. She pushed against Nancy so hard that the girl lost her balance! She fell against Bess, who in turn dropped backward onto George. Unable to keep her balance, George desperately clawed the air! Would they all go tumbling to the bottom? (43)

Gosh, Nancy! Everyone has it out for you! Even obese strangers that have absolutely nothing to do with the case! (I'm not kidding- this woman does not appear again in the book, nor is she even mentioned once after Carson Drew catches George and saves them from falling down the stairs.) Might I also note that this is a rather crude assessment of a person's manners based on their physical appearance. Random and just plain weird.

Later, while buying some souvenirs, Nancy said, 'Look! A musical coffeepot! I'll buy it for Hannah Gruen!' (77)

Because nothing will remind her of France like a musical coffeepot will.
As the case moves on, Nancy and her friends get a nice tour of France and, miraculously, the culprit chooses Versailles as the perfect spot for one of those shady briefcase-exchange tricks with one of Carson Drew's clients, a man he has tricked into a fraud scheme. In other words, Nancy doesn't even have to veer off of her busy sightseeing schedule in order to work on the case! Seems like her suspects really know what matters most to her.
While at Versailles, George decides to take action when they've discovered that Monsieur Neuf is around, and runs to investigate a side door of the palace that was suddenly opened and then shut (I'm still not certain why that was so remarkably suspicious). But it looks like it was the culprit after all...

Just as she reached the door a man's arm shot out. In his hand was a cane with a large curved handle. Suddenly the crook of the cane reached around George's neck and she was yanked inside the building! (96)

So I know George has just been kidnapped and all, but I can't help but think- what a cartoonish way to be kidnapped! I half-expected this guy to jump out and start dancing:


And to be honest, for a Nancy Drew book that wouldn't be so unbelievable.
They do eventually find George in the palace, with the help of some police officers. And of all places, where do they find her but in King Louis' bed? Now isn't that suspicious...

'This is so ridiculous! I can't believe it actually happened!' Between gales of mirth, [George] said, 'Imagine me sleeping in King Louis XIV's bed!' (100)

And that sounded creepier than you know, George.
But speaking of Versailles and King Louis XIV, parts of this book are something of a French history lesson... albeit through awkward, robotic conversations between Nancy, Bess, and George. I have to question if these are real teenaged girls when they sit around chattering excitedly about the entire historical account of Charles VII and Joan of Arc. Most girls their age would be talking about boys- and on that subject, there's some random guy named Henri that keeps randomly popping up to help Nancy with the mystery. Oh man, Ned didn't even get the smallest mention in this book... I think I should start counting the number of times Nancy forgets about him in favor of some random foreign guy.
For much of their stay in France, Nancy and her friends stay with Josette Blair's brother and sister-in-law, the Bardots. After being away for more than a day to go sleuthing/sightseeing, the three girls return to the house to some unsettling news:

[Madame Bardot]'s voice quivered. 'My darling poodle Fifi has disappeared!.... Fifi was locked in our house and could not possibly have left it of her own accord. But somehow she has vanished!' (125)

Take note, criminals everywhere: if you want to warn Nancy Drew off the case, you'd better kidnap her best friend's neighbor's sister-in-law's pet poodle. That's sure to do the trick.

In the end, Nancy figures it all out through a heck of a lot of eavesdropping and hiding behind barrels while dangerous men make creepy remarks about their plans to take over the world. On that note (the final one I will make here) I feel that this book indicates quite a lot about the nature of orientalism in the United States. If that's not a term with which you're familiar, orientalism refers to stereotypes about people from other parts of the world, specifically the false perceptions of Eastern cultures from a Western standpoint. I'm saying this because the culprit in this book, Louis Aubert, oftentimes disguises himself as an Arab man. And the ghostwriter makes no effort to veil his 'evil nature':

Monsieur LeBlanc stepped forward and grabbed the Arab's arm... 'The gold standard of the world will tumble!'
'What does that matter?' the Arab's eyes glittered. 'Gold! Gold! All is to be gold!' he cried out, rubbing his hands gleefully (156).

In this representation, the culprit is portrayed as greedy and sinister... and just to press the point, he's dressed in Arab garb.
I realize that this book was written in 1966, yet somehow, nearly 45 years later, it serves as some indication of how skewed Western views often are in regards to Middle Eastern people. Look at what's going on now: much that region of the world is in political turmoil- but is it fair to associate 'Arab' or 'Muslim' or 'Middle Eastern' with evil plots that will throw the rest of the world into financial ruin? The worst part is that (as I've noted) this was first published over forty years ago, re-published in 1994, and yet it still applies to a force of close-mindedness and stereotypes that much of the Western world doesn't even know it's living under.
I'm getting very political here and I might be pissing people off, so I'll end this post here. But do let me make one distinction: if you thought I was the Nancy Drew everyone knows from after the 1959 revisions (when the original books were edited to turn Nancy into a polite debutante), you weren't quite right. I don't mean to turn people off from reading this blog due to a possibly offensive liberal mindset, but I fully intend to stay true to the gutsy, opinionated girl detective of the original books. If that bothers you, I'm sorry. But unlike Nancy Drew, I'm not going to tone it down when I see such blaring indications of what needs to be changed in our society.