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.
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