If Nancy Drew were to actually celebrate a birthday, the sleuth would be nearly 100 years old today. Luckily, for fans of the book series, the teenage detective remains the ever-curious teenager solving crimes in River Heights, USA.

It was 80 years ago that the first Nancy Drew book, “

The Secret of the Old Clock

,” was published in April 1930 spawning some 300 books under the Carolyn Keene pseudonym. Generations have grown up reading the series.

“I think one of the great appeals of the series for kids and adults, who still love to read them, is that Nancy Drew is such a fun, adventurous, bold character. She’s out there making her way having a great time. It’s just so much fun as kids to read the books. Nancy was always a good role model,” said Jennifer Fisher, president and founder of the Nancy Drew Sleuths based in Arizona.

In celebration of Nancy Drew’s milestone, publisher Grosset & Dunlap has released a special anniversary edition of “The Secret of the Old Clock” with a new cover design.

Nancy Drew was created by founder of The Hardy Boys series, Edward Stratemeyer, who aimed to create a collection of mystery books for girls. In the books, Nancy wore heels and fashionable clothes suited to the times and displayed a sense of intelligence and substance.

While many prefer to read the original books, young readers are turning to the updated offshoot series, in which Nancy uses a cell phone and drives a hybrid car.

"I think a big part of updating her through the years is every generation has their Nancy, a Nancy who is more relevant to their generation," Fisher said.



Jennifer Zeola, 23, works at Fredricksen Library, Camp Hill: "I was probably in my early teens when I started reading Nancy Drew. I was on the older side of the age group. A friend of mine had the books and my mom had a few of the books. My friend and I would do book swaps so she gave me her Nancy Drew books.

“I loved the mysteries. I liked that they were clean. They had enough intrigue without being scary. It wasn’t like the television show ‘CSI.’ It was something much nicer but at the same time you couldn’t guess what would happen at the end.

“It’s not like you had to read the content about what she’s doing, what she’s wearing and what she is doing with the boys. A lot of the books today I see for young girls aren’t as clean.

“Nancy is so timeless. She has the intrigue, but it is something any generation is going to enjoy.”

Catherine Lawrence, 38, owner of Midtown Scholar Bookstore, Harrisburg: "I'm sure I started reading the Nancy Drew books in kindergarten or first grade. In second grade, that's when my friends and I adopted Nancy Drew as our playground friends. I think even then we teased apart the structures of the stories. I played George even though I was not a tomboy.

“We would all speak to each other in those standard phrases. The jungle gym became the spiral staircase and the swing set was the place to escape where we could all meet up. We would enlist other members of our class to be the cast but it was unbeknownst to them.

“I remember Nancy as clever, curious and wanting to solve mysteries. Now there are all kinds of collections for kids. Personally, I think part of the interest was the characters were a little older but not in our time and place.”

Debbie Beamer, 59, owner Mechanicsburg Mystery Book Shop: "I wouldn't have opened a mystery book shop if I hadn't read a Nancy Drew book. I had a bunch of them when growing up but I was dumb because I didn't know if you loan them you don't get them back.

“I started reading them in about fourth or fifth grade. It was probably the first non-kid book I got after the Bobbsey Twins. I think when you are most interested in them is when you are a young lady. I probably read them longer than a lot of other girls. I found them very entertaining.

“The Nancy Drew books have changed quite a bit. You wouldn’t have caught Nancy Drew in a bikini. Nowadays you do. There is no way people who read the books today would believe them if she didn’t have the modern things she has like a cell phone.

“She is everything somebody wants to be. It’s the idea that if she can do this, maybe I can, too.

“I just think Nancy is something to aspire to. She is quite a role model for young ladies even when the books first came out. She was in your face and she gave young women something to aspire to.”

Sam Marcus, 70, owner of the Bookworm Bookstore at the West Shore Farmers Market in Lemoyne: "I read the Hardy Boys and the Bobbsey Twins. I read all of them. The books became classics for every generation because they offer nice, fun stories.

“For me it was interesting. Nancy Drew had nice little plots about someone my age could relate to and that’s why they were so popular.

“At the time, it wasn’t a big deal that if you are girl you should read Nancy Drew and if you are a boy you should read the Hardy Boys. Schools liked them and supported them. It was a good way to read.

“I just think the adventures in the stories, not necessarily the characters, were appealing. The had nice story lines and they kept you going, and every one you picked up you knew you would enjoy.”