Give a case of Nancy Drew this season You may remember Carole Kismaric and Marvin Heiferman from their charming bestseller Growing Up with Dick and Jane, or from their oddball gem I’m So Happy. Happily, they’re back, this time with a tribute to America’s favorite teenage sleuths, in The Mysterious Case of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. The authors’ wit and verve never flag. Neither does their design sense. This book isn’t merely lavishly illustrated; it’s extravagantly, passionately illustrated, with countless illustrations from the books and dozens of supplementary photographs. It follows Nancy, Frank, and Joe into their several current incarnations, chronicling their influence and the influences on them.
More than a nostalgic tribute, this book is a cultural history of a publishing phenomenon and a social history of its era. From rock-and-roll to bomb shelters, from John Wayne to John Lennon, the authors tour the amusements and fears of adolescence, as reflected in the trouble-prone detectives from Bayport and River Heights.
