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Nancy Drew Mystery Stories
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| There is a large amount of confusion among buyers of Nancy Drew books. This page has been created in an attempt to set the record straight about which books are available in the original text edition. One sure way to tell is to ask every seller whether the book has 25 chapters. This can be time-consuming, and quite often, the sellers give the wrong answers.
It is important for buyers to self-educate themselves about the books. It is helpful to narrow down the search and only ask when the seller's pictures give no clues. By becoming familiar with what the original text books look like, buyers can avoid having to ask so many questions. |
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| 1930-1951 | ||||
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All books printed within this time period are solid blue books. Some books have no front cover silhouette while others have either an orange or a blue front cover silhouette.
All of these books have the original text with no exceptions whatsoever. If the outside of the book looks like one of these books, then the book must have the original 25 chapter text. Top left: Volumes 1 through 7 Middle Left: Volumes 1 through 22 Bottom Left: Volumes 1 through 23 Top Right: Volumes 1 through 23 Bottom Right: Volumes 1 through 28 |
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| 1952-1961 | ||||
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During the time of the tweed books, a few books were revised. Those titles are the ones where buyers have to be careful. The only tweed books that were revised are #1, 2, 3, 4, and 6. It is fairly common to find #1, 2, and 3 in the tweed cover with the revised text as those three books went through quite a few printings in the revised text. One quick way to tell whether these titles are the original or the revised text is by the copyright date. The original texts of #1-4 and 6 are copyright 1930, 1930, 1930, 1930, and 1931 respectively. The revised texts of #1-4 and 6 are 1959, 1959, 1960, 1961, and 1961 respectively. | |||
| It is important to understand that only #1-34 were ever printed with 25 chapter texts. #35 and up never had 25 chapters, so it is pointless to ask sellers how many chapters #35 and up have.
There is also no reason to ask sellers whether a tweed book of #5 or #7-34 has the original text. All tweed books of #5 and #7-34 have the original 25 chapter text with no exceptions whatsoever. |
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| 1962-1986 | ||||
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Since #1-4 and #6 were already revised down to 20 chapters before the picture cover format began, these books do not exist in the picture cover format with the original 25 chapter text. #7 was printed in the picture cover format with the original 25 chapter text for just one printing, so it is a bit difficult to find. Nearly all picture cover editions of #7 that come up for sale have the revised 1962 text. | |||
| The only books that were ever printed in the picture cover format with the original 25 chapter text are #5 and #7-34. #35-56 all have 20 chapter texts, and remember that none of #35-56 were ever printed with 25 chapter texts.
Some people believe that the picture covers that have the blue multi endpapers will always have the original text. This is not necessarily true. Early picture cover printings of #1-4 and 6 have blue multi endpapers but the revised 20 chapter text. Additionally, early picture cover printings of #35-38 have the blue multi endpapers but those titles never had 25 chapter texts. Some general observations can be made about the picture cover books that can help narrow down whether a particular book has the original or revised text. As the books were revised, particularly during the 1970s, the titles changed to all capital letters on the spines. A book that has all capital letters in the title on the spine can be expected to have the revised 20 chapter text. This rule will not work for all books, but it can help a buyer tell at a glance whether a seller's books are likely to have the original or the revised text. The earlier picture cover books are thicker than the later ones. Additionally, the spine colors vary quite a bit from faded yellow to a brownish yellow. Books that have the varied spines are more likely to be earlier picture covers with the original text. |
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| 1986-present | ||||
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All of the glossy flashlight editions have the revised 20 chapter text. | |||
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