Author | Carolyn Keene |
---|---|
Illustrator | Russell H. Tandy |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | Nancy Drew Mystery Stories |
Genre | Juvenile literature |
Publisher | Grosset & Dunlap |
Publication date | 1933, revised 1968 |
Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
Preceded by | Nancy's Mysterious Letter |
Followed by | The Password to Larkspur Lane |
The Sign of the Twisted Candles is the ninth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. As the second volume written by Walter Karig, it was originally published in 1933 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. [1] Due to Karig having died in 1956, as of January 1, 2007, the 1933 book and the other two Nancy Drew books he wrote, have passed into the public domain in Canada and other countries with a life-plus-50 policy.
In the course of solving the mystery of an old man's disappearing fortune, Nancy both starts and ends a family feud and reveals the identity of an orphan of unknown parentage. This story focuses on Nancy's encounter with a 100-year-old man at The Sign of the Twisted Candles, a roadside inn and restaurant. Nancy and her friends, Bess and George, take afternoon tea there while waiting out a storm, where Nancy's roadster is blocked by a fallen tree. They encounter Asa Sidney, celebrating his 100th birthday, and the maid and waitress, Carol Wipple, mistreated by her adoptive parents, Frank and Emma Jemmit.
Nancy discovers Mr. Sidney is an elderly relative of Bess and George, and her willingness to communicate with him launches a family feud upon his death a few days later. This leaves Nancy without allies in the family, as the cousins refuse to associate with her.
Carol is named as the major benefactress, and Nancy sets out to prove Frank and Emma Jemmit have misappropriated property. Nancy also must discover why Asa was interested in young Carol. Meanwhile, relatives from the Sidney and Boonton families fight over the money.
While investigating, Nancy is reunited with her friends. Later, during the climax of the book, she is nearly killed when pushed from a ladder that had been laid against a tower window, illustrated in the original 1933 edition. Carol is discovered to be the great-niece of Asa Sidney; therefore she owns the rights to a number of inventions awaiting patents from Sidney. The family feud is resolved due to Nancy's discoveries.
The original 1933 artwork is by the fashion illustrator Russell H. Tandy, illustrator for the Nancy Drew series from 1930 to 1949. [2]
In the original edition, Nancy is shown meeting with Mr. Sidney in a simple summer dress and hat. This edition is noted for its internal art depicting Nancy pushed from a ladder. This illustration and two others were dropped in 1936 and subsequent editions.
Bill Gillies' 1950 cover art shows Nancy watching from a window as Frank Jemmit digs a hole outside. A more simply executed version of this image was used for half of the endpaper used from 1953 to 1959 (known as the 'Digger' endpaper). The endpapers show the digging man, while Nancy (in art adapted from The Secret of Red Gate Farm) hides behind a tree and watches.
The 1968 cover art shows a flip-haired Nancy near a candle with Asa glowering in the background. This art was also used as generic cover stock, in red, blue, and pink, for library binding or rebound library copies of all titles in the series.
Nancy Drew is a fictional character appearing in several mystery book series, movies, video games, and a TV show as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwritten by a number of authors and published under the collective pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Created by the publisher Edward Stratemeyer as the female counterpart to his Hardy Boys series, the character first appeared in 1930 in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series, which lasted until 2003 and consisted of 175 novels.
The Bungalow Mystery is the third volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. It was the last of three books in the "breeder set" trilogy, released in 1930, to test-market the series.
The Secret of the Old Clock is the first volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. It was first published on April 28, 1930, and rewritten in 1959 by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams.
The Hidden Staircase is the second volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, published in 1930 and revised in 1959. The original text was written by Mildred Wirt Benson, and she has said that it is her personal favorite of the Nancy Drew Books she wrote.
The Mystery At Lilac Inn is the fourth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1930 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Mildred Wirt Benson was the ghostwriter for the 1930 edition.
The Secret of Red Gate Farm is the sixth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series, written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, It was first published in 1931.
The Clue in the Diary is the seventh volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series, and was first published in 1932 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Its text was revised in 1962.
Nancy's Mysterious Letter is the eighth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1932 and was penned by Walter Karig, a replacement writer for Mildred Wirt Benson. Benson declined series work when the Depression forced a reduction in the contract fee provided to Stratemeyer Syndicate writers, so Karig, already an established Stratemeyer writer, took over the authorship. Due to Karig having died in 1956, the 1932 version passed into the public domain in Canada and other countries that have a life plus 50 policy, in 2007.
The Password to Larkspur Lane is the tenth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1933 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. The actual author was ghostwriter Walter Karig in his third and final Nancy Drew novel and his final appearance for the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Due to Karig's death in 1956, this book and his other two Nancy Drews, as of January 1, 2007, have passed into the public domain in Canada and other countries with a life-plus-50 policy.
The Clue of the Broken Locket is the eleventh volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1934 and was written by Mildred Benson under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. It was later revised by Harriet Stratemeyer in 1965, and the story was mostly changed with a few elements of the original.
Walter Karig was a prolific writer, who served as a US naval captain. Karig wrote a number of works on Allied naval operations during World War II. He also wrote scripts for the television series Victory at Sea. Besides his works on naval history, Karig was a novelist, publishing under his own name, and a journalist.
The Mystery of the Ivory Charm is the thirteenth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1936 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. The actual author was ghostwriter Mildred Wirt Benson.
The Secret in the Old Attic is the twenty-first volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1944 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. The actual author was ghostwriter Mildred Wirt Benson.
The Ringmaster's Secret is the thirty-first volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in late 1953 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. The actual author was ghostwriter Harriet Stratemeyer Adams.
Georgia "George" Fayne is a character in the popular Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. She is one of Nancy's best friends and cousin of Bess Marvin. Her birth name is Georgia, although no one calls her that except her parents.
Nancy Drew: Legend of the Crystal Skull is the 17th installment in the Nancy Drew point-and-click adventure game series by Her Interactive. It is available for play on Microsoft Windows platforms. It has an ESRB rating of E for moments of mild violence and peril. Players take on the first-person view of fictional amateur sleuth Nancy Drew and must solve the mystery through interrogation of suspects, solving puzzles, and discovering clues. There are two levels of gameplay, Junior and Senior detective modes, each offering a different difficulty level of puzzles and hints, however neither of these changes affect the actual plot of the game. The game is loosely based on a book entitled The Mardi Gras Mystery (1988).
The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories is the long-running "main" series of the Nancy Drew franchise, which was published under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. There are 175 novels — plus 34 revised stories — that were published between 1930 and 2003 under the banner; Grosset & Dunlap published the first 56, and 34 revised stories, while Simon & Schuster published the series beginning with volume 57.
Alibi in Ashes is the 25th installment in the Nancy Drew point-and-click adventure game series by Her Interactive. The game is available for play on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X platforms. It has an ESRB rating of E for moments of mild violence and peril. Players take on the first-person view of fictional amateur sleuth Nancy Drew and must solve the mystery through interrogation of suspects, solving puzzles, and discovering clues. There are two levels of gameplay, Junior and Senior detective modes, each offering a different difficulty level of puzzles and hints, however neither of these changes affects the actual plot of the game. The game is loosely based on two books: False Impressions (1990) and The Clues Challenge (2000).
The Silent Spy is the 29th installment in the Nancy Drew point-and-click adventure game series by Her Interactive. The game is available for play on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X platforms. It has an ESRB rating of E for moments of mild violence and peril. Players take on the first-person view of fictional amateur sleuth Nancy Drew and must solve the mystery through interrogation of suspects, solving puzzles, and discovering clues. There are two levels of gameplay, Amateur and Master sleuth modes, each offering a different difficulty level of puzzles and hints, however neither of these changes affect the actual plot of the game. The game is loosely based on a book entitled The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes (1964).
The Shattered Medallion is the 30th installment in the Nancy Drew point-and-click adventure game series by Her Interactive. The game is available for play on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X platforms. It has an ESRB rating of E for moments of mild violence. Players take on the first-person view of fictional amateur sleuth Nancy Drew and must solve the mystery through interrogation of suspects, solving puzzles, and discovering clues. There are two levels of gameplay, Amateur and Master sleuth modes, each offering a different difficulty level of puzzles and hints, however neither of these changes affect the actual plot of the game. The game is loosely based on a book entitled Real Fake (2007).