Nancy Solves Larkspur Mystery

PASSWORD TO LARKSPUR LANE
#10 of Nancy Drew Mystery Stories.

Scan of the cover of my copy of Nancy Drew #10.

I picked this up at the 2021 Newtown Summer Used Book Sale. I was in the mood for some light reading and it seemed like it had been quite too long since I last read a Nancy Drew book. Password to Larkspur Lane by Carolyn Keene fulfilled my expectations.

As usual I started on my usual pace of a chapter per day but found my self reading during lunch time and multiple chapters on the weekends. It was a good break and unexpectedly appropriate for July reading. I was unfamiliar with Larkspur flowers and learned that they are a birth flower for July.

The larkspur represents the strong bond of love. In general, it signifies an open heart, ardent attachment to someone and the celebration of positivity. As with many flowers, the symbolism changes with the color of the bloom.

• Blue larkspur symbolizes dignity and grace;
• Pink larkspur symbolizes contrariness; 
• White larkspur symbolizes a happy nature; and,
•  Purple larkspur symbolizes first love.
  

According to Greek mythology, this July flower blossomed where the blood of Ajax was spilled in the battle of Troy. Larkspurs are known as a protective plant to repel venomous snakes and cure scorpion stings. Since it grows wild in the United States, Native Americans picked it for dye.

The story starts with the mysterious appearance of a wounded homing pigeon. And so I learned about the International Federation of American Homing Pigeon Fanciers. Check out their HOME page.

One of the illustrations in my edition.
"It's a strange message, Nancy," the
housekeeper said.

My copy is the 1966 edition and the 1985 printing. Thus, it only has 20 chapter instead of the 25 chapters in the original 1933 edition.

The summary says "Blue bells will be singing horses! This strange message, attached to the leg of a wounded homing pigeon, involves Nancy Drew in a dangerous mission. Somewhere an elderly  woman is being held prisoner in a mansion. Nancy is determined to find and free, Mrs. Elridge.

While working on the case, the young detective's close friend, Helen Archer, begs her to solve a weird mystery. Helen's grandparents, the Cornings, are frightened by a sinister wheel of blue fire that appears after dark in the woods outside their home at lonely Sylvan Lake. When Nancy discovers the significance of the eerie signal, she also learns that her two mysteries are connected.

How the clever young detective fathoms the meaning of the strange message, how she locates the stronghold of a ruthless ring of swindlers, and how she rescues the gang's victims makes absorbing and exciting reading."

First edition (1933) dust jacket.

This edition includes six (6) illustrations (see sample above). The cover illustration is not a dust jacket but printed right onto the cover. I was amused to learn that a cover for the British edition generated some controversy because it showed part of Nancy's thigh.

"Racey" cover of the British edition.

My edition has 175 pages, not including several for the front section (contents, copyright, title page and frontispiece.

This was a lot of fun, a fast read, and I highly recommend it and all the Nancy Drew books.

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Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Drew
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Password_to_Larkspur_Lane
https://www.ftd.com/blog/share/july-birth-flower|
http://www.ifpigeon.com/
http://www.series-books.com/nancydrew/nancydrew.html
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Written Sunday 15 August 2021