Ramblin' RET

Sunday, January 13, 2019

The Mystery of the Ivory Charm (1974)

Front cover of my copy of the 1974 edition.

Last month, after I finished reading the original 1936 edition of the Nancy Drew mystery book, The Mystery of the Ivory Charm, I realized I also had the 1974 version. So I quickly (for me) read the "modern" version.

Endpaper

The book was published in 1974 by Grosset & Dunlap (New York). It has XX (20) chapters (compared to 25 in the 1936 edition) spread out over 179 pages (compared with 216 in the 1936 edition). It has new cover art by Rudy Nappi (see above) and five simple illustrations (by an uncredited artist; see below for a comparison between an illustration for the same scene from the 1974 edition [left] and the 1936 edition [right]).

The basic story line is the same in both editions, however, I think that the illustrations (see above) are symbolic of the differences between the 1936 and the 1974 edition. The 1974 edition was easy to read and went quickly, almost without substance. Whereas, the 1936 version had more weight; meatier. One might say that the 1974 version is a diet version of the full bodied 1936 edition.

The Mystery of the Ivory Charm is #13 in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series.

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Links:

http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-mystery-of-ivory-charm.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mystery_of_the_Ivory_Charmhttps://americanillustration.org/project/rudy-nappi/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Drew_Mystery_Stories
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Written Sunday 17 March 2019

1936 edition

Monday, December 24, 2018

The Mystery of the Ivory Charm (1936)

Front of my copy.

Frontispiece Illustration

4 Illustrations (see sample above)

216 pages divided into XXV (25) chapters.

I obtained my copy at a recent used book sale (originally owned - at some point- by Judy Pearson). Unfortunately, my copy did not come with a dust jacket.

I started reading it earlier this month and had a hard time putting it down. This was an interesting mystery that has aged well. Nancy and her friends encounter a young boy from India at a circus where Nancy also receives an ivory elephant charm that reportedly brings good luck. The boy, Coya, runs away from the circus and his brutal "father" and ends up at the Drew residence.

There is an abandoned house with secret tunnels, a mysterious woman who slides into trances, and a treasure of jewels involved in the mystery. There is even a trip to the White House where Nancy gets to meet the First Lady. Of course, all's well that ends well. A fun read.