History Literature / NancyDrew

* ExtrudedBookProduct

For what's basically the equivalent with dudes, see ''Literature/TheHardyBoys'' and ''Literature/EncyclopediaBrown''.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Between her masculine nickname ("George" was short for "Georgia"), short hair, and tomboyish interests and behavior, many readers of the original series speculated that George Fayne was a lesbian, despite the fact that she had a boyfriend. Similarly, in the ''Files'' series, she doesn't have a steady boyfriend, and although she dates fairly regularly, she isn't boy-crazy or flirtatious like Bess and is often irritated with guys who act as such. The newest incarnation of the comic series, as part of the SettingUpdate, made this AscendedFanon and gave her a steady girlfriend.

* BigEater: Bess.

* {{Chickification}}: Both played straight and inverted in the infamous rewrites of the 60s. There was a lot more "asking nicely" and "smiling sweetly," and in general the tomboyish Nancy became much more ladylike -- but she also took to wearing jeans, rumpling her hair, and eating hamburgers in diners rather than "dainty sandwiches" in tea shops. The straight examples were deliberate (original author Mildred Wirt Benson and rewrite author Harriet Stratemeyer Adams did not like each other, so when the very ladylike Adams took to rewriting the stories, she tried to edit out as much of Benson's tomboyish characteristics as she could); the inversions were simply a product of cultural changes.

** Overlaps with TheUnfairSex: in the ''Files'' series and their crossovers with the Hardy Boys, Nancy has, and occasionally even acts on, some serious feelings for men other than Ned, most notably Frank Hardy and Mick Devlin (both of whom she straight-up kisses multiple times); though these flings don't ever end up lasting long-term, they're still usually portrayed positively or at least as being tragically star-crossed, even though she's essentially cheating on Ned with other guys. At least with Frank, he and Nancy mutually conclude whenever this happens that they want to stick with their respective partners, but with Mick, he straight-up asks Nancy to marry him, and she actually considers it. And yet, when there are books that involve another girl being attracted to Ned, Nancy gets very jealous, even though Ned never displays behavior that comes across as "cheating" as blatantly as Nancy does in the same situations.

** Ned spends much of the first few books of the ''Files'' series bitching about always being second best to Nancy's detective work to the point where he finally breaks up with her. By the very next book after this, he himself needs those same detective skills to help his new girlfriend. His hypocrisy aside, this is also horrifically insensitive of him. He's also visibly jealous upon meeting her new boyfriend, even ''he'' broke up with ''her'' and is dating someone else.

* {{Chickification}}: Both played straight and reversed in the infamous rewrites of the 60s. There was a lot more "asking nicely" and "smiling sweetly," and in general the tomboyish Nancy became much more ladylike -- but she also took to wearing jeans, rumpling her hair, and eating hamburgers in diners rather than "dainty sandwiches" in tea shops. The former was deliberate (Mildred Wirt Benson and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams did not like each other, when the very ladylike Adams took to rewriting the stories, she tried to edit out as much of Benson's tomboyish characteristics as she could), the latter was simply a product of cultural changes.

* BetaCouple: Both Bess & Dave and George & Burt, in the original series, before the two boys are PutOnABus (see below).

* AdaptedOut: Dave and Burt--the steady boyfriends of Bess and George, respectively, in the original books--are faded out by the time of the Digests, and are nowhere to be found in the subsequent ''Files'', ''Girl Detective'', and ''Diaries'' series, all of which instead portray both girls (Bess in particular) as serial daters with perpetually changing boyfriends.

* AnchoredShip: It's clear that all the flirting and Ship Teasing between Nancy and Frank in the ''Supermysteries'' was going to go nowhere since they had Ned and Callie. Similarly, the not quite as strong attraction between Bess and Joe was similarly stuck since Joe [[spoiler:was essentially widowed after Iola was murdered.]] Well, that plus their equally flirtatious natures making them incapable of making a serious commitment to each other.

* BetaCouple: Bess and Dave and George and Burt.

* AdaptedOut: Dave and Burt are nowhere to be found in the ''Files'' series.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Between her masculine nickname ("George" was short for "Georgia"), short hair, and tomboyish interests and behavior, many readers of the original series speculated that George Fayne was a lesbian, despite the fact that she had a boyfriend. Similarly, in the "Files" series, she doesn't have a steady boyfriend and although she dates fairly regularly, she isn't boy-crazy or flirtatious like Bess and is often irritated with guys who act as such.
** The newest incarnation of the comic series, as part of the SettingUpdate, made this AscendedFanon and gave her a steady girlfriend.
* AnchoredShip: It was clear that all the flirting and Ship Teasing between Nancy and Frank in the ''Supermysteries'' was going to go nowhere since they had Ned and Callie. Similarly, the not quite as strong attraction between Bess and Joe was similarly stuck since Joe [[spoiler:was essentially widowed after Iola was murdered.]] That and each others flirtatious natures making them incapable of making a serious commitment to each other.

* ChainedToARock: In one of the "Files" books, Nancy is knocked unconscious. When she comes to, she realizes that she's been tied to a piling, left to drown when the incoming tide inevitably rises over her head. This is especially sadistic ''and'' stupid on the bad guys' part, as if they wanted to kill her, they could have easily dumped her in the ocean while she was unconscious, but chose a method that borders on torture--and is quite obviously a murder rather MakeItLookLikeAnAccident.

* ClearMyName: in ''Files #43: False Impressions'', and ''#59: High Risk'' (though this one is actually Clear My ''Boyfriend's'' Name. Several in the original series too--''Mystery at Lilac Inn'', etc.

* DatingCatwoman: Especially during the ''Files'' spinoff, a subplot that kept popping up would be that either George or especially Bess would develop a crush on someone that Nancy would view as a suspect, with a rift forming between them when Bess or George would vehemently defend their innocence despite evidence forming against them. They would always reconcile by the end of the book, but it varied as to whether the man was guilty, innocent, or guilty of a smaller, less severe crime (He might have committed a forgery or theft, but not the murder), or had even been strong-armed into participating by the real villain.

* PutOnABus: Helen Corning in the original series, who was eventually replaced by Bess and George (the excuse was that she was either traveling or studying in Europe, a common way to jettison unwanted characters at the time.)

** ''Nancy Drew: Girl Detective:'' Considered a continuation of the original series by the publisher, it hovers somewhere between the Originals and the Files in terms of storytelling (while more shy about showing death than the ''Files,'' it's more liberal in ''implying'' death than the Original, using more violent crime such as arson and sabotage.)

** Overlaps with TheUnfairSex: in the ''Files'' series and their crossovers with the Hardy Boys, Nancy has, and occasionally even acts on, some serious feelings for men other than Ned, most notably Frank Hardy and Mick Devlin (both of whom she straight-up kisses multiple times); though these flings don't ever end up lasting long-term, they're still usually portrayed positively or at least as being tragically star-crossed, even though she's essentially cheating on Ned with other guys. And yet, when there are books that involve another girl being attracted to Ned, Nancy gets very jealous, even though Ned never displays behavior that comes across as "cheating" as blatantly as Nancy does in the same situations.

** The originals/Digests and ''Files'' are told in third person, almost always from Nancy's points of view, but occasionally switching to that of her family and friends as well.
** In the ''Girl Detective'' and ''Diaries'' series, the books are in first person, almost always from Nancy's point of view (with one exception: the first ''Girl Detective'' Super Mystery, "Where's Nancy?", where Nancy is missing for most of the book, and George and Bess alternate first-person chapters instead).

* MysteryFiction

* OfficialCouple: Nancy and Ned Nickerson

* {{UST}}: Between Nancy and Frank Hardy in the CrossOver series. As well as Joe and Bess, much to the annoyance of everyone else.

** This also happened in the book ''Two Points To Murder'', where it was Ned who was a friend of the suspect. Much like with Bess or George's love interests, the guy turned out to be involved, but not guilty of the main crime. Only this time at the end of the book, the rift resulted in a pretty brutal, but realistic breakup.
* DubNameChange: In Finland, she's known as ''Paula'' Drew.

** Ned spends much of the first few books of the ''Files'' series bitching about always being second best to Nancy's detective work to the point where he finally breaks up with her. By the very next book after this, he himself needs those same detective skills to help his new girlfriend. His hypocrisy aside, this is also horrifically insensitive of him.
*** He's also visibly jealous upon meeting her new boyfriend, even ''he'' broke up with ''her'' and is dating someone else.

*** Well, if it had gone to series, then maybe.
** The 1995 TV series, however, rarely if ever mentions Nancy's age.

* ObfuscatingDisability: In ''Captive Witness'', the plot centers around a plan to rescue 10 children from then-Communist Hungary. The ringleaders of the rescue mission are an elderly professor and his wheelchair bound nephew. It's soon revealed that the young man is not paralyzed and that the rescue plans were hidden in the seat of his chair, knowing that customs officials would not search it.

** ''The Nancy Drew Diaries:'' Set to begin in early 2013, this series will take the place of ''Nancy Drew: Girl Detective'' as the "official" canon (meaning it's not considered a spinoff like the ''Files'' or ''On Campus'') and it appears it will try to fix some of the more disliked parts of ''Girl Detective'' (such as the first-person narrative and using actual paintings for covers instead of clipart.)

** ''Nancy Drew On Campus:'' An ill-conceived GenreShift that didn't go over well. This sent Nancy away to college, and tried to be a drama series in the vein of ''Sweet Valley High.'' The mysteries became a minor subplot, and Nancy had to struggle with college life and the drama of roommates and student loans and partying ([[FelonyMisdemeanor and dumping Ned!]])

For what's basically the equivalent with dudes, see ''Literature/TheHardyBoys''.

* MysteryMagnet: Oh so much

* {{Chickification}}: Both played straight and reversed in the infamous rewrites of the 60's. There was a lot more "asking nicely" and "smiling sweetly," and in general the tomboyish Nancy became much more ladylike -- but she also took to wearing jeans, rumpling her hair, and eating hamburgers in diners rather than "dainty sandwiches" in tea shops. The former was deliberate (Mildred Wirt Benson and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams did not like each other, when the very ladylike Adams took to rewriting the stories, she tried to edit out as much of Benson's tomboyish characteristics as she could), the latter was simply a product of cultural changes.

** Averted in the MadeForTVMovie and ''Nancy Drew On Campus''. They both startbout with Nancy going to college.

* StatusQuoIsGod: Nancy and Need break up at the end of the eighth book of the ''Files'' series. Within ''one'' book, things fall apart with their respective new partners--his is a self-centered bitch, hers a nitwit. By the next book, they're working on a reconciliation and by the book after that, they're back together.

* [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield Where The Hell Is River Heights?]]: The location of River Heights has always been pretty sketchy. The original ghostwriter, Mildred Wirt Benson, put it in her home state of Iowa, but it seemed to keep drifting farther and farther east, going as far as New Jersey when Harriet Adams did her rewrites in the 60's. As early as the ''Files'' series, however, it seems to have settled down and tends to stay within driving distance of Chicago (and despite that leaving four states as possibilities due to Chicago's location, it's often implied that it's in Illinois, also.)

* {{Hypocrite}}: Ned spends much of the first few books of the ''Files'' series bitching about always being second best to Nancy's detective work to the point where he finally breaks up with her. By the very next book after this, he himself needs those same detective skills to help his new girlfriend. His hypocrisy aside, this is also horrifically insensitive of him.
* KidDetective

* MissingMom: She passed away when Nancy was three years old (Note: In the stories before the rewrites of the 60s, see OrwellianRetcon, she passed away when Nancy was ten.)

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Nancy and co. engage in a lot of behavior that would be considered rude and meddlesome if anyone else were doing it, but it's always justified as the people she's displaying this towards are usually jerks and/or suspects in her case. For example, when she demands that a man explain something that she heard while ''eavesdropping on his private phone conversation'', ''he'' is the one made to be in the wrong for screaming at her to mind her own business. Of course, he doesn't help his cause by grabbing and shaking her, but he still has every right to be upset for her butting into his personal life.

* {{UST}}: Between Nancy and Frank Hardy in the CrossOver series.
** As well as Joe and Bess, much to the annoyance of everyone else.
* TomboyishName: George. It's her real name and she's actually quite proud of it.
** FlipFlopOfGod again, in some stories George is short for Georgia.

* CrossOver - the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Super Mysteries series, Spinoffs of the ''Files/Casefiles'' and ''Girl Detective/Undercover Brothers'' series.

* AerithAndBob: Mostly chalked up to time, since quite a few names have fallen out of favor since the books were written (as it is, names like "Nancy," "Bess," and "Ned" currently sound a little old-fashioned and not the kind of names you'd expect teenagers to have,) but a name like Mortimer Bartesque couldn't have been very common, even then.

** Turned UpToEleven in the French translation [[http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Roy#Traduction_des_noms_originaux as you can see on the other wiki]]. Even Carolyn Keene becomes ''Caroline Quine''.

* NotAllowedToGrowUp: Though it varies from original incarnations, Nancy Drew's age largely is stuck around 17-19 years old and as such is either a high school student or a college freshman/sophmore. Deliberate on the part of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, who had notice sharp drop-offs in readership of other series such as ''Judy Bolton'' and ''Cherry Ames'' when the characters grew older and matured.

* StatusQuoIsGod: Nancy and Need break up at the end of the eighth book of the ''Files''series. Within ''one'' book, things fall apart with their respective new partners--his is a self-centered bitch, hers a nitwit. By the next book, they're working on a reconciliation and by the book after that, they're back together.

* ActionGirl: Nancy and George

* BoundAndGagged: an old Stratemeyer standby, in lieu of "real" violence

** Averted in the MadeForTVMovie--The show starts out with Nancy going to college.

* FlipFlopOfGod - The series is written by a number of assigned ghostwriters under one pen name, therefore limiting on WordOfGod.
** It's gotten really bad in the recent series, ''Girl Detective.'' The stories are now spread over three-book trilogies, and it becomes clear that they're written by three different people who don't consult with each other (and don't seem to know much about the series itself.) In one, "Serial Sabotage," Nancy begins to call her housekeeper "Mrs. Gruen," despite calling her "Hannah" for the past 80 years. This was also book two in a trilogy, so she went from calling her Hannah to Mrs. Gruen back to Hannah, all in the course of three days.