The Password To Larkspur Lane

 

 

 

Today's offering is Mystery #10, The Password To Larkspur Lane. Originally written in 1933 and then revised in 1966, the actual ghostwriter of this volume is Walter Karig who wrote two other books in the series (Numbers 8 and 9).  According to his Wikipedia page--which, take with a grain of salt, cause Wikipedia--he wasn't a fan writing Bess and George and had a soft spot for Helen Corning, which explains why she features so prominently in the original version.

Characters: Nancy Drew, Helen Corning (with appearances by Carson Drew, Ned Nickerson, Hannah Gruen, and Effie Schneider (Hannah's niece).

Premise: Nancy investigates the disappearance of an elderly lady after a family friend is forced to tend to her.

Okay, first of all, I know I said that I wasn't going to comment on being blonde-haired versus being a redhead, but as you can see, my cover of the copy of the 1933 story has her as a redhead, and my best guess is that someone working on the series was trying to create continuity, which, kudos for that.  Onto the story: Nancy's pulled into a mystery when two things happen: she witnesses a plane accidentally injuring a homing pigeon and then a family friend is forcibly taken and made to treat an elderly lady---Mrs. Eldridge---with a dislocated shoulder, secretly taking the woman's bracelet, which, Sir!  I understand that you're trying to save her, but really?  Stealing her jewelry?  It's a "good theft" I guess, to use a paraphrase from the movie Sleepers.

Anyhoo, along the way, Nancy is reunited with one of her friends, Helen Corning, and with some persuasion, convinces her to help her figure out what's going on, which turns out to be---according to Mrs. Eldridge---a scam where a disbarred lawyer, Adam Thorne, and an ex-doctor known as Bull convince elderly patients to voluntarily sign into a sanitarium---for people with anxieties and nervous disorders---and then strong-arm them (along with hypnotism, not really sure how that tracked, to be honest) into signing over their money.

In a bold move, Nancy decides to take the place of an incoming patient of the sanitarium and with Helen's help, gains access to the place, gets Mrs. Eldridge out, and then has to hide when the ruse is discovered. However, Nancy's found out and captured, but using her wits, Nancy escapes and Ned and Carson bring the police to arrest everyone.

Again, the revised version of this story, written by Patricia Doll, is largely the same, except now there's a second mystery to go along with the first: Helen's grandparents are being terrorized by a mysterious wheel of blue flame and their hired hand, Morgan's personality has changed.  Well, as it turns out, Adam Thorne has heard about a collection of valuable crystals from a magazine story and is blackmailing Morgan who is an ex-convict (he once was a safecracker) to steal from the Cornings, though he ultimately refuses to betray his employers and is consequently kidnapped by Thorne and his men.

There are some notable differences in two stories: in the 1933 version, Helen is the one assisting Nancy, while in the 1966 story, she has been regulated to a secondary character, showing up to ask Nancy for help and to visit with her grandparents before going home to her husband, Jim Archer (in the revisions, Helen was married off and phased out rather than just poofing).  The homing pigeon is injured being released from the plane rather than being hit.  A minor character---Tommy---who visits the Drew house in search of cookies from Hannah Gruen and then later accidentally releases the injured pigeon, is renamed Johnny and isn't as whiny. Hanna's niece Effie is less insufferable in the revised edition of the tale , taking out the part where she loses sight of the pigeon as they follow it.  I also liked the fact that you got to see Nancy at the flower show that she was preparing for in the beginning of the book and Thorne, Bull, and the rest of the gang siccing their Great Dane on Nancy at the flower expo made for an exciting scene.

Three other differences were making Mrs. Eldridge a little more spunky in the updated version (she dares her "nurse" to search her room after she accidentally called attention to Nancy by screaming when the girl snuck into the room and then hide under her bed) and a more favorable view of the police character, Mulligan, who was an Inspector in the original story and a Lieutenant in the revised edition, though you didn't get many scenes with him.  They also did away with the hypnotism bit, which good call, cause that made absolutely no sense.  Instead, the gang appealed to women's vanity, saying that they had a way to restore their youthful vigor, which I can relate to, even though I'm only forty-one.  What woman wouldn't want to be or feel young again? The third difference is Nancy's new car.  In the original version, there's no explanation for why Carson is suddenly gifting Nancy with a second car other than plot device, while in the revised edition, the car is given to Nancy because her old one was wrecked. 

Despite the storylines being the same, I felt that there were enough differences between the two editions to be enjoyable and I like each for different reasons.  While I love Nancy's dynamic with Bess and George, it's one the readers are familiar with and seeing a new dynamic with Nancy teaming up with Helen Corning was a refreshing change of pace.  And that's my take. Until next time, be like Nancy: kind, compassionate, caring...do the Drew!