Girl Sleuth (46 page)

“Dear Miss Stratemeyer”:
Harriet Otis Smith to Edna Stratemeyer, January 28, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“This is all Dad has to say”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Harriet Otis Smith, January 27, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 17.

“It is a question”:
Harriet Otis Smith to Henry Altemus Jr., May 8, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Your Husband and Father”:
George Sully to Magdalene Stratemeyer and daughters, May 25, 1930, cited in Abel, p. 296.

“Now Mr. Stratemeyer”:
“Passing of an Epoch,”
New York Times,
May 13, 1930.

“He was the ‘grand old man'”:
Alexander Grosset to Magdalene Stratemeyer, May 14, 1930, cited in Abel, p. 297.

“Although I had never met him”:
Leslie McFarlane to Harriet Otis Smith, May 15, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Dear Miss Smith”:
Mildred Wirt to Harriet Otis Smith, May 15, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 17.

“Edward had made provisions in his will”:
Last Will and Testament of Edward Strate- meyer, February 19, 1920, private collection of Geoffrey S. Lapin.

“His one complaint”:
Edna Squier to Harriet Adams, November 6, 1961, SSR/NYPL, box 46.

 

CHAPTER SEVEN: SYNDICATE FOR SALE

“Author, Juvenile”:
advertisement in
Publishers Weekly,
July 5, 1930.

“I never dreamed”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Harriet Otis Smith, May 16, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 46.

“Mr. Stratemeyer was far too kind”:
Harriet Otis Smith to Edna Stratemeyer, May 16, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“If these publishers suddenly lose”:
Harriet Otis Smith to August M. Hoch, June 14, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“My dear Miss Smith”:
Harriet Adams to Harriet Otis Smith, May 18, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 17.

“Were it not for”:
“The Rover Boys Carry On,”
East Orange (NJ) Record,
June 1939.

“The only person”:
Harriet Otis Smith to Edna Stratemeyer, July 11, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“If you are interested”:
Harriet Otis Smith to Wallace Palmer, May 20, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“I think he is just/If the books do not get under way”:
Harriet Otis Smith to Harriet Adams and Edna Stratemeyer, June 21, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“The manuscript of ‘The Mystery at Lilac Inn'”:
Harriet Otis Smith to Mildred Wirt, June 3, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“My sister stopped by”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Harriet Otis Smith, June 4, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“I really think that Mrs. Adams”:
Harriet Otis Smith to Edna Stratemeyer, June 16, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Before Mr. Stratemeyer's death”:
Harriet Otis Smith to Mildred Wirt, July 7, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“They had wisely removed”:
Melanie Rehak interview with Rebekah Scott, Toledo, OH, June 10, 2003.

“A thrilling tale”:
Harriet Otis Smith to Edna Stratemeyer, July 11, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“The books on the way”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Harriet Otis Smith, July 10, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Loved by me”:
Lilac Inn
intro.

“My sister keeps me informed”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Harriet Otis Smith, June 13, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Personally I am very anxious”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Harriet Otis Smith, June 26, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 46.

“In spite of ourselves”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Harriet Otis Smith, July 19, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 46.

“Your sister went home armed”:
Harriet Otis Smith to Edna Stratemeyer, July 25, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“A better idea”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Harriet Otis Smith, July 24, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 46.

“Perhaps my sister has been”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Harriet Otis Smith, July 19, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 46.

“I was 38”:
Dorothy H. Kelso, “Puzzle Solved,”
Quincy (MA) Patriot Ledger,
March 8, 1978.

“More youthful”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Mildred Wirt, November 10, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“While working on the mystery”:
Harriet Adams to Laura Harris, September 26, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“We would advise”:
Harriet Adams to Mildred Wirt, September 26, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Satisfactorily”:
Harriet Adams to Barse & Co., August 29, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“My dear Robert”:
Harriet Adams to Robert (no last name), October 14, 1930, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“As you will see”:
Harriet Adams to Harriet Otis Smith, November 1, 1930, SSR/ NYPL, box 28.

“I am sure you will be surprised”:
Edna Stratemeyer to unknown friend, August 15, 1932, SSR/NYPL, box 239.

“Getting courage”:
Linda Abrahams, “Mystery Writing a Family Tradition,”
South Middlesex (NJ) Sunday News,
March 12, 1978.

 

CHAPTER EIGHT: AN UNFORTUNATE BREAK; OR, THE CLEVELAND WRITER COMES INTO HER OWN

“It splattered”:
Mildred Benson, “More about Nancy,” introduction to the facsimile edition of Carolyn Keene,
The Secret at Shadow Ranch
(Bedford, MA: Applewood Books, 1994) (hereafter cited as
Shadow Ranch
intro).

“An enticing invitation”:
All excerpts from
The Secret at Shadow Ranch
in this section
come from Carolyn Keene,
The Secret at Shadow Ranch
(New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1931).

“At the time”:
Shadow Ranch
intro.

“‘Chats with Cleveland Writers
'”: Ida M. Gurwell, “Chats with Cleveland Writers: Mildred Augustine Wirt,”
Cleveland Plain Dealer,
n.d. (1931).

“The work for our syndicate”:
Edward Stratemeyer to Frank Hopley, August 1, 1929, SSR/NYPL, box 27.

“We have had an extremely busy year”:
Harriet Adams to Harriet Otis Smith, June 12, 1931, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Today it looked like Christmas”:
Harriet Adams to Edna Stratemeyer, May 5, 1931, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Was not surprised”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Harriet Adams, n.d. (July 1931), SSR/NYPL, box 46.

“Other high-lights”:
Harriet Adams to Edna Stratemeyer, n.d (July 1931), SSR/NYPL, box 46.

“We all dropped a penny”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Harriet Adams, n.d. (July 1931), SSR/NYPL, box 46.

“Dear Pardner”:
Agnes Pearson and Edna Stratemeyer to Harriet Adams, June 24, 1931, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Dear Miss Stratemeyer”:
Mildred Wirt to Edna Stratemeyer, May 11, 1931, SSR/NYPL, box 17.

“Dear Edna: Before I shut up shop”:
Harriet Adams to Edna Stratemeyer, May 15, 1931, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Well, we got to be”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Harriet Adams, May 15, 1931, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“We are sorry that”:
Harriet Adams to Mildred Wirt, May 18, 1931, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Because of this”:
Harriet Adams to Mildred Wirt, September 10, 1931, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“I . . . am sorry to learn”:
Mildred Wirt to Harriet Adams, September 14, 1931, SSR/NYPL, box 44.

“My books averaged about”:
Elizabeth Ward to Edna Stratemeyer, August 23, 1931, SSR/NYPL, box 17.

“I am sorry that I cannot”:
J. W. Duffield to Harriet Adams, August 12, 1931, SSR/NYPL, box 18.

“I realize what difficult times”:
Mildred Wirt to Harriet Adams, September 21, 1931, SSR/NYPL, box 17.

“Resume of the Management of Monies”:
memo from Edna Stratemeyer to Harriet Adams, n.d. (July 1931), SSR/NYPL, box 46.

“Dear Hat”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Harriet Adams, n.d. (September 1931), SSR/NYPL, box 17.

“You will notice”:
Harriet Adams to Walter Karig, October 1, 1931, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“My dear Mrs. Wirt”:
Harriet Adams to Mildred Wirt, September 28, 1931, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Some places where”:
Harriet Adams to Walter Karig, October 29, 1931, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“In any crowd”:
All excerpts from
The Clue in the Diary
in this section come from Carolyn Keene,
The Clue in the Diary
(New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1932).

“Sales are not”:
Laura Harris to Harriet Adams, April 20, 1932, SSR/NYPL, box 18.

“One of the first hard facts”:
Edna Yost, “The Fifty-Cent Juveniles,”
Publishers Weekly,
June 18, 1932.

“They have commissioned”:
Edna Yost to Harriet Adams, January 11, 1933, SSR/NYPL, box 17.

“Portraying the lives”:
Harriet Adams to Edna Yost, January 13, 1933, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Fan mail is indeed”:
Harriet Adams to Arthur Leon, April 18, 1932, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Another phrase”:
Harriet Adams to Laura Harris, January 13, 1933, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“We have talked”:
Harriet Adams to Laura Harris, November 11, 1931, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“In regard to”:
Harriet Adams to Henry Altemus, March 30, 1921, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“We are wondering”:
Harriet Adams to Edna Stratemeyer, July 5, 1932, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Tomorrow I have”:
Harriet Adams to Edna Stratemeyer, September 7, 1933, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“I am sorry I could not/However, I am”:
Harriet Adams to Laura Harris, September 7, 1933, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“When I took over the Syndicate”:
Secret of Nancy Drew.

“I enjoyed my”:
Harriet Adams to Laura Harris, April 24, 1933, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“This year, like every other writer”:
Leslie McFarlane to Edna Stratemeyer, June 18, 1932, SSR/NYPL, box 16.

“We have heard so much”:
Harriet Adams to J. W. Duffield, May 11, 1933, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Our price for”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Mildred Wirt, July 28, 1932, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“In regard to writing”:
Mildred Wirt to Edna Stratemeyer, August 2, 1932, SSR/NYPL, box 17.

“From talking with”:
Harriet Adams to Arthur Leon, July 28, 1932, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys”:
GHB,
p. 198.

“Certain facts”:
Harriet Adams to
Publishers Weekly,
May 26, 1933, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“My dear Mrs. Adams”:
Frederic G. Melcher to Harriet Adams, June 2, 1933, SSR/NYPL, box 16.

“Enclosed also is”:
Harriet Adams to Laura Harris, June 30, 1933, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“We have received”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Grosset & Dunlap, July 20, 1933, SSR/NYPL, box 28.

“Your mildly implied”:
Walter Karig to Harriet Adams, September 21, 1931, SSR/NYPL, box 16.

“We wonder”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Mildred Wirt, March 24, 1934, SSR/NYPL, box 29.

“I have always been”:
Mildred Wirt to Edna Stratemeyer, March 26, 1934, SSR/NYPL, box 44.

 

CHAPTER NINE: MOTHERHOOD AND NANCY DREW

“‘I'm Ned Nickerson
'”: All excerpts from
The Clue in the Diary
in this section come from Carolyn Keene,
The Clue in the Diary
(New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1932).

“He does not appear”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Mildred Wirt, April 2, 1934, SSR/NYPL, box 29.

“Boys' books in which”:
Ayers Brinser to Harriet Adams, November 15, 1933, SSR/NYPL, box 18.

“It has few literary/the Stratemeyer daughters”:
“For It Was Indeed He,” pp. 86, 87, 88, 204.

“The cat is out of the bag”:
Lucy M. Kinloch, “The Menace of the Series Book,”
Elementary English Review
12 (January 1935), pp. 10—11.

“The picture should have had”:
Harriet Adams to Laura Harris Grabbe, May 15, 1934, SSR/NYPL, box 29.

“Among the changes”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Mildred Wirt, April 28, 1934, SSR/NYPL, box 29.

“I am sorry you did not like”:
Mildred Wirt to Edna Stratemeyer, April 30, 1934, SSR/NYPL, box 18.

“We have tried to equalize/There is so much”:
Harriet Adams to Mildred Wirt, December 10, 1935, SSR/NYPL, box 29.

“I do think”:
Mildred Wirt to Harriet Adams, January 16, 1936, SSR/NYPL, box 44.

“My conference with”:
Harriet Adams to Edna Stratemeyer, September 17, 1934, SSR/NYPL, box 29.

“Yesterday Russell and I”:
Harriet Adams to Edna Stratemeyer, May 14, 1934, SRR/NYPL, box 29.

“Mrs. Adams and I”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Harriet Otis Smith, June 5, 1935, SSR/NYPL, box 29.

“Dear Miss Stratemeyer”:
Mildred Wirt to Edna Stratemeyer, June 15, 1935, SSR/NYPL, box 44.

“Fortune is publishing”:
Harriet Adams to Helen L. Mansfield, February 20, 1934, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams/Class of 1914 Collection, WCA.

“As soon as the children”:
Harriet Adams to “Rig,” September 10, 1934, SSR/NYPL, box 29.

“Rai! Rai!/[The check] went out”:
Harriet Adams to Edna Stratemeyer, June 15, 1936, SSR/NYPL, box 19.

“Neatly dressed”:
All excerpts from
The Mystery of the Ivory Charm
in this section come from Carolyn Keene,
The Mystery of the Ivory Charm
(New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1936).

“We have found”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Mildred Wirt, February 20, 1936, SSR/NYPL, box 44.

“Our only criticism”:
Edna Stratemeyer to Mildred Wirt, November 16, 1937, SSR/NYPL, box 30.

“The writing is well done”:
Harriet Adams to Mildred Wirt, May 25, 1938, SSR/NYPL, box 30.