''The Mystery At Lilac Inn'' is the fourth volume in the ''

Nancy Drew Mystery Stories The ''Nancy Drew Mystery Stories'' is the long-running "main" series of the ''Nancy Drew'' franchise, which was published under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. There are 175 novels — plus 34 revised stories — that were published between 1930 and ...

'' series. It was first published in 1930 under the pseudonym

Carolyn Keene Carolyn Keene is the pseudonym of the authors of the Nancy Drew mystery stories and The Dana Girls mystery stories, both produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. In addition, the Keene pen name is credited with the Nancy Drew spin-off, ''River H ...

Mildred Wirt Benson Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson (July 10, 1905 – May 28, 2002) was an American journalist and writer of children's books. She wrote some of the earliest Nancy Drew mysteries and created the detective's adventurous personality. Benson wrote under ...

was the ghostwriter for the 1930 edition. In 1961,

Harriet Stratemeyer Adams Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (December 12, 1892 – March 27, 1982) was an American juvenile book packager, children's novelist, and publisher who was responsible for some 200 books over her literary career. She wrote the plot outlines for many boo ...

extensively revised the novel, creating a completely different story. The original omitted the lead characters from much of the action, the titular inn was only a place where a crime was committed with minor investigatory follow-up, and a domestic help sub-plot was out-of-place in 1961. Ethnic slurs and opinions were removed.

Plot summaries & controversy

1930 edition

The story involves Nancy Drew helping her friend Emily Crandall find out who stole her heirloom jewels. Emily's guardian, Mrs. Jane Willoughby, unwisely removes them from a

safe deposit box A safe deposit box, also known as a safety deposit box, is an individually secured container, usually held within a larger safe or bank vault. Safe deposit boxes are generally located in banks, post offices or other institutions. Safe deposit ...

and carries them with her while lunching at Lilac Inn, only to have her handbag stolen while the diners are distracted by a car crash. In the meantime, Nancy must hire a temporary maid in the absence of Mrs. Gruen, her housekeeper. Nancy uncovers the thief, Mary Mason, one of the applicants for the position, on the staff at Lilac Inn. Nancy finds the hideout of the crooks, but is caught. She is bound and gagged and left aboard the gang's sinking cabin cruiser to die, but is rescued by the river patrol. In the end, Nancy captures the jewel thief, exonerates the guardian, and returns her orphaned friend's fortune to her.

1961 edition

Nancy Drew and her friend Helen are visiting Lilac Inn, recently renovated for Nancy’s friend, Emily Willoughby’s, wedding. Nancy discovers that an impersonator is forging her signature to rack up bills back in River Heights. Emily tells her that there have been sightings of apparitions in the lilac grove. Stood up for a scuba date with Emily’s best man, Nancy is attacked while

solo diving Solo diving is the practice of self-sufficient underwater diving without a " dive buddy", particularly with reference to scuba diving, but the term is also applied to freediving. Professionally, solo diving has always been an option which depen ...

. Emily's inheritance is stolen during a blackout. Nancy experiences an explosion and cabin fire, an attack by the ghostly woman in the grove, and repeated negative interactions with inn staffer Maud Potter. Nancy impersonates the apparition only to come face to face with it, who looks just like Nancy. The ”apparition“ is revealed to be an actress looking for money at Lilac Inn and revenge on Nancy’s father for putting her in jail.

Racism

The novel was extensively revised in 1961, partially due to elements of racism in the original novel. In the 1930 edition, Nancy uses racial stereotyping to describe potential replacement housekeepers whom she has rejected (they are black, Irish, and Scottish, respectively). Mary Mason, the antagonist, is described as an "impudent," "dark-complexioned" girl that Nancy only realizes is involved in the crime after seeing her at an exclusive, upscale dress shop that Nancy frequents, where she comments "Surely a girl in her circumstances cannot afford to buy dresses at such a place as this."

Artwork

The book was printed with a navy jacket and four glossy illustrations, all by artist

Russell H. Tandy Russell Haviland Tandy (1891 – 1963) was an American illustrator, best known for his cover art for early editions of the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series. Life and career Tandy was a friend of Edward Stratemeyer, whose Stratemeyer Syndicate crea ...

. In 1950, the cover art was updated with work by artist

Bill Gillies Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

. The text was completely rewritten by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams in 1961. The cover art was changed again to reflect the new story, this time by artist

Rudy Nappi Joseph Rudolph Nappi, working as Rudy Nappi (February 12, 1923 – March 13, 2015) was an American illustrator. According to the National Museum of American Illustration, Nappi was "a well-known commercial illustrator and widely considered one of ...

, and internal plain paper illustrations were added. Only the first two printings of this volume were available in a dust jacket. The book's text and artwork remained the same when the publisher switched to picture-cover illustrated binding editions in 1962. R.H. Tandy illustrated Nancy spying on the criminals in the original cover art, along with a frontispiece and three internal illustrations showing various elements of the story. He updated the frontispiece in 1943. In 1950, the dust jacket art was changed to show an updated version of Nancy with the crooks behind her. This art was not retained for the story revision in 1961, as the scene is eliminated by a completely different story. Rudy Nappi illustrates a ghostly picture of two girls illuminated by glowing lights in the cuff of their long-sleeved gowns. (The 1961 cover art appears to feature both Nancy, facing, and a mysterious dark-haired girl. In actuality, Nancy has her back to the reader, and is the dark-haired girl in the foreground; the other girl is actually Nancy's impostor.)

Adaptations

The 12th installment in the

Nancy Drew Nancy Drew is a Fictional character, fictional character appearing in several Mystery fiction, mystery book series, movies, and a TV show as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwriter, ghostwritten by a number of authors and published ...

point-and-click adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based me ...

series by Her Interactive, named '' Nancy Drew: Secret of the Old Clock'', is loosely based on the novel and also incorporate elements from ''

The Secret of the Old Clock ''The Secret of the Old Clock'' is the first volume in the ''Nancy Drew Mystery Stories'' series written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. It was first published on April 28, 1930, and rewritten in 1959 by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. Nancy Drew ...

'', ''

The Hidden Staircase ''The Hidden Staircase'' is the second volume in the ''Nancy Drew Mystery Stories'' series written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, published in 1930 and revised in 1959. The original text was written by Mildred Wirt Benson, and she has said th ...

'', and ''

The Bungalow Mystery ''The Bungalow Mystery'' is the third volume in the ''Nancy Drew Mystery Stories'' series written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. It was the last of three books in the "breeder set" trilogy, released in 1930, to test-market the series. It was ...

''. In the ''

'' television series, The Lilac Inn was renovated by Tiffany Hudson before her death.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mystery at Lilac Inn 1931 American novels 1931 children's books 1961 American novels 1961 children's books Children's mystery novels Grosset & Dunlap books Nancy Drew books Novels adapted into video games