The main cast is rounded off by the love interests of the girls.

Although Bess is blonde I always picture her as Rosie O’Donnell as she looks in the Flintstones movie as Betty Rubble – without the cavewoman outfits, though.) Bess is the opposite of her cousin, blonde and often described as slightly plump. She isn’t determined to be a boy but she is sporty and less prone to girlishness. George is actually a little like George Kirrin, described as tomboyish, slender and athletic, with short dark hair. Nancy is often aided by her friends the cousins George Fayne and Bess Martin. (The bits in italics are things I can quote from memory as they are repeated in just about every book in the early chapters as they introduce the characters – just like the Famous Five each book is a complete story in itself and you needn’t have read any others let alone read them in order). The housekeeper is Hannah Gruen, generally described as motherly or kind-hearted, and very close to Nancy since the untimely (or sudden) death of Mrs Drew when Nancy was three. Nancy has her own car (a Mustang) and is regularly travelling both in the US and abroad for either fun or a mystery, though a mystery always turns up on her holidays too. They are quite wealthy, living in a large house with a sweeping drive, and a live-in housekeeper. He often asks Nancy for help when he is working on a case (confidentiality be damned) and likewise she frequently consults him for advice on her cases.

Titian-haired Nancy lives with her father, Carson Drew, who is described as a famous (or sometimes prominent) lawyer. She has solved baffling mysteries in well over 500 books (and that’s not including cross overs with the Hardy Boys or the recent graphic novels) but I will touch on the different series she appears in a little later. Still, I very much love her and I think that Blyton fan that might not have considered her already would enjoy her.įor anyone who has somehow not heard of her, Nancy Drew is an 18 year old amateur sleuth from the fictional town of River Heights (a fictional place) in Illinois. Whereas Nancy Drew is very much a household name, having been around since the 1930s in various incarnations. My if-you-like-Blyton post usually suggest books that are slightly less well-known, either newish authors or books that might have been forgotten over time.

Nancy drew by carolyn keene