56 Weeks with Nancy Drew - The Haunted Bridge

Book 15

Welcome to the 56 Weeks with Nancy Drew series! If you are new here, welcome. You can find my introductory post to this series here. Please note I will be including plot spoilers in this review series. I explain my reasoning at the start of this post.

Editions pictured: OT (25 chapters, 220 pages); RT (20 chapters, 180 pages)

OT publication date: 1937

My OT edition printed: approx. 1942

OT cover illustrated by: Russell Tandy

RT publication date: 1972

My RT edition printed: approx. 1972

RT cover illustrated by: Rudy Nappi

Ghostwriter: Mildred A. Wirt Benson

Editors: Edna Stratemeyer Squier & Harriet Stratemeyer Adams

Revised by: Priscilla Baker-Carr

OT & RT setting: Deer Mountain Hotel (a summer resort with a championship golf course), Andover (town near the hotel)

Introduction

I’ve been enjoying the experience of reading both the original text (OT) and the revised text (RT) Nancy Drews so much that when I saw an early edition of The Haunted Bridge with a dust wrapper, and for a reasonable price, I had to order it. I would love to be able to blame my waiting for that book to arrive as the reason this post is going up so much later than planned. But the book was annoyingly prompt in arriving at my door! The problem was getting myself to read the thing. I found the OT to be shockingly similar to the RT. It was so similar that reading these within the same month felt like trying to read the same book twice in a row. If you are filling in the gaps in your Nancy Drew collection I would say you could hold off on acquiring the alternate version of this one. There are other titles in this series that differ greatly between the two versions, but The Haunted Bridge is not one of them.

Synopsis

Nancy Drew and her friends, Bess Marvin and George Fayne, are visiting Deer Mountain Hotel with Nancy’s father, Carson Drew, who is there on legal business. The summer resort boasts many sporting activities, in addition to a champion golf course, which is where the girls spend most of their days. It’s the lead up to a championship tournament for amateur golfers and the club’s golf pro has urged Nancy to enter. Nancy is playing a qualifying round when she drives her ball into a patch of woods bordering the sixteenth hole. Nancy is keen to retrieve her lost ball as it is one signed by Jimmy Harlow. But Nancy’s caddy refuses to go near the footbridge which stands at the other side of the woods. Apparently, the bridge is haunted and all of the caddies are scared of the woods! But we know by now that Nancy doesn’t believe in spooks. Nevertheless, she is eager to find out what it is that has the caddies so afraid of the spot. 

Nancy soon discovers that the ghost is a rigged up scarecrow and the moaning sound is nothing more than the wind in the trees. But someone has gone to some length to deter people from exploring the woods and Nancy wants to know why. In her investigation, Nancy finds a chest on the muddy riverbank, which turns out to be chock full of jewelry. Meanwhile, Carson Drew has been investigating a notorious smuggling gang and guess what they’ve been smuggling? Jewels! Nancy suspects the chest of jewelry has something to do with these international jewel thieves. Carson Drew gets Nancy’s help by going around to the hotels in the area on the lookout for a suspect who is supposed to have a jewelled compact mirror in her possession. Inside the compact there is said to be a photo of a little boy. In a hotel powder room, Nancy strikes up a conversation with a woman who has a jewelled compact, but there is no photo inside. Logically, the photo could simply have been removed, but Nancy doesn’t believe the kind woman she talked to could be a jewel thief. Besides, when she complimented the woman about the eye-catching compact, the woman had been perfectly willing to talk about it and show it to Nancy. (As we all know, in Nancy Drew Land, baddies act suspiciously, and have cruel faces!)

But there is also a loyal gardener living in a cabin in the woods that has outdoor enclosures filled with injured or orphaned wild animals. The man still potters around the garden of the Judson mansion even though the family haven’t been back to the property since the big fire that demolished the place. When the gardener gets injured and needs round-the-clock care, Ned and his friends arrive on the scene just in time to offer their services. 

As all of this is going on, Nancy is competing in a golf tournament, which she fits her sleuthing around. Things are looking good for Nancy, that is until she falls off a balcony into some bushes when she tries to avoid coming into close contact with unwanted male attention. Mortimer Bartescue, or Martin, as he is called in the RT, is the kind of many any woman in their right mind would gladly throw themselves off a balcony to avoid. Unfortunately, Nancy painfully injures her hand, which makes it difficult to play golf. But, lucky for Nancy, even an injured hand and an accusation of cheating doesn’t prevent her from winning the tournament, finding the missing Judson girl, reuniting a couple, uncovering a band of international jewel thieves, and solving the mystery of the haunted bridge. Not that the “haunted bridge” really has anything to do with the rest of the story, but it is an undeniably intriguing title!

Reading the same book twice

I should say that unlike what I have done in the past, I did not take extensive notes on these books as I was reading. I am sure with a closer reading one would discover more differences than the few I picked out. The biggest differences I found were the fact that in the RT Mortimer Bartescue was changed to Martin Bartescue. Perhaps Mortimer was not as fashionable a name in 1972 as it was in 1937. I cannot say I have ever met a Mortimer, so maybe the name change wasn’t such a bad idea.

But the biggest difference I noted is the addition of Burt and Dave to the RT. These friends of Ned Nickerson’s from college are introduced in the RT as “Burt Eddleton, George’s friend, and Dave Evans, who dated Bess” (RT 94). In the OT Ned arrives at Deer Mountain Hotel with Bud Mason and Bill Cowan, who are first referred to as “two strange youths” (OT 120). I don’t believe we get any description that distinguishes them from each other, despite this being the first time Nancy or the other girls are introduced to them. As far as I can tell they are only there so that Ned has help looking after Joe Haley, the gardener, and so that when the group go to one of the hotel dances, there is an even number of males to females.

One scene, two books

I thought I’d pick a favourite scene to display just how similar these books are. The bolded text is where the two versions differ. The two instances where wording has simply been altered have been italicized. 

First we have the scene in the OT.

[T]he girls made their way toward the haunted bridge. Dark clouds were moving swiftly overhead, and by the time the chums reached the woods a strong wind was blowing.

"Do you think it will rain soon?" Bess asked anxiously, scanning the sky overhead.

"Oh, not for an hour at least," Nancy replied carelessly. "Even if it should, we'll be partially protected by trees. Let's not turn back now."

The girls struck off through the timber, and soon were within view of the old bridge. With the sun under a cloud it was dark and gloomy beneath the canopy of trees. Bess shivered and kept close to her companions. Suddenly they were startled to hear the same groaning sound which had frightened them on their previous visit.

"Oh!" Bess squealed in terror, clutching George's arm. "There it is again!"

Nancy warned her to be quiet, and for several minutes the girls stood perfectly still, waiting for the sound to be repeated. No one could be seen anywhere near the bridge.

"I believe the noise came from far down the ravine," Nancy whispered after she was convinced that the groan would not be repeated. "Come on, let's investigate."

After briefly searching the locality near the bridge, the girls turned their attention to the trail which had interested them upon their first visit to the spot. Footprints were plainly visible. Nancy wondered if someone had not used the path within the past twenty-four hours.

"Let's not go that way today," Bess pleaded, reading her chum's thoughts. "It's growing darker every instant, and we don't want to be caught in a storm."

Scarcely had the words been spoken when a shrill scream broke the stillness of the forest.

This time Nancy was certain that the cry had come from far down the ravine.

"Come on!" she urged excitedly. "We'll solve this old mystery yet!" (OT 109-10)

Now, for the same scene in the RT.

The girls made their way toward the haunted bridge. Dark clouds were moving swiftly overhead, and by the time they reached the woods a strong wind was blowing.

Soon they were within view of the old bridge.

Bess shivered and kept close to her companions.

Suddenly they were startled to hear the same moaning and groaning sounds which had perplexed them on their first visit.

"Oh!" Bess squealed, clutching George's arm.

Nancy warned her to be quiet, and for several minutes the girls stood perfectly still, waiting for the sound to be repeated. There was only a rustle of leaves in the breeze.

"I believe the noise came from somewhere right around here," said Nancy. "Let's investigate. Maybe we'll find someone's in hiding, playing a joke."

The girls searched through the brush and trees near both ends of the bridge, but found no one. Then they explored the trail they had seen on their previous visit which led along the ravine. Footprints were clearly visible. Had someone used the path within the past twenty-four hours?

A moment later a shrill scream broke the stillness. This time Nancy was certain that the cry had come from some distance up the ravine.

"Let's go!" she urged excitedly. "We'll solve the mystery of these strange sounds yet!" (RT 88-89)

As you can see the two texts are remarkably similar. The passage from the OT is 310 words while the RT is 214, which means 31% has been cut from the OT. But as the OT is 220 pages in its entirety and the RT is 180 pages, I would say that on average 19% of the OT has been cut. This is just an estimate, of course, because we are comparing page numbers, not word count. For the most part all that has been removed from the RT is description. Although, in the RT Nancy suggests that the sounds might be from someone “playing a joke”, which diffuses some of the tension. In the OT there is no such explanation offered, and the tension is left to continue to build as the scene plays out. I think most of us would agree that the OT is more atmospheric, but when you are aiming to cut down a text it does make the most sense to start with anything that could be construed as unessential. I must admit that it wasn’t until I was reading these two passages side by side that I was aware there was any difference, besides the change from the friends being referred to as “the chums” to simply “they”. 

Final thoughts

In my opinion, the person who revised the OT, Priscilla Baker-Carr, did a wonderful job. As I said at the outset, I felt like I was reading the same book twice. Nothing important had been altered and I think that readers who are most familiar with the OT could read the RT of this one and recognize the same Nancy. But I wonder if this is because The Haunted Bridge is a fairly tame book. This isn’t a book full of dramatic scenes like some of the other Nancy Drews I have read in the OT. For example, the OT of The Whispering Statue has Nancy save two people from a burning plane that has crash landed in the ocean. In that same book a house set on eroding cliffs is taken by the sea with Nancy inside! Both versions of The Haunted Bridge have a lot of golf, some dances, a bit of exploring in the woods, a suspected forger is locked in a caddy club house until the authorities arrive, Nancy, Bess, and George surreptitiously follow a car, and Nancy confronts a thief with a lot of backup near by, and that’s about it! Minus a brief scene when Nancy falls through a bridge and gets swept away by a storm swollen stream, The Haunted Bridge doesn’t go in for big drama and there was very little bonkersness. I cannot believe I am saying this, because I’ve never thought of myself as a fan of the less believable aspects of these books, but I think more drama and bonkersness would have made this a better book.

Coming up next…

Next time, I will be discussing the Nancy Drew with Persian kittens, tap dancing, Morse code, and a secret room. It’s The Clue of the Tapping Heels. I can assure you that we are in for bonkersness in spades with this one!

While you’re waiting for me to come up the goods, why not check out my new favourite podcast, Regular Nancy Drew? As always, I am late to the party on this one. Regular Nancy Drew has been recording since early 2021 and they already have 92 episodes in the bank. Listening to the hosts, Becky and Kori, is like chatting with your best friends about Nancy Drew. You can find Regular Nancy Drew just about anywhere you can listen to podcasts. But I must warn you that just like your favourite Nancy Drew, it’s very addictive. My friend and fellow Nancy Drew fan, the talented author, Barbara Matteson, introduced me to this podcast three weeks ago and I’ve been listening to about one episode a day ever since. It is so good!

56 Weeks with Nancy Drew - The Message in the Hollow Oak - Part 2/2

Week 16, Book 12

Welcome to the 56 Weeks with Nancy Drew series! If you are new here, welcome. You can find my introductory post to this series here. Please note I will be including plot spoilers in this review series. I explain my reasoning at the start of this post. This is Part Two in a two part discussion. You can find Part One here.

Edition pictured: Revised text (20 chapters, 181 pages)

Cover illustrated by: Rudy Nappi

Revised text publication date: 1972

Original text publication date: 1935

My edition printed: 1990 or later

Ghostwriter: Mildred A. Wirt Benson

Editors: Edna Stratemeyer Squier & Harriet Stratemeyer Adams

Revised by: Grace Grote (In this case, the term “revised” is used loosely. This is a completely different book from the OT written by Wirt Benson.)

Setting: River Heights; New York City; St. Louis, Missouri; countryside near Cairo, Illinois

Originally published in 1935, I will be reviewing the revised text (RT) edition of The Message in the Hollow Oak, published in 1972 and pictured above. 

Nancy’s Aunt Eloise invites Nancy to New York. A detective friend of hers, Boyce Osborne a.k.a. Boycey, needs Nancy’s help on a baffling case (1-2). Upon arrival at Aunt Eloise’s “apartment house”, Nancy gets stuck in the elevator (4). When she finally gets out, Boycey tells Nancy all about the message in the hollow oak that him and his detective buddies were trying to find while they were on holiday. The message was supposed to be left by a French-Canadian missionary travelling through Illinois in the late 1600s (8-9). The one catch is a man called Kit Kadle wants to find the message first (10).

Boycey suggests that when Nancy gets to Illinois she could stay with the girls at the archeological dig that is going on in the area (13). Ned’s cousin, Julie Anne, just happens to be joining the dig, so the two girls agree to meet up in St. Louis (16-17). After Bess and George leave her at the airport, Nancy gets the feeling that a man is watching her (17). Unfortunately, he boards the same plane as Nancy and sits next to her, then proceeds to ask her increasingly personal questions about the reason for her trip (18-19). Nancy lands in St. Louis, meets up with Julie Anne who tells her all about the dig and Nancy in turn tells the other girl about the hollow oak (21-23). 

After a helicopter ride, the two girls arrive at the site of the dig. The students welcome Nancy with open arms, as does the dig leader, Teresa Bancroft (28-30). (I assumed Teresa was meant to be an archeologist as she has a group of university students from a class she teaches, but, annoyingly, she is only referred to as a “dig leader” throughout the book.) Her first night there, her sleep is disturbed by a strange voice calling her name (30). From then on, things just get weirder, not to mention more dangerous around the dig and throughout Nancy’s search for a specific hollow oak, of which there are many. Apparently, the Illinois countryside is positively riddled with the things!

In this one, Nancy — you guessed it — finds the message in the hollow oak. Even with multiple plane rides, helicopter trips, and a lot of traipsing around the countryside in dubious vehicles, Nancy still has time to get stuck in an elevator (4), extricate an barnyard intruder from her bedroom (32), attend a religious service (32), acquire a “good-luck coin” (40-41), spend days not looking for the hollow oak, chase more intruders, human this time (54), spend way, way too much time worrying that her new friend Art is jealous of Ned, go on a multi-day towboat tour with new friends and old (92-121), take countless motorcycle rides into town, help out on an archeological dig (50-51), show off her French translation skills (175-176), eat 21 meals, three snacks, including an odd combination of doughnuts and apples, kindly provided by a marshal’s deputy. 

Time of year

While Nancy is away in Illinois, she calls her father who relays the message that Ned Nickerson is very eager to get in contact with her. She tries three numbers, hoping to find him, but is unsuccessful.

    “Nancy sat in the phone booth another half a minute thinking of the tall, good-looking young man. Right now he was working on a summer job, selling insurance.” (58)

Ned attends Emerson College during the school year, so we can assume that this book is set somewhere between May and early September.

Timeline

Starting on a Friday and ending on a Thursday, this book is set over 21 days, making it one of the more spread out timelines of these books, and it feels it. Nancy spends a lot of days not investigating, which instead of creating tension and anticipation that Kit Kadle might find the message in the hollow oak first, it made me lose interest in the story.

The original text is better

Before reading this one, I had planned on following my usual format for these posts. However, having read the original text (OT) edition for this title first, I ruined all possibly of enjoying this book. My logic was the same that I apply to films, when I have the option available, I watch the original before the remake. Of course, that can backfire, as the original is usually better. Perhaps the one exception is the 1995 remake of Sabrina with Julia Ormond and Harrison Ford. The 1954 original, despite having the ever charming Audrey Hepburn in the staring role, falls flat in comparison. Humphrey Bogart playing the love interest of someone who looks almost young enough to be his granddaughter may have had something to do with it. And heaven help me, what kind of love story ends with the music swelling to the couple hugging? If you can’t kiss then, when are you going to kiss?! 

Sorry! I can hear what you’re thinking. “When did this become a film review?” You’re quite right. Back to The Message in the Hollow Oak…

But first, can I just say, this is a prime example of why it has taken me so long to post about this one. I have become a master at avoiding this book. I’d pick it up. Read a few pages. Land on yet another insane scenario. And not exciting insane. At its best, this book was stupid insane, which was frustrating, but at least it helped to keep me awake. Mostly, this book was insanely boring. When I wasn’t taking trips to the kitchen for unnecessary snacks, I was falling asleep part way through a chapter. Now, you have some idea of why this book took me a whopping 11 days to read, when I usually read these books over 1-3 evenings and that’s with taking copious notes. 

My schedule for keeping to one title a week has well and truly gone out the window. Not that I wasn’t a little behind schedule before! I thought I was two weeks behind in posting Part Two of The Message in the Hollow Oak, but I went back to check and over the course of the past 12 titles I've managed to get myself four weeks behind. Let's see if I can get myself caught up!

Now, if you love the RT, this is not a critique on your taste. If I hadn’t read the OT first I might not have so strongly taken against this one. It certainly has me rethinking my theory that I should read the OT first going forward!

For now, I thought I would end with some of the notes I made to myself while reading this one. I wrote these not planning to share them with anyone, so umm, I think I was trying to entertain myself a bit as this book slowly drove me mad. I write notes on the plot as I read these books, and I note now thoughts in ALL CAPS, so they stand out. I've kept my thoughts in this format, as I really did feel like I was yelling at this book as I read. 

I hope you brought your appetite because this book is about to be roasted…

OT Nancy survives a train wreck on the way to the Canadian wilderness, which puts the responsible adult she’s travelling with in the hospital. She handles the situation head on and helps the injured after the wreck. Meanwhile, RT Nancy needs constant comforting from her aunt and the detective friend while stuck in an elevator. — YES, LET’S COMPLETELY STRIP NANCY OF BRAVERY AND COMPETENCY FROM THE OFF.

After finding one hollow oak with a plaque on it, the farmer that is driving Nancy around says he has to go home and won’t be able to drive her again for another THREE DAYS and Julie Anne tells Nancy she probably wouldn’t have been able to get permission to shirk her duties on the dig to help Nancy, anyway (16). — THIS HAS ALL THE SUBTLETY OF A BULL IN A CHINA SHOP. WHY CAN’T NANCY DRIVE HERSELF? OT NANCY GETS INTO A HIGH SPEED CHASE THROUGH THE STREET OF RIVER HEIGHTS TO BRING DOWN A THIEF, BUT RT NANCY CAN'T DRIVE AROUND THE ILLINOIS COUNTRYSIDE?

In the evening the boy student clean the artifacts found on the site while the girls make a “wholesome meal” (44). — GIVE ME A BREAK

Nancy finds a “crudely printed note” left for her. “Nancy took out her magnifying glass and examined the note for fingerprints. There were none on it.” (72) — LOL WHAT WAS NANCY EXPECTING? FOR THE PERSON WHO HAD LEFT IT TO HAVE DIPPED THEIR FINGERS IN INK???

“Holding her hands binocular-fashion around her eyes, Nancy focused not he opposite bank and tried to detect possible footprints. She could see none.” (82) — PROBABLY BECAUSE HOLDING YOUR HANDS LIKE THEY ARE BINOCULARS DOES NOT MAGICALLY TURN THEM INTO BINOCULARS!!! (Note: Nancy is 18 in the RT books, not 5 years old, like one might assume from this scene.) 

More about Nancy thinking Art is jealous of Ned (84). — I FEEL LIKE I’M READING A SWEET VALLEY HIGH

Nancy suggested that they take a taxi to the airfield and meet Ned and the others. During the ride Art did not say a word. When they reached the field he walked off by himself.

    "What's eating him?" Julie Anne asked.

    "Competition," Nancy replied. "Julie Anne, I think you'll have to cheer up poor Art." 

    The girl beamed. "Do you think I ran do it? He's been tagging after you ever since you arrived."

    "Of course you can," Nancy said. "Why don't you start in right now by walking over to him?" 

    Julie Anne liked this idea and set off at once. (93)

 — OH, BROTHER

Art is aloof with Ned (94). Bess notices Art’s attraction to Nancy, then Ned notices it too and now both boys aren’t talking to each other (95). Bess tries to point Art in Julie Anne’s direction and Nancy tells her she wants to encourage him that way too, but they’ll have to take it slow (96). —  AGAIN, AM I READING A SVH???

One night on the towboat, the group has just finished dessert when a log comes through the window. Miraculously, everyone is unhurt except for Dave who has a small cut from the glass. Ever helpful, the boys replace the glass in the window (114). — WHAT, DOES THE TOWBOAT HAVE A SUPPLY OF GLASS ON BOARD FOR WHEN THE WINDOWS GET BLOWN OUT BY ALL THOSE FLOATING LOGS THAT GET PROPELLED ON BOARD??? 

“So much had been going on that the subject of jealousy between him and Ned had been forgotten. Nancy was happy over this and hoped the good relationship would last.” (114) — I'M ROLLING MY EYES. 

Theresa suggests Art lend his motorcycle to Ned so he can drive Nancy into town to make a report to the police. “Nancy was delighted to see that he showed no sign of jealousy.” (139) — OH, BROTHER

More worries about jealousy between Art and Ned (142). — I MEAN, WHY DOES THIS BOOK MAKE NANCY SEEM SO SELF CONSUMED??? 

After being kidnapped, Bob explains how he was able to drop spearheads on the ground as a signal to anyone looking for him. “When the men took me out for exercise, they untied my hands.” (164) — LOL OH, SURE. ALL KIDNAPPERS TAKE THEIR HOSTAGES OUT FOR EXERCISE 

The letter that is found in the hollow oak includes directions to the treasure, in French, which Nancy translates (175-176). — THE ONLY THING THE RT HAS IN COMMON WITH THE OT IS THAT THERE IS A MESSAGE IN A HOLLOW OAK AND NANCY CAN TRANSLATE FRENCH.

The last chapter is followed by a “Postscript”.

    The Hopewell mound was excavated the following summer and found to contain many perfectly preserved artifacts and fossils, including several bird effigies in stone, and a rare baby's cradle. At a luncheon celebration which followed the event, Nancy was praised for having added valuable information to the archaeological knowledge of America.

    With a smile she said, “All the credit belongs to Père François and his message in the hollow oak." (182) 

— NO EXCITING TREASURE AND NANCY DIDN’T EVEN GET TO DIG IT UP HERSELF. HONESTLY, COULD THIS BOOK HAVE BEEN MORE ANTICLIMACTIC???

Final thoughts

I think that about covers it. I hope you had a giggle, or were at the very least mildly amused. If you are planning to read The Message in the Hollow Oak, I recommend sticking with the OT if you can get your hands on a copy. If you must read both, like I felt I did, I would suggest either reading the two versions far apart from each other, or getting the RT out of the way first. 

The Mystery of the Ivory Charm is up next. Here’s hoping I have more success with that one!