I read little contemporary non-fiction -- maybe 3 or 4 books a year, usually connected to whatever story I'm working on. But whenever I do, I'm always struck by how stereotyped the prose style is -- whether the topic is trash, or lexicography, or the Stratemeyer Syndicate, they might all have been written by the same person, if you judged strictly by the style: standard journalese, gently salted with the sort of "fine writing" that garners marginal kudos from High School English teachers. I blame the Universities, personally; but if you believe that style (when it isn't a contrived affectation) is always merely an index of how someone thinks, this pervasive sameness is mildly depressing.
I'm about halfway through Ms Rehak's book, and am now skimming and skipping cavalierly to get it over with, having already enjoyed the parts that really interest me: how Edward Stratemeyer started and ran his crazy "Syndicate", inventing the Bobbsey Twins, the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Tom Swift, and the lunatic Bomba the Jungle Boy ("For Bomba is white... Bomba is white!") among numerous others, making a fortune and revolutionizing the publishing industry; and how his daughters, with no business or literary experience, were forced to take over the Syndicate after their father's death, and managed to successfully keep the empire afloat for decades and decades. Great stuff. Also love the fact that in letters, Harriet Stratemeyer refers to the Stratemeyer Syndicate as "the SS".
But I wonder if Ms Rehak is responsible for the subtitle ("Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her") or if it was wished upon her by the publishers. Because it's simply inaccurate -- going by the facts contained in this very book. Mildred Wirt was responsible for ghostwriting most of the original Nancy Drew books; Harriet and Edna S played a huge role in shaping the development of the character over the years (and came up with the vast majority of storylines, secondary characters, etc) -- they surely deserve the majority of the credit. But Edward Stratemeyer created Nancy Drew. You know, words do have meaning.
I'm about halfway through Ms Rehak's book, and am now skimming and skipping cavalierly to get it over with, having already enjoyed the parts that really interest me: how Edward Stratemeyer started and ran his crazy "Syndicate", inventing the Bobbsey Twins, the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Tom Swift, and the lunatic Bomba the Jungle Boy ("For Bomba is white... Bomba is white!") among numerous others, making a fortune and revolutionizing the publishing industry; and how his daughters, with no business or literary experience, were forced to take over the Syndicate after their father's death, and managed to successfully keep the empire afloat for decades and decades. Great stuff. Also love the fact that in letters, Harriet Stratemeyer refers to the Stratemeyer Syndicate as "the SS".
But I wonder if Ms Rehak is responsible for the subtitle ("Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her") or if it was wished upon her by the publishers. Because it's simply inaccurate -- going by the facts contained in this very book. Mildred Wirt was responsible for ghostwriting most of the original Nancy Drew books; Harriet and Edna S played a huge role in shaping the development of the character over the years (and came up with the vast majority of storylines, secondary characters, etc) -- they surely deserve the majority of the credit. But Edward Stratemeyer created Nancy Drew. You know, words do have meaning.
