Nancy Drew (1930-present) is an amateur sleuth, the fictional heroine of a popular mystery series, aimed at the children-young adult audience, and written under the collective pseudonym "Carolyn Keene". The series was created and outlined in detail in 1930 by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, with the first manuscripts written by Mildred A. Wirt Benson and edited by Stratemeyer's daughter Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. The Stratemeyer Syndicate had a strict non-disclosure contract; writers such as Mildred Benson produced books based upon outlines provided by the Syndicate. As a ghostwriter, Benson was the second most prolific writer (after Stratemeyer-Adams herself), producing twenty-three of the first thirty volumes.

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Nancy's character

Nancy is blue-eyed and a blonde, not reddish blond as known in this era. Early illustrators often drew Bess with hair coloring somewhat darker blonde or light brown, when the three girls appeared together. The haircolor change was actually due to a printer's error on the original jacket of a book; missing ink layers including yellow left Nancy's hair red, but on most covers she is shown as a blonde, redhead or strawberry blonde.

She becomes involved in mysteries without always being a welcome presence. She occasionally drove her roadster at high speeds to escape villains, or on lonely, desolate roads. In the 1930s, Nancy's methods are unorthodox: she breaks and enters, trespasses, opens locked doors, lockers, chests, drawers, and in general is very snoopy. She is more courageous than her friends and undaunted by the money or time spent in investigating a clue. Hannah voices her concerns about Nancy's behavior, but is clearly the Drews' employee in these early tales; her opinion is often discredited.

Her early style is in the vein of a sophisticated young girl with immaculately curled hair, pearls, high heels, and elegant dresses. This is largely the work of commercial artist Russell H. Tandy, the first illustrator for the series. He was a fashion artist and infused Nancy with a modern fashion sensibility. He painted the dust jackets and drew the inside sketches for volumes 1–10 and 12–26. He drew the inside sketches for The Clue of the Broken Locket, but not the cover. By the end of the 1930s, Nancy was dressing along the lines of a sophisticated young woman, with smart suits, matching hats, gloves, and handbags.