On the NRVT: Wilton Center to the School Complex

 Another beautiful day, Jeff, Lola, and I walked on the west side of the Wilton loop of the NRVT.  As we left Mervin Meadows Park, we saw this sign: 

I made several attempts to take pictures of Lola. Here are my best efforts from today.

Along the Trail: New Canaan Nature Center

Yesterday was beautiful: temps in the 70's, sunny, with low humidity. I wanted to go somewhere different with Lola and decided on New Canaan Nature Center.  We had been there once before for New Canaan Dog Days. I'm now on their email mailing list, and an email said that the trails were open.

I had forgotten to check the address before we left, but I know the road it's on. What I didn't know was that the sign had been taken down. I drove past it and went a mile or so out of my way. Jeff checked his phone and found the address. I drove by it again because no sign. We found the entryway on our third pass. 

I was surprised by how many other people were there: two kids on bikes, pairs of walkers, and many with dogs. The first path led us to an exit to a road. Along the way we saw this artwork:

Other trails kept looped around fields and woods at the Nature Center. We walked there about an hour. I took a quick look at the Birds of Prey. I had seen in an email that there is a red-shouldered hawk there. I think I saw one, but the cage labeled red-shouldered hawk was empty. An adjacent cage could have held that hawk but was unlabeled. I tried to compare it to my picture, but couldn't be sure.

I didn't think to take a photo of the hawk at the Nature Center. D'oh. Maybe next time.

The New York Mets and the Covid-19 Season

It's hard to think of anything that's been normal in 2020. A postponed and shortened baseball season is relatively minor in the scheme of things. 

I wrote about Opening Day here. On Opening Day, anything is possible. I take pride in the Mets MLB-leading record of 39-20 in opening day games. 

The Mets lost Noah Syndergaarde before the season started. Then Yoenis Cespedes and Marcus Stroman opted out of the season. I can't even keep track of all the players on the IL. Pitchers seem especially injury-prone across MLB.

As a Mets fan, I've come to expect strange things. Some are good. The Mets won a doubleheader against the Yankees on Friday for the first time. The second game was a makeup game from Citi Field, and the Mets were the official home team and batted last. Amed Rosario hit a walk-off home run--the first by a visiting team in Yankee Stadium history. As Gary Cohen put it, "The oddest of phenomena. We're getting used to odd things in 2020." 

The Mets lost Saturday's game on a wild pitch. On Sunday another double header. The Mets looked good until all fell apart in the bottom of the seventh: the Yankees scored five to tie the game and won in the next inning: the epitome of a heartbreaker, and a stab in the heart of Mets fans. Then the Mets lost the nightcap. I could cry. 

Pride and Prejudice (1940)

I found this film on TCM and recorded it. I read the book in May and the next month I enjoyed the 2005 version of the film. 

The 1940 version is a different story. I started watching the film with one strike against it: I don't like Greer Garson. I think I've only seen her previously in Mrs. Miniver. I can't even tell you why I don't like her. 

As expected, I didn't like her as Lizzie. Garson is too matronly looking for one thing. She also seemed very snobby, though I guess that's more the fault of the screenwriter than of Garson.

I had a lot of issues with the screenplay. It's too light--it's played more as a comedy than a social satire. I thought the archery scene (not in the novel) was silly. Afterwards, Lizzie and Darcy seem on the verge of coupledom, until Darcy overhears Lizzy's mother discussing Jane and Bingley and Lydia and Kitty acting outrageously. I also disliked the scene as the family is planning to move when Lydia is disgraced. I hated the scene between Lady Catherine and Lizzie: it's too big a departure from the novel that changes a key element of the plot. I didn't even realize the costumes were inappropriate for the time. 

I did like Olivier as Darcy (though not the writing of Darcy.) I also liked Edmund Gwenn as Mr. Bennett,  Mary Boland as Mrs. Bennett, and Edna May Oliver as Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

So, overall a disappointment.

Women's Equality Day and National Dog Day

While Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment on August 18, August 26 was the day the Secretary of State signed the proclamation granting American women the right to vote. In 1972, President Nixon declared August 26 Women's Rights Day, later renamed Women's Equality Day.

Covid-19 has changed recognition and celebration of the centennial of the women's right to vote. I already attended a Zoom lecture and just signed up for a four-part webinar. 

I've read some thought-provoking articles on the fight for suffrage. 

Here's one from The New York Times and another from Jezebel. 

Jeff told me today is also National Dog Day, and here are some suggestions to celebrate. Lola had two long walks today in beautiful weather for her celebration.

The Mets' Season Resumes

Last Thursday after our early evening walk with Lola, Jeff and I settled down to watch the Mets. They had won three in a row, and we were hopeful that they would extend their winning streak to four and sweep their first series in 2020.

But the game was postponed. One player and one coach had been diagnosed with Covid-19. The weekend subway series with the Yankees was also cancelled. 

The Mets are back in action tonight in a double header. By the time we got back from tonight's walk with Lola, they were already down 3-0 to the Marlins. Sigh, the Mets lost 4-0. 

I don't know what to expect for the Mets season or the baseball season in general. I had hope at the beginning, but then I always do. 

We'll watch and see what happens.

New Frustration Dream

My mother is going on a trip--I think to Europe. I have box of papers and other things that she needs and am bringing them to her. 

Yet, somehow I am walking around an expanded Meadow Ridge. There's an area with cabanas on a hillside, and some people have mini cars/carts up there. I am having trouble finding my way off the hillside. There is a ramp for the mini cars but not for people. At one point, I'm just a floor above my mother's apartment but can't find stairs that will take me there. Later I complain to an employee who searches to find someone to drive (?) me to my mother's. I sit in a mini car waiting. It's 4:50 in the afternoon. I think my mother's supposed to leave at 5. I look into the box: it has a pair of shoes and a cellphone charger. I look through the papers and hope I haven't lost any. 

Chris Cuomo is making an announcement about another resident going on a trip. He will take a job with the NYC police when he returns. Chris is queuing up "New York, New York" but a woman manages to get another song played. She is accompanying the song on a violin. She says she owns five percent of $43 million, so she gets some say in the music selections.

I decide to check my phone for messages. It's updating so I can't get any messages. (Even in this new frustration incarnation. my usual telephone problems persist.)

I give up on getting a ride and walk through a huge multilevel spa. I end up on Anxiety Street. 

On Reading

Re-reading my collection of Nancy Drew mysteries got me thinking about books I read in my childhood and teen years. I never read the Narnia or Oz books, or Anne of Green Gables. I seemed to graduate from Dr. Seuss to Nancy Drew. 

I read Nancy Drew from The Secret of the Old Clock through The Phantom of Pine Hill. The latter book was published in 1965 when I was 10. I read other mysteries too: Trixie Belden, Judy Bolton, and the Dana Girls. 

Then there were the teenage girl books: Diane's New Love and Toujours Diane by Betty Cavanna, Wedding in the Family and One of the Crowd by Rosamund du Jardin, Fifteen by Beverly Cleary, Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly, The Silver Pencil by Alice Dalgliesh.  

I also read Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell, Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor, Jassy by Norah Lofts, The Concubine by Norah Lofts (my first Anne Boleyn book) all the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and of course, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, which remains my favorite book.

As I write this, I remember other books. I don't intend to make a list of every book I've ever made. For one thing, my memory isn't that good. I had to goggle the teenage girls books. 

Some of these books are still important to me. I Capture the Castle, Jassy, and The Concubine remain favorites. I learned some history from The Concubine, Gone With The Wind, and Forever Amber. Last year I was thrilled to read a "lost" story of Sherlock Holmes in Preston & Child's White Fire. 

Reading is a way of life. I can't imagine not reading. 

The Witch Tree Symbol: Nancy Drew Mystery 33

Nancy finds a Pennsylvania Dutch hex sign at the site of a furniture robbery. Soon, she, Bess, and George are off to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The thief sent warnings for Nancy to stay out of Pennsylvania and spread rumors that she's a thief and a witch. It complicates her sleuthing, for sure. 

But not for long. After the bad guy locks Nancy and friends in an attic, she signals for help with a lantern. Luckily she and her friends know the SOS code. 

Walks with Lola

Yesterday was beautiful: sunny with high temperatures in the 70's and low humidity. I took Lola to Cranbury Park. We hadn't been there since early February. The winds of Isaias hit the park hard. We saw several downed trees, most had been pushed off the trails, some sawed, and some we had to walk over.

I let Lola take the lead on hikes unless she wants to go a muddy trail or if we're pressed for time. I  was surprised that she didn't head for trails behind the dog field. She usually goes from the Blue to the Green to the Yellow Trail. Yesterday we walked the trail behind the dog field, mansion, and carriage house to the main entrance and then to our car.

I saw this well that I must have driven by hundreds if not thousands of times. You see so much more by walking.

Today we took a long walk around the neighborhood. Lola has recently expanded her normal walks. She started down hospital hill, but then I led her on streets she hadn't been before (down Phillips to Ferris and back up Truman to Magnolia) We talked to a beagle fan watering his lawn, and then saw this a few door down;

 Beagles  rule.

The Mystery at the Ski Jump Nancy Drew Mystery 29

There's a new con woman working in River Heights: Mitzi Channing is selling stock in a fake fur company as well as stolen minks. Adding insult to injury, Mitzi steals Nancy's driver's license and impersonates her. Nancy is nearly arrested and later is locked in a closet by overreacting fur sales people.

On a trip to Montreal to help her father on a case, Nancy finds clues for her mystery. In fact, Mitzi, once a professional ice skater, is planning a performance using Nancy's name. How brazen! The real Nancy ends up performing (of course) and almost catches one of the crooks (the police can't keep him on Nancy's word alone.) Nancy doesn't get that this was the same kind of flimsy evidence that almost got her arrested, and that was an outrage.

Nancy next combines a house party and mystery solving when she, Bess, and George invite their friends from Emerson College (Ned, Dave, and Burt respectively) to the Adirondacks. Nancy's Aunt Lou has a summer home there and agrees to chaperone.  Good thing, because that's where Nancy solves the mystery and provides the evidence for her father's case as well.

The bad guys had tried to stop Nancy with a fake telegram and later, a rough hand is clapped over her face in an iron grasp. She faces a squarish man with a bulldog face and beady eyes. Poor Nancy is tied up and left in a cabin to freeze. She even misses a hillbilly orchestra playing old-time ballads and toe-tingling polkas.

Luckily Nancy knows enough to keep exercising until her friends came to the rescue.

A Century Ago...

Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment recognizing women's right to vote. Despite Abigail Adams' plea to her husband to "remember the ladies"  in 1776, women were forgotten when suffrage was concerned. The organized fight for womens' suffrage began at the Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York. (Remember Seneca Falls, Selma, and Stonewall?)

In 1917, suffragists' signs asked Woodrow Wilson, "Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?"

Here's a visual history from The New York Times.

Here's a description of the Night of Terror--something you'll never learn in school. I only learned about it in a TV movie.

Remember. Vote!

Nancy Drew Mystery 22: The Clue in the Crumbling Wall

Nancy's four choice rose brushes have been stolen. The thief is Joan Fenimore a little girl in a faded pink dress. Her home is a cottage (greatly in need of repair) in a poor section of the city. Joan only took the bushes due to the bad influence of a neighbor boy. Joan's mother is a sweet-faced woman with lines of deep suffering in her forehead.

There is hope for the Fenimores. Mrs. Fenimore's sister Floriana had inherited a castle from her wealthy fiance, but she mysteriously had disappeared. Florianna now has only three weeks left to claim the property.

Enter Nancy, with assistance from Bess and George. They visit the crumbling castle and find several clues, including an imprint of Florianna's dancing shoe, which will prove her identity. (An imposter had rather large feet--"size eight at least.") Florianna had disappeared when she was crippled in a car accident and retired to a flower farm.

In addition, Nancy helps find whelks with dye and a spring with "unusually beneficial qualities, even curative effects in bone disorders." With income pouring in, Floriana, Joan, and her mother move to the castle along with underprivileged crippled children.

Relief!

Today the temperatures topped out in the 70's. Checking out the 10-day forecast, the highest predicted temperature is 85 degrees. It's about time. It feels as if it's been in the 90's in temperature and humidity for six weeks. I know that's not true, but I am sick of wearing two or even three blouses a day because I get so sweaty when I take Lola out.

Funny, we once considered moving to Arizona (but it's a dry heat) and are now tentatively planning to move somewhere in the Southeast. At least, there will be less snow.

The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion: Nancy Drew Mystery Number 18

Nancy, Bess, and George encounter an isolated mansion and hear wild shrieks --what a way to kick off a mystery.

Nancy is in the area to help her father find an heir to an estate. In their quest, they interview an old friend, Mrs. Labelle, who is guess what? Poor. Nancy and her friends hope the heiress June will help her friend.

Eventually Nancy thwarts Ramo, a swarthy gypsy-like looking man who wears long dangling earrings and a bandanna, his fortune telling sister, and reluctant accomplice niece in their attempt to steal June's inheritance. You know Ramo is bad: he sneers through clenched teeth, storms, fastens his beady black eyes as if trying to hypnotize Nancy, and his eyes dart fire toward her.

Nancy ends up finding June in the moss-covered mansion of the title where an artist is confining and abusing wild animals. Note: I say he is abusing them; Nancy and her friends don't seem to see it that way.

Nancy survives a plane crash and a leopard attack. At least she solved the mystery.

Nancy Drew Mystery 17: The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk

Nancy, Bess, and George are sailing to South America. But getting to the boat presents some challenges. First, an obnoxious woman (well-advanced into middle age in a tight fitting suit) demands Nancy sail on another ship because Nancy will corrupt her daughter. Someone attempts to steal Nancy's travel clothes. A scatterbrained maid (not the always reliable Hannah Gruen) misplaces Nancy's passport. Worst of all, Nancy and George are falsely accused of stealing a diamond bracelet. Of course they make it, and Nancy thwarts jewel thieves and smugglers.

The secondary mystery is silly: Nancy is obsessed with finding a red-haired man  to return $50. His car rear-ended Nancy's in Chapter One. He gave Nancy $100, but the car repair only cost her $50.

The book provides a little more details about Nancy's appearance: "Nancy was endowed with a good figure, clear complexion, intelligent blue eyes, and a pretty face." This book also shows Ned to be a jealous ass. How dare Howard switch place cards so he could sit next to Nancy at a going-away party.

TV Time: Netflix Edition

How To Get Away With Murder: We started to watch this a few weeks ago. I got really into it from the beginning; Jeff-not so much. He didn't like the non-linear nature of the story-telling with flashbacks and flashforwards. He's fine with that in movies, but thought it was too much in a series. So I watched on my own. I wanted to at least finish the first season, but then there was a cliffhanger that sucked me in. I kept watching--all six seasons.

I loved the show. Viola Davis was wonderful. I was blown away by the scene where she removes her wig and make-up; I later learned it was Viola's idea. I also especially liked the work of Amirah Vann, Timothy Hutton, Cicely Tyson, Amy Madigan, Jimmy Smits, Esai Morales, Laura Innes, and Glynn Turman.

All of the characters were as corrupt (in one way or another) as the US justice system. I never did figure out what was going to happen next. I'm glad I watched this on Netflix. I would have been upset to have to wait during the broadcast breaks.


The Good Place: When Eleanor Shellstrop is hit by truck and dies, she finds herself in a tiny house filled with clown portraits in The Good Place. But something is amiss; all of good deeds that have gotten her there are not true. Since Eleanor doesn't want to go to The Bad Place, she tries to become a better person and fit in. After all, what could go wrong? This is a fun look at the afterlife. Kristen Bell and Ted Danson make a good team.

Primary Day

Jeff and I went to vote this morning: Connecticut has the latest primary in the nation this year (rescheduled from April.) We had no local contests, so only voted for the Presidential candidates.  As a Democrat, I had the choice of  Joe Biden, Bernie Saunders, or Tulsi Gabbard. The Republican options were Donald Trump and Roque De La Fuente.

It's fair to say that this is a meaningless primary--the winners were determined long ago.

I voted: I owe it to John Lewis,  Alice Paul, and many others.

The Clue of the Tapping Heels: Nancy Drew Mystery 16

This is the last mystery published in the 1930's (1939.) Nancy found another of the poor, but proud club. This time it's Miss Carter, a kindly cat-lady "past middle age" who had once been an actress. (She later implies she's 50--heaven forbid.)

In addition to helping Miss Carter, Nancy saves the captain of a steamer after a "sinister sailor" causes an accident. She gives "perfect" testimony at the trials of the bad guys, gets kidnapped twice, and is rescued by tap dancing in code. All these successes help her recover from the indignity of being mistaken for a maid.

Racism alert: This book includes the "colored" man with freckles who is the "darky" who asked Ned the location of the Carson Drew home. There is also a conversation about Egyptians being dark-skinned with sharp features.

Solo Outing

Saturday I realized that I needed to go out on my own. I hadn't been out by myself for fun since February. First I got cash and gas. Then I realized I wasn't sure where to go.

Saturday wasn't the best day to go on an outing. I figured the beach would be too crowded. I wasn't sure if any galleries were open. I headed to Home Goods. I thought I might get an olive oil mister or a nice notebook. I didn't find either. Many of the shelves were bare. I was disappointed.

What to do next? I thought a glass of sangria would be nice. I didn't want to go to South Norwalk. It's often crowded, and I didn't want to pay to park. I remembered Barcelona at Waypointe. I had to wait for five to 10 minutes to get an outside table--I'm not comfortable eating inside a restaurant yet. I ordered grilled zucchini and white sangria. The zucchini was okay; I figured I would never order it with Jeff and have had some good fried zucchini in the past. The sangria was delicious.

I got a text from Jeff that he and Lola were at 1420 Distillery, so I joined them there for a drink.

I think about my plan to see the Mexican Muralists exhibition: it's still to be rescheduled. I don't know if I'll make it. I had planned a whole day in the city: a minor blip on all that that Covid-19 delayed and destroyed.

Nancy's Mysterious Letter: Nancy Drew Mystery Story Eight

This is my least favorite of Nancy's mysteries. It is also the first book written by a man. Walter Karig wrote books Eight Through Ten (the other books are The Sign of the Twisted Candles and The Password to Larkspur Lane.)

The mysteries were mundane. The first involves a mail bag stolen when the mailman comes into Nancy's house for cocoa and leaves his bag out on the porch. His perfect record on the eve of his retirement is ruined. I don't really care. At best, he seems pretty careless to me.

The second mystery involves the letter of the title. Nancy receives a letter about an inheritance for a Nancy Smith Drew. She decides to try to find the missing heiress herself.  Can't the lawyers do this on their own?

Oh, and Ned's a college football hero. Meh.

The Clue in the Diary: Nancy Drew Book Seven

Nancy, Bess, and George met another poor, but proud woman and her adorable daughter. Nancy later solves a mystery that helps a man who was swindled--Joe Swenson--the husband of the poor, but proud woman. What a coincidence!

When Nancy first gets a glimpse of the man, she thinks he might be a tramp, but his expression indicated a man of a different type. Shortly after that. she has her first encounter with Ned Nickerson. He impresses her enough that she asks Hannah to wear a pretty apron and cap and serve ice cream and cake when Ned visits.

There's a brief description of a country club dance. Nancy was popular (of course.) "Bess fared well also, but George was too blunt and boyish to captivate the young men." (Luckily George will captivate Burt, one of Ned's buddies in future books.)

There's a line when Nancy first meets Ned that Nancy knew better than to judge entirely by appearances. But she had a knack for doing that here and here. As soon as she talks to the sad-eyed, kindly, inoffensive Joe Swenson, she's sure he's innocent.

After all, it's the bad guy who sneers, "A girl, eh?"

The Isaias Aftermath

We were lucky--we got off easy.

Yes, it was windy, but the storm passed quickly. We never lost power. The next day I saw many clusters of leaves and small branches and some medium branches on our condominium grounds. A hand-made "workers are heroes" sign blew across the street from the hospital to our lawn.

Other parts of the city were hit much worse. Downed trees and wires closed roads, and many remained closed. Over 10,000 homes are still without power.

Again, we are lucky.

Book 15: Cleopatra A Life by Stacy Schiff

I had read that this was a good book, and I enjoyed Stacy Schiff's book on the Salem Witch Trials, so I picked it up at a library book sale.

Reading this book, I realized how little I knew about Cleopatra; so much of her story is myth. For example, Schiff says it's very unlikely Cleopatra killed herself with asp or Egyptian cobra. She calls "Cleopatra's asp the cherry trees of ancient history..."

Schiff also discusses why Cleopatra's power was said to have derived from her sexuality. "It has always been preferable to attribute a woman's success to her beauty rather than her brains..."

It was a change to read about Cleopatra's accomplishments.

Waiting for and Watching Isaias

When I first heard about this storm, I was afraid it would rain for three days. Sunday and Monday brought pre-Isaias showers, but today's the day (and luckily the only day.)

We took Lola to Oyster Shell at 7:15. She was really into sniffing this morning. It took us 45 minutes to do one loop; we walked for an hour and 20 minutes. We're so glad that we could get a good walk in for Lola.

It started raining about an hour ago, but it's not too heavy. We're expected to be more on the wind than the rain side of the storm. We got out lanterns and flashlights, and I filled some pitchers with water. Hopefully we won't lose power.

"The Man Was Polite Enough But He Looked Like a Gangster."

That line may sum up all of the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories and appeared in The Secret of Red Gate Farm, published in 1931,

A reluctant perfume saleswoman and a fainting girl lead Nancy into a new mystery when Nancy. Bess, and George to visit Red Gate Farm. (Bess and George first appeared in Book Five, The Secret at Shadow Ranch.

Once again Nancy helps a woman and her grandmother who have fallen on hard times (and of course, are good people.)

We learn Nancy is an excellent actress while helping Millie (the fainting girl) apply for a job. Is there anything she can't do? (From what I remember, no.)

On the way to infiltrating a mysterious cult and foiling a gang of counterfeiters, Nancy is falsely accused of passing counterfeit money herself.

Racism returns. When Nancy asked about a woman she later learns is Yvonne Wong, the janitor asks if she is squint-eyed? Nancy nods eagerly.

The Adventures Continue: The Bungalow Mystery

The Bungalow Mystery is the third book in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories and was published in 1930.

Nancy and chum Helen Corning are enjoying a motorboat outing on Moon Lake when one of those pesky rainstorms springs up and sinks their boat. Even though Nancy is an excellent swimmer, she alone can't save herself and Helen. Luckily, Laura Pendleton comes to the rescue and also brings a mystery with her.

A few days after the rescue, Laura's guardian arrives to meet her. A tiny scowl lines his forehead, and at times his eyes have a hard, almost cruel glint as he gazed upon Laura. Nancy takes an almost instant dislike to him.

Besides not keeping a single servant (gasp) at his bungalow, Laura's guardian is also an imposter who imprisoned the real guardian. Nancy discovers the real guardian chained in a bungalow cellar. She is knocked unconscious and tied up. Luckily Nancy remembers that a detective had demonstrated how to hold your hands so you can later escape after being bound.

Nancy frees the real guardian, chases down the crook, and literally saves Laura's fortune from a fire. All in a day's work.

Introducing Nancy Drew

The Secret of the Old Clock was published in 1930 and describes Nancy as a pretty girl of sixteen with a curly golden bob and a blue roadster. Nancy is unusually capable: under her direction everything ran smoothly in the Drew household. After all, Nancy is the type of girl who is capable of accomplishing a great many things in a comparatively short time. She even found time for clubs and parties.

The opening chapter sets up the mystery. Nancy is bitching about the snobbish Tophams and how much worse they will be if they inherit all of Josiah Crowley's fortune. She soon meets more deserving potential beneficiaries.

From this first Nancy Drew story, I learned that poor people are good. At least the ones with cultured voices and manners, whose clothes while not expensive, were neat and well-made. (This theme is repeated in The Secret of Red Gate Farm, The Clue in the Diary, and The Clue in the Crumbling Wall.)

Here are some other lessons.

Driving could be dangerous in 1930. Sudden rainstorms changed roads into seas of mud. (There were many of these storms that Nancy had to navigate: good thing she was such a capable driver and had chains with her.)

Bad guys are rough looking with cold and cruel faces. They growl, sneer, and berate each other savagely.

Unfortunately, the early books also have a legacy of racism. The "colored" caretaker Jeff Tucker (at least he gets a name) speaks in "dems" and "dat's" (as do others Blacks in later volumes.)  A band of robbers get him drunk so they can take the furniture from the Tophams' summer cottage. Nancy could have been a little nicer to Jeff. He did save her from a locked closet after she had been "left to starve" (title of chapter XVI) by the robbers.

In 1959, many Nancy Drew mysteries were revised and modernized. It was good to get rid of the racial stereotypes,  but as my sister said, other things were lost. The Nancy Drew sleuth website has a great article about the revisions focusing on The Secret of the Old Clock.