Beyond Nancy Drew

LuElla D'Amico is associate professor of English and coordinator of the women’s and gender studies program at the University of the Incarnate Word.Emily Hamilton-Honey is associate professor of English and humanities at SUNY Canton.

• Introduction: Imperfect Adventures: ‘Relatable’ Heroines in Twentieth-Century Girls’ Series Fiction LuElla D’Amico and Emily Hamilton-HoneyChapter 1: Betty Wales: From Series Book Heroine to Lifestyle BrandJill HobgoodChapter 2: Adventure, Mystery, and Fashion: On Fashion and the Modelling Profession in Polly the Powers Model: The Puzzle of the Haunted Camera Erika Johansson LundingChapter 3: Finding the Right Formula, or How The Madge Sterling Series Provided Mildred Wirt (Benson) with the Perfect Formula for Writing Children’s Mystery Series Todd LatoskiChapter 4: Before Nancy Drew: American Girls' Series Fiction of the 1920s Susan Ingalls LewisChapter 5: On Being Glad: Pollyanna and Stoic Thought LuElla D'Amico and Gregory EiseleinChapter 6: “To See If College Could Make Half the Woman of Me That It Made of My Mother”: The Beverly Gray Series as a Mid-Century Return to Progressive Era Girls’ Series Fiction Emily Hamilton-HoneyChapter 7: Maida Westabrook: Inez Haynes Gillmore Irwin’s Little Lady Bountiful Robin CadwalladerChapter 8: Miss Pickerell Tackles the Stereotypes: Gender, Science Education, and Mid-century Science Fiction Liz W. FaberChapter 9: “More like Americans”: Sydney Taylor’s Queering of Historical Fiction Girls’ Series Melanie J. FishbaneChapter 10: “To prove their worth in a man’s world”: Depicting and Encouraging White Women’s Growing Professional Opportunities in Betty Baxter Anderson’s 1940s Career Novels Karen KeelyChapter 11: Inventing the Career Girl Narrative in Vicki Barr Michael CorneliusChapter 12: Student Dancer: Education, Community, and Love in Regina J. Woody’s Dance-Career Novels Jill E. Anderson

"Beyond Nancy Drew takes its cue from the titular heroine by opening doors that have long been left closed. D'Amico and Hamilton-Honey gather an engaging set of essays that work together to provide a necessary insight into girls' series that have historically been overshadowed by the plucky detective. A valuable asset to scholars and classrooms alike."