Part of Series
Louise and Jean Dana fly home from Thailand completely unaware of the exciting adventures waiting for them just a few hours away. But even before their plane lands in San Francisco, Louise's precious star sapphire ring is stolen, and the girls are plunged into a new mystery. Before the Danas have a chance to investigate it, a fellow traveler, Janet Crane, begs them to find her grandfather who has disappeared somewhere in the rugged terrain of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in eastern California. The two mysteries must wait, for the girls have promised to visit their aunt, Mrs. Carol Reed, in Sacramento. Aunt Carol tells Louise and Jean a family secret about a chest of gold nuggets which was buried for an ancestor during the historic gold rush of 1849 by his devoted Chinese servant—and now the girls have three thrilling mysteries to satisfy their love of adventure. Four generations of Reeds have searched for clues to the treasure with only a half-charred letter to guide them. Now Jean and Louise, with their sharp instinct for solving the most complicated riddles, decide to add their three mysteries together—and come up with a triple solution.
Author
Carolyn Keene is a writer pen name that was used by many different people- both men and women- over the years. The company that was the creator of the Nancy Drew series, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, hired a variety of writers. For Nancy Drew, the writers used the pseudonym Carolyn Keene to assure anonymity of the creator. Edna and Harriet Stratemeyer inherited the company from their father Edward Stratemeyer. Edna contributed 10 plot outlines before passing the reins to her sister Harriet. It was Mildred Benson (aka: Mildred A. Wirt), who breathed such a feisty spirit into Nancy's character. Mildred wrote 23 of the original 30 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories®, including the first three. It was her characterization that helped make Nancy an instant hit. The Stratemeyer Syndicate's devotion to the series over the years under the reins of Harriet Stratemeyer Adams helped to keep the series alive and on store shelves for each succeeding generation of girls and boys. In 1959, Harriet, along with several writers, began a 25-year project to revise the earlier Carolyn Keene novels. The Nancy Drew books were condensed, racial stereotypes were removed, and the language was updated. In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten. Other writers of Nancy Drew volumes include Harriet herself, she wrote most of the series after Mildred quit writing for the Syndicate and in 1959 began a revision of the first 34 texts. The role of the writer of "Carolyn Keene" passed temporarily to Walter Karig who wrote three novels during the Great Depression. Also contributing to Nancy Drew's prolific existence were Leslie McFarlane, James Duncan Lawrence, Nancy Axelrod, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., and Margaret Scherf.
