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Nancy Drew: Notebooks #58

The Dollhouse Mystery

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Is Nancy a dollhouse thief?
It's volunteer week at Carl Sandburg Elementary School, and Nancy is very excited about her job. She will be walking Mrs. Rutledge's dog, Baby. Mrs. Rutledge owns the biggest, fanciest house in River Heights. And she also owns the smallest one -- a beautiful antique dollhouse.
Nancy loves the tiny furniture and little windows of the dollhouse almost as much as she loves walking Baby. But one day, five pieces of doll furniture are missing, and Mrs. Rutledge thinks Nancy took them! But Nancy is a detective, not a thief...right? This time Nancy must use her very best detective skills to get herself out of trouble!

80 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2004

4 people are currently reading
114 people want to read

About the author

Carolyn Keene

1,063 books3,926 followers
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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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.

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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for G.
230 reviews
December 8, 2011
Warning: This review may contain spoilers.

For volunteer week in school, Nancy gets assigned to walking Mrs. Rutledge's dog. While working, Nancy discovers that Mrs. Rutledge has the most beautiful dollhouse ever- a big dollhouse with lots of teensy tiny furniture. However, her admiration for the dollhouse is short-lived when Nancy gets accused of stealing some of the dollhouse's props.

This was one of the good books from my childhood! I was always intrigued with mystery stories. Books that involved Nancy Drew fed my interest. I found it interesting to read books from her younger days. They may seem very childish, but hey! It is still a fast and fun read.
Profile Image for Lisa.
1,176 reviews141 followers
July 24, 2016
Is Nancy a dollhouse thief?
It's volunteer week at Carl Sandburg Elementary School, and Nancy is very excited about her job. She will be walking Mrs. Rutledge's dog, Baby. Mrs. Rutledge owns the biggest, fanciest house in River Heights. And she also owns the smallest one -- a beautiful antique dollhouse.
Nancy loves the tiny furniture and little windows of the dollhouse almost as much as she loves walking Baby. But one day, five pieces of doll furniture are missing, and Mrs. Rutledge thinks Nancy took them! But Nancy is a detective, not a thief...right? This time Nancy must use her very best detective skills to get herself out of trouble!
Profile Image for Lelaina.
13 reviews
April 28, 2015
really liked this book. i got to finished it in just one day. this day,April 28,2015. haha. finally i finished a book in one day!!
682 reviews3 followers
March 31, 2015
When Nancy is accused of stealing expensive furniture from her employer's dollhouse, she's determined to prove her innocence and get her job as a dog walker back!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews

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