About book The Mystery Of The Brass-Bound Trunk (2001)
Eeee, Nancy!I love the old books. The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk was ALWAYS my favourite as a child. I think I read it about fourteen times. I guess now I know why I'm obsessed with cruise ships. Things I adore about this novel (some serious, some not-so-much):1. The fact that Ned is MIA. He was so unutterably boring, and as a kid, I used to ask my Mother why Nancy was with him. His name was Ned Nickerson for crying out loud. She deserved much better.2. Nancy's cheatin' ways. I love how she's constantly cheating on Ned (this time with the Purser on the ship... I think his name was Rod? If his name was any indication of sexual prowess, lucky Nancy!). It's hilarious. Ned would have peaced out long ago. But she's like, "Yeah, no big deal, let's go make out by the squash courts."3. Nancy, Bess and George's constant traveling. This fascinated me as a child. They were always flitting off this way and that. This time it's Holland, and they're returning to the United States on a cruise ship. The mystery begins when Nancy is being her usual snoopy self and eavesdrops on someone using sign language. SHOCK HORROR she hears her name and must get to the bottom of it! I think she even gets pushed off the ship at this point ...4. How Nancy turns every vacation into a mystery SHE MUST SOLVE. Relaaaax. 5. The story itself is just really interesting. I don't remember too much about it, except it involves a misplaced trunk, priceless jewels, a mysterious South African passenger and lots of parties. Fun!
so, I think that I have the original 1940's version by Grosset and Dunlap and the story line is similar to the plot that is outlined here on Goodreads but...there is no South African roommate and they are going to South America not South Africa. They meet a friend on board named Nestrelda Darlington whose trunk is also labeled with the initials N.D. hence the mixup with the trunks. Nestrelda's mother is the one who is implicated with stealing the jewelry not some roommate. Very curious about the different story line. I'm not sure if I have the original version or if mine is the updated version. The only publishing date in my book is 1940 and there is no other date (eg. like second release/version date).Simon and Shuster are not listed as the publisher.NOTE: I have found out that my edition is the original 1940's story line. The cover is different than the one shown above. They changed the story line when they re-issued it again in 1972 which is the story line accompanying the shown edition.
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This Nancy Drew was somewhat different - the girls weren't anywhere near River Heights and the "boys" didn't show up until the end. Nancy and her friends are returning to New York from Holland on a cruise ship when there is a mix-up with the trunks. Of course, Nancy has to snoop and finds out the trunk is loaded with precious gems and secret government documents. The bad guys try to get the trunk back, but Nancy foils them and all ends well. In this book, Nancy gets tossed overboard and is left to tread water in the ocean for a few minutes, but she and another girls are quickly rescued. George is injured as well in a separate incident. For some reason this book took me forever to read and I was somewhat confused through out. Not the typical straight read I'm used to when it comes to these books.
—Tabi34
The version I read is the revised one, about Nancy and friends on cruise liner from Holland to NYC. Which is what made it so interesting because this is the first time in 17 books that Nancy has been in a life threatening situation in which she legitimately could have died a horrible death. It lasted just for a couple pages but you can certainly feel the stakes ramping up as the series goes on. Plus, this is the first book that mentions the girls getting kisses from the trio of boys (when they are welcomed back in NYC), and the first one I think to use the word "boyfriend" and not "special friend" or "steady date." I love it.
—Tamara Vallejos
Everyone needs a little bit of Nancy Drew in their lives. I loved this particular mystery when I was in elementary school...but it strangely vanished from the school library after the first time I read it and I never could get my hands on it again (the public library didn't have it either). I recently found it at a used book store, so it was time for a re-read.I much prefer the writing style of the older Nancy Drews, before they were updated. (This one is the original 1940 version.) They are not written "down" to younger readers; they assume a little bit of intelligence. And they have that fun, old-fashioned flair to them.
—Jaclyn
