The Secret of the Old Clock

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1930

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-6

Chapters 7-13

Chapters 14-20

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Themes

The High Price of Greed

While the heroic figures in The Secret of the Old Clock can be distinguished by their generosity, the villains can be recognized by their greed. From the book’s earliest pages, their greedy behavior is evident. A furniture van is in such a hurry to get away from the Turner home that the driver nearly runs down young Judy as she crosses the road. The book later reveals that the driver and his accomplices have just robbed the Turners of valuable silver heirlooms. These same thieves later try to steal all the furnishings of the Topham cottage at Moon Lake.

To cover up their crimes, they lock Nancy in a closet and the cabin’s caretaker in an outdoor shed. It’s likely that neither victim will ever escape. Much later, when one of the thieves expresses remorse, the leader snaps, “We ain’t got no time for a fight unless we want to land behind bars!” (132). The other retorts, “And if we do, it’ll be your fault, Sid Sax. You left that girl to starve—” (132). The leader interrupts, shouting, “Shut up!” (132). Nancy is resourceful enough to escape, and she leads the State Patrol on a chase after the bandits. When they’re finally captured, the thieves are tied to many other crimes in the area and are justly punished. They pay a high price for their greed and ruthlessness.

Similarly, the entire Topham family exhibits greed in one form or another. Ada and Isabel are eager to receive Josiah’s inheritance. When it becomes apparent that Nancy might interfere with their plans, they initiate a fight with her in a dress shop: “As Nancy continued to hold the dress, Ada, in a rage, snatched it from her hands, causing a long tear in the chiffon skirt. ‘Oh!’ Isabel cried out. ‘Now you’ve done it! We’d better get out of here, Ada!’” (24-25). Rather than pay for the torn clothing, the girls leave Nancy to bear the expense.

The Topham parents are more culpable than their daughters because they play an active role in challenging Josiah’s will. Mrs. Topham watches the old man carefully before he dies in the hopes of preventing him from amending his will. Her husband hires a lawyer to force their version of the will through probate. No member of the family exhibits the briefest glimmer of generosity, and they’re repaid for their heartlessness. In the end, Mr. Topham loses his fortune. Mrs. Topham loses her fancy home and social status. The daughters are forced to go to work. In the world of Nancy Drew, neither crime nor greed pays.

The Pursuit of Justice

As in many subsequent Nancy Drew mysteries, the plot of The Secret of the Old Clock revolves around the pursuit of justice. Because of Josiah’s eccentricities, many deserving people are left without the funds he promised them. Conversely, the absence of his definitive will enables greedy people like the Tophams to exploit the situation. The novel presents the true beneficiaries in financial straits that could all be resolved if they had the necessary means. The Turners wish to give Judy a good education and provide for her care while she’s growing up. The Hoovers need money to keep their farm running and pay for Allison’s vocal training. The Mathews brothers could use money to supplement their fruit farm and allow them to travel. Abby Rowen is in dire straits without home health care. The novel carefully builds a case for why each of these people deserves to receive financial help. Their plight makes the greed of the Tophams even more despicable by comparison.

Both Nancy and her father have a keen sense of justice. Carson Drew is a lawyer who uses his skills to fight for what’s right. He offers to defend the Hoovers pro bono if a new will can be found. Father and daughter often discuss legal cases, and Nancy occasionally acts as an errand girl to serve her father’s legal business. The law functions in the background and offers support to both characters when they need additional help to ensure that justice is done. The blood connection of the Drews is far less important than their shared devotion to the concept of justice. Late in the story, a state trooper overtly states this affiliation: “When Nancy showed her driver’s license as identification, the policeman glanced at her with new interest. Taking her aside, he said, ‘So you’re the daughter of Carson Drew! I see you’re following in his footsteps’” (140).

Ultimately, Nancy’s interest in fighting crime is less about mimicking her father than about her innate desire to live in a fair world:

Nancy rode along, glancing occasionally at the neatly planted fields on either side. Beyond were rolling hills. ‘Pretty,’ she commented to herself. ‘Oh, why can’t all people be nice like this scenery and not make trouble?’ (34).

This comment is more than a wistful observation. Nancy is perfectly prepared to guarantee that those who make trouble for the innocent are brought to justice.

A Modern Heroine

The Secret of the Old Clock was first published in 1930, and the timing of its publication is significant. American girls of the era stood on the cusp of the modern age. Novel series that featured girl heroines had become popular in the 19th century, but they featured one of two types: passive and obedient heroines who needed male assistance or flawed girls whose character defects were resolved by the end of the story.

Nancy Drew was predominantly defined by the first author who took the pen name Carolyn Keene—Mildred Wirt Benson. She was 24 when she wrote the first Nancy Drew mystery. Significantly, Benson came of age during the “Roaring 20s.” The 1920s was a period of dramatic social change. Girls were no longer confined by whalebone corsets or long gowns with trains and bustles. The flapper era allowed them freedom in their attire, and they smoked and drank in public. A few years earlier, some women had participated actively in World War I. Mary Roberts Rinehart, a popular American mystery writer, was a war correspondent in Belgium. Agatha Christie, the queen of the golden age mystery, was a nurse and ambulance driver.

To reflect the expanded role of women in society, Benson created Nancy Drew as resourceful and self-reliant. While the teen detective occasionally demonstrates impatience, this isn’t a failing that she must abandon to be accorded heroine status. At multiple points in the story, Nancy demonstrates her nerve and self-reliance. She changes a flat tire, fixes a broken boat motor, breaks herself out of a locked closet, and knows how to use a screwdriver to reveal the hiding place of the missing will.

Rather than running away from danger, Nancy is inclined to run toward it. When she realizes that the mystery van probably holds the missing Turner silver heirlooms, Nancy jumps into her convertible and gives chase. She also leads the police on a highway chase to track down the same van later in the novel. In the story’s most suspenseful scene, Nancy sneaks into the van to retrieve Josiah’s clock, knowing that three brutal thieves are only a short distance away. When they return unexpectedly, she must figure out an escape route for herself. While such tactics would be standard fare for any postmillennial heroine, Nancy’s fictional antecedents would have been shocked and appalled at her bravery and initiative. Generations of American girls needed a stronger role model to inspire them, and Nancy Drew came along just in time.