Customer Reviews

The Sign of the Twisted Candles (Nancy Drew, Book 9)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is one of the finest in the Nancy Drew series. It is classic Nancy Drew. The Applewood facsimile books, "As you remember them!" are the only way to enjoy Nancy Drew in my opinion. I love the old fashioned clothing, sayings and settings much more than the yellow spine books of today that are so condensed they read all the same. The old style books are written with quality in mind and evoke a different period in our American history.

Nancy Drew is like Betty Crocker or Paul Bunyon, a famous American who never really existed. But to girls who read these books, Nancy Drew is as real as a best friend.

I know many people complain that syndicated series like Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys and The Three Investigators are of little literary merit because they are ghost-written. This is not strictly true for Nancy Drew, but even so, I see no real reason to pronounce these books as inferior to single author, non-serial books.

Nancy Drew is leading its fourth generation of girls to reading, something that can't be said of all of the supposedly "better" books.

The Sign of the Twisted Candles is one of the best books in the series, and an early one; as such, it is a great introduction to Nancy Drew (you don't miss anything by not reading the books in order). It's compelling, and just chilling enough for a thrill, but not for a real scare. It's suitable for any girl who reads well enough to read "chapter" books, which can be girls as young as seven. Once a girl picks up the Nancy Drew habit, she is generally hooked for life. She'll read the books into her early teens, and may even occasionally turn back to favorite books as an adult.

The new Sign of the Twisted Candles is available, and the new book is very good, but if the girl for who it is bought keeps up with Nancy Drew, check the used book listings for an older version of the story. The early books were all updated in the sixties, so different versions exist. The 1930's & 40's 200+ page book were not only brought up to date with regard to inflation, cultural references and such, but were also reduced to 176 pages.

Don't let the girls you know miss out on Nancy Drew.

i really loved this book.there were some sad and exiting parts in this suspenceful book.nancy goes to the sign of the twisted candles inn where rumors are heard that asa sidney,bess's and george's relative is being held prisinor in his own mansion.this is true and when nancy meets carol wipple,who lives in the inn with her foster parents.thats when asa sidney seeks mr.drew to come to the inn to make a will for him.on the way out of the tower room nancy looks out the window to see frank jemmit,carols foster dad burring a chest.but nancy is sure she saw the chest the other day in asa sidneys tower room.is frank jemmit and emma jemmit being dishonest to carol and asa sidney?in mr.sidney's will he leaves alot to carol,but why??find out in this exiting mystery.oh and the most exiting part to me is the 19 chapter where nancy climbs up a ladder to the tower room to see if emma and frank are taking hiding in there.

It's wonderful to find the original version of this to purchase. I read it in my youth as a library book and have been unable to find a copy to purchase in recent years until now. Though my daughter prefers the updated versions of Nancy Drew books, we have both read this one and agree, with some debate, that it is our second favorite book in the series. Sadie's plight with the abusive guardians; the friction between Bess, George and Nancy; the hundred-year-old man, and the fortune makes this story an extremely interesting read for all ages of girls, even older ones like myself. We will be reading this over and over again for many years to come.

In attempt to help a one hundred year old man, Nancy meets a girl being harmed by cruel guardians. While trying to solve the mystery of the Twisted Candles Inn, Nancy almost loses the friendship of her two closest "chums" - Bess and George. Nancy discovers that friendship is more important than a case or two; (of course she solves the mystery as well, after patching things up with her chums!) Read the book to see how Nancy saves the day once again. A great read for mystery fans, young or old.

This review concerns both the original 1933 edition and the revised 1968 edition, which is the one with which most younger readers would be familiar. Both books have a similar story; except the revised edition is shorter, some characters names were changed and some events were either eliminated or altered. During a storm, Nancy, Bess and George seek shelter at an old tea room. While there, they meet a one hundred year old man named Asa Sidney, as well as an orphaned girl and her dishonest guardians. This launches Nancy into the middle of an old family feud between Asa Sidney's relatives and the relatives of his deceased wife, who happens to have been the sister of Bess and George's great-grandfather. Nancy's involvement in the feud ultimately costs her her friendship with Bess and George. Nancy has a lot of work to do as she tries to end the long-standing feud, repair her friendship with Bess and George, discover the parentage of the orphaned girl and prevent the girl's guardians from stealing the fortune that Asa Sidney has amassed. There really isn't much of a mystery to this book; however, the story more than makes up for that. Like all of the other books in the series, it features unscrupulous people up to something dishonest and Nancy's usual desire to help someone in need, but this time she is affected personally because of the loss of her friends. I found the book to be very interesting and the writing was very descriptive (at least in the original version). I recommend reading the original version over the revised edition, if possible, but either way this book should not be missed if you are a fan of Nancy Drew. In my opinion it is one of the 5 best books of the series.

When Nancy visits an Uncle of good friends George and Bess she gets involved with more than just that. Nancy's friendship is put on the line when with the help of her father she must uncover hidden secrets in an old mansion while protecting a young girl from harm. A great mystery with a surprising ending.

First of all, I am an older person, a 64 year old happily married man. Whilst I have been aware of the Nancy Drew books all of my life I had never read any of them.

We purchased the 4 DVD set of the Nancy Drew movies that were made during 1938-1939 and absolutely fell in love with them. As a result my wife bought me the first 6 books in a set. These were the yellow cover books that had been revised from the originals.

Then I ran across the Applewood reprints of the original books. For someone my age it is my opinion that the Applewood books are more appropriate. The vocabulary and writing style of the late 1920's and 1930's was something with which I could identify.

Reading the stories was like talking with my parents and grandparents again - wonderful. For me it was a return to the age of innocence that was long lost: Innocence lost due to time and war.

The 'Sign of the Twisted Candles' is a great, fun tale full of twists and turns just as the book title suggests. I count it among my favorites, but then no matter which of the original Nancy Drew books I happen to read it too immediately becomes a favorite.

The story shows Nancy at her best when confronted with a deep mystery and neither she nor you could ever be dissappointed with this 'Twisted Tale". I highly recommend that you read it - and share the book with your Grandfather.

Any Nancy Drew fan will love this book and read it more than once.

Applewood Books has turned back the hands of time and given back Nancy Drew to readers. Faithfully restored to its original form, word for word, this is the real Nancy. These beautifully reproduced hardback editions are not condensed, rewritten or updated. This is the Nancy Drew of the 1930's, her blonde bob and 30's style dress shown on the facimile of the original dust jacket, conjuring up images and phrases from the enchanted America of yesteryear.

While it is still a book designed for youthful readers, there is a bit more depth here in the originals, and not a small dose of nostalgia when read today. You can almost see the Coke sign outside the River Heights Theatre showing the latest Nancy Carroll picture, as Nancy goes whizzing past in hot pursuit of a clue.

"The Sign of the Twisted Candles" remains one of the best in the series conceived by Edward Stratemeyer, creator of The Hardy Boys. A ghostwriter from Iowa named Mildred Wirt fleshed out his story outlines and "Carolyn Keene" was born. When he died in 1930, his daughter Harriet continued to oversee his company and in 1933 "The Sign of the Twisted Candles," the ninth book in the popular series, was published. A warm and affectionate introduction by mystery writer Carolyn G. Hart is the only addition or deviation from how it first appeared in this lovely edition.

Nancy and her pals George and Bess are caught in a rainstorm and seek shelter at The Sign of the Twisted Candles. Nancy befriends a young orphan named Sadie and finds danger and mystery lurking at the Twisted Candles, of course. The plot revolves around Asa Sydney and his will, and a family fued which will cause George and Bess to desert Nancy for a time until a lesson about loyalty is learned. Nancy's father, famous lawyer Carson Drew, gets involved on behalf of his daughter, and Hannah Gruen, the Drew's houskeeper and mother-figure to Nancy, is present here as well.

Buried secrets and an attempt to run Nancy off the road offer plenty of action unmarred by today's brand of violence for readers. An exciting and heartfelt conclusion punctuates a wholesome mystery which provides a role model even today. These beautiful Applewood editions stand head and shoulders above the others as they help young readers discover Nancy in a romantically nostalgic past. It is a past more innocent to be sure, filled with ice cream parlors and roadsters, five cent Saturday mornings at the movies watching our favorite serial adventure and, of course, Nancy Drew.

Young readers will discover a new friend to rush home to after class and the joy of losing yourself in a book with this edition. Older readers who either read them in their own youth or bought them for their children all the time will heave a wistful sigh for a time long gone in America's past.

I loved this book! I have about 26 other nancy drew books, but this one was one of my favorites! it made you keep saying, "okay, my eyes are getting REALLY tired, I have to stop." at 1:00 in the morning, but you end up reading another 4 cahpters. THe book is about a 100 year old man, named Asa Sidney, who lives in an old mansion which his realatives have turned into a resturaunt and inn. The mansion is really Asa Sidney's but because it is a inn, now, his realatives keep him in the small tower, and have told him that if her went down the steps he would fall, so,he satys up there all the time. He used to be a candle-maker and he got lots of money from some of his invetions with candles.His family had been fueding,on who got his money when he died. His wife's side of the family wanted his money, and the same with his side. His neice, Carol, was his only friend, Carol would sneak up to the tower every once in a while to visit with him. THen, one day, when he got ill, he had Nancy's father draw up a will for him, and Mr. Sidney told Nancy and Carol to start searching for THE SIGN OG THE TWISTED CANDLE, any where they went, he said that where ever a twisted candle, or a picture of a twisted candle was, there would be something very valuable. But the next day, he died and when they read the will.......... well, you'll just have to see for yourself. BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!