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Origndtws

Original 1937 book cover art.

Whispering-statue-carolyn-keene-hardcover-cover-art

Revised 1970 book cover art.

The Whispering Statue is the fourteenth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series.

Plot summary

1937

Nancy, Bess, and George encounter a troublesome stray terrier on their way to the opening festivities of a new park and recreation complex in River Heights. The terrier carries the handbag of one of the guest speakers into a nearby pond. Nancy retrieves the handbag, and uses the wet notes to prompt the speaker during her address. Nancy learns that the woman seeks her estranged husband. Nancy keeps the terrier temporarily, and takes it with her when she, her father, and friends go on a retreat to the seashore. On the train, the girls observe elderly Bernice Conger, and suspect a youthful companion of trying to swindle the woman.

Once there, the girls find a statue with an uncanny resemblance to Nancy, in a whispering pose. Further mysterious actions occur when Mrs. Conger acknowledges that she is being swindled, and dismisses Nancy. A seaplane accident leads Nancy to the estranged husband she has been seeking. In the climax of the story, Nancy hides behind the statue and uses her voice to make the statue appear to speak to both Mrs. Conger and the crook.

1970

Nancy is asked to solve a puzzling mystery, whereupon she encounters a second case. The first mystery concerns a valuable collection of rare books. Wealthy Mrs. Horace Merriam has commissioned a supposedly reputable art dealer to sell the collection, but she now suspects that the man is a swindler. The second mystery involves the baffling theft of a beautiful marble statue, which bears an uncanny likeness to Nancy.The statue is known to whisper.Nancy becomes an undercover employee of the dealer. An attempted kidnapping, a nearly disastrous sailboat collision, and an encounter with a dishonest sculptor are just a few of the exciting challenges that Nancy is faced with as she gathers evidence against a clever ring of art thieves.

Artwork

The original 1937 cover art is by Russell H. Tandy, and shows Nancy crouched behind a statue, speaking to a man. Rudy Nappi illustrated the same scene for the 1962 picture cover edition, with updated clothing and hairstyles. Nappi also illustrated the cover of the 1970 edition, which is predominantly blue and white, featuring Nancy's profile behind an overlay of a statue.

Trivia

  • Nancy's dog Togo is introduced in this volume.
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