The Secret of the Old Clock

The Secret of the Old Clock is a mystery novel written in 1930. The main character in the story is a female named Nancy Drew. She is looking for the will, in which the destitute family had promised money to her. She is described as a strong-willed, smart and attractive lady. The book is recommended to the people that love mystery stories.

Plot Summary

The Secret of the Old Clock begins with an event happening with a small girl, little Judy, being involved in an accident. She almost gets hit by a truck, but Nancy rescues her and carries to her house. Here, she finds Judy’s aunts, Mary and Edna Turners. Nancy Drew, who is a 16 year old high school graduate, wants to assist Horners, who are Josiah Crowley’s relatives that have been recently deceased. Nancy later establishes that the girl does not have parents, and that she lives with her aunts, the Turners. The sisters are destitute and unable to pay or afford the little girl’s education any longer. They cannot finance the education of their niece due to the lack of funds. After having asked the sisters few questions, Nancy later finds out that Mr. Josiah Crowley, a good friend of theirs and a dead will-wisher, promised to bequeath the sisters’ part of his fortune in his will, so that they would not suffer after his death.

Two other daughters, Ada and Isabel, that had been visiting school with Nancy, are also claiming that they had been promised the part of Crowley’s fortune among five others heirs. The other five heirs were Grace and Alison, Fred and William and Abby Rowen.

She becomes initially interested, since she does not like Crowley’s arrogant, nouveau-riche and ambitious heirs. Nancy is also discrediting the Tophams, the other arrogant rivals of Crowley’s family. Helen Corning, a close friend of her, assists her with this till the end. Topham's sister gets discredited by Nancy at the department store during a nasty encounter after she has broken an expensive vase. Nancy finds out from an old injured lady after interviewing different Crowley’s friends and relatives that he had provided the hint for the clue to his will, and that it may be found in the family’s clock. Nancy sells the tickets that Hellen has given to her to Topham in order to gain the entry to their homestead and ask them concerning the clock (Keene, 1930).

 Afterwards, she joins Helen to inquire about Topham’s summer-house in the neighborhood at the summer camp. She then gets overpowered by the pilferer who has stole Crowley’s clock and other furniture that belonged to Topham. She gets hold of the will in the empty house as the Afro-American caretaker gets drunk in a nearby club.

Nancy successfully obtains the clock when the pilferers are heavily drinking at the nearby club. She is exposed to the police as the person hiding some evidence stolen intentionally from the police; and the police-robber chase is involving the gunfire. Nancy gets seen as happy after taking the cash from Topham and handing money to the poor families. It is displayed in the climactic scene, which is described before the epilogue and denouement. She is shown as an unusually strong-willed woman, though a little competitive when it comes to Topham. At the same time, she is being altruistic and charitable towards poor heirs. Nancy totally enjoys watching people in the River Heights Class losing their grip of their status that they have earned with money as opposed to the character.

Main Character

The novel features a female character, Nancy Drew, as brave and smart while she is rescuing her fiancée, instead of this happening vice versa. The book does not have dull moments, and the one could read it as many times as possible without getting bored. She is inquisitive and keen; these are the traits that she has inherited from her father, who was a hugely famous and dignified attorney. In the process of unearthing mysteries, Nancy comes across shocking revelations, burglars, and eerie girls, yet she remains unshaken herself.

She is a blonde, attractive and tall girl with keen eyes. She has inherited her appearance from her father who is considered to be a dignified lawyer.

It is a fantastic book which is not very hard to read, though not so easy. I would recommend it to others for a good home reading. It has the main heroine. It is determined for any person who loves mysteries.

Conclusion

The Secret of the Old Clock is a novel that can be recommended for those people, which love mystery stories. The main character is Nancy Drew, who is a smart and brave lady.