The Evolution of Nancy Drew, Cultural Icon: Readers, Writers, and Fanfiction Authors

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dc.contributor.advisorMary Helen Thuente, Committee Chairen_US
dc.contributor.advisorJohn Kessel, Committee Memberen_US
dc.contributor.advisorDavid M. Rieder, Committee Memberen_US
dc.contributor.authorMerrill, Ashleyen_US
dc.date.accessioned2010-04-02T18:11:09Z
dc.date.available2010-04-02T18:11:09Z
dc.date.issued2007-04-06en_US
dc.degree.disciplineEnglishen_US
dc.degree.levelthesisen_US
dc.degree.nameMAen_US
dc.descriptionNorth Carolina State University Theses English.
dc.description.abstractNancy Drew is widely recognized as an influential American cultural icon. In this paper I make a detailed examination of Nancy's initial characterization as girl sleuth in the first ten books of the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, published in the 1930s. I spend another chapter examining the initial volumes of later Nancy Drew series books, specifically the 1960s rewritten texts, the 1980s-90s Nancy Drew Files series, and the contemporary Girl Detective series. My penultimate chapter discusses Nancy Drew as realized in fanfiction, or stories written by readers and fans. My emphasis is on explaining Nancy's appeal as a cultural icon and the ways fanfiction authors reinvent and appropriate that icon for their own purposes in stories. To this end I cite fanfic writers and readers' response to why they read and write Nancy Drew fanfiction, and I analyze the content and function of a sample of stories written by Nancy Drew fans. I conclude that Nancy's appeal and the basis of her status as cultural icon is due to her unique nature as a figure frozen in transition between adolescence and adulthood, along with her more conventionally admirable traits. Her Everygirl appearance when removed from that unique matrix makes her extremely adaptable to readers for their own purposes, both within the context of fanfiction and without.en_US
dc.formatThesis (M.A.)--North Carolina State University.
dc.identifier.otheretd-03212007-201056en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.16/2193
dc.rightsI hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dis sertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to NC State University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report.en_US
dc.subjectcultural iconen_US
dc.subjectfanficen_US
dc.subjectNancy Drewen_US
dc.subjectpopular cultureen_US
dc.subjectgirl sleuthen_US
dc.subjectgirl detectiveen_US
dc.subjectfanfictionen_US
dc.titleThe Evolution of Nancy Drew, Cultural Icon: Readers, Writers, and Fanfiction Authorsen_US
dcterms.abstractKeywords: cultural icon, fanfic, Nancy Drew, popular culture, girl sleuth, girl detective, fanfiction.
dcterms.extentvi, 89 pages : illustrations (some color)

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