Moxie and a Good Sense of Balance

The literary character of Nancy Drew, created by the Stratemeyer publishing syndicate in the 1930s, has endured for more than eighty years. Successfully solving complicated mysteries, Nancy Drew offered girls the role model of a confident, independent young woman, functioning simultaneously within what was considered appropriate within the sphere of her gender and outside of that sphere in terms of her so-called moxie. Nancy Drew’s portrayal in the books has changed over the years, reflecting ch