UNITED KINGDOM

Other Publishers

ARMADA/ARCHWAY UK -1988-1997

In 1988, Armada, who published the classic series of Nancy Drew titles in the UK, began producing stories from the sister series "The Nancy Drew Files." Armada produced the first 20 titles in the series, whereupon Archway UK took over. This is a little confusing, because the company who produced the Files in the States was also called Archway (essentially, both are subsidiaries of Simon & Schuster), so I always try to demarkate them by using the "UK" designation when appropriate. The British editions use the same numbering system as in the United States. New artwork was created for all the covers through #70, after which US books were reconfigured for the UK market, usually with just a sticker on the back indicating the price in pounds.

 

There are several spine styles associated with the British Files, which I have displayed to the right. The first book is of the "Armada style"; the next two are "Archway UK" style, and I wanted to show that some will have a white spine, while others will have a red box at the top of the spine indicating "The New Series"; the thick book at the far right is a 3-in-1 which shows the "blue top" spine.

Nancy Drew Files - Armada style: Cases #1-20

Uses American artwork for #1-5

Artwork by Gary Keane for #6

Artwork by Andy Walker for #7-20 
(Nancy look like the actress Rebecca de Mornay)
Nancy Drew Files - Archway UK style: Cases#22-70
Artwork is generally attributed to Steve Lavis.
white spine, blue box on front: #22-39
red "The New Series" on spine: #40-70

ARCHWAY U.K. 3-IN-1 TITLES

A marketing strategy which is particularly popular in the UK to issue "three for the price of one" editions.

"Three Complete Files" (1991)

cover like "Armada style" (see above) uses US#1 artwork

  • Secrets Can Kill
  • Deadly Intent
  • Murder on Ice

There were also 7 "2-in-1" volumes of the first 14 stories released under a similar format.

Red Top "New Series"

INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENTS (1993) "No. 1"

  • Sinister Paradise
  • Trouble in Tahiti
  • Vanishing Act

White Spines

DANGEROUS ASSIGNMENTS (1992) "No. 4"

  • Black Widow
  • Pure Poison
  • Death by Design

CITY BLAZES (1995) "No. 3"

  • Rich and Dangerous
  • Playing with Fire
  • Most Likely to Die

DEADLY ADVENTURE (1995) "No. 2"

  • Recipe for Murder
  • Fatal Attraction
  • Till Death Do Us Part

Blue Tops

DIRTY TRICKS (1997)

  • Trouble in Tahiti
  • High Marks for Malice
  • Danger in Disguise

DOUBLE JEOPARDY (1997)

  • Shadow of a Doubt
  • Something to Hide
  • The Wrong Chemistry

DRESSED TO KILL (1997)

  • Last Dance
  • Final Scene
  • The Suspect Next Door

GUEST APPEARANCE (1997)

  • Vanishing Act
  • Bad Medicine
  • Over the Edge

FOUL PLAY (1997)

  • False Impressions
  • Scent of Danger
  • Out of Bounds
Foul Play. Artwork from Don't Look Twice by Steve Lavis, copyright © 1994 by Simon & Schuster Ltd, London.

POCKET BOOKS UK - July 1999 - 2001

In 1999, Pocket Books, which is a division of Simon & Schuster UK, decided to reprint several of Files with a snappy and colorful new format. The covers all feature the fractured Nancy Drew logo, and a symbol of the story surrounded by a flower motif. The petals disintegrate into fingerprints at the bottom left of the flower, making the appearance both girly and mysterious at the same time. The colors are quite vibrant and the petals are many of a glossy substance which contrasts nicely with the matte finish of the book.

As a marketing promotion, Pocket Books conducted a contest wherein clues were inserted in the beginnings of the first nine books. The clues were in a code which consisted of a series of squares, triangles, circles and spots which the Girl Detective in all of us was supposed to interpret.

Best of all, Simon & Schuster implemented a Nancy Drew fan club to garner interest in the revamped series. Enrollment in the club gets you a membership card, "Get on the Case" postcard, "Do Not Cross" sign to hang on your doorknob, code wheel (for solving the code from the contest) and a quarterly Nancy Drew Club Magazine entitled "ClueDunnit?" The 4-page newsletters feature promotions for new Nancy Drew releases, Q&A with female Police Constable Natasha Smart, quizzes, cartoons, puzzles and fan letters. It is a highly-produced layout with lots of graphics.

Plans were made in 2007 to revive some of these covers, revamped  under the "Girl Detective" brand.  Covers were created and posted on online book vendors, but the books were never published.

Mass Market paperback; semi-gloss finish - 7" x 4 3/8"; image from front wraps around to spine; Pocket Books kangaroo logo; Nancy Drew, flower image and title in stylized writing; Carolyn Keene.
Flirting With Danger. Imaging by Black Sheep; copyright © 1999, Viacom International Inc.


The Pocket Books are not numbered, and they were released in no particular order; in other words, they do not follow the same numbering system as the previous Armada/Archway books.

Nancy Drew Files Title

Release Date

Illusions of Evil

July 1999

False Pretences

July 1999

Making Waves

July 1999

Runaway Bride

July 1999

Out of Bounds

September 1999

Flirting with Danger

October 1999

Fatal Attraction

November 1999

Till Death Do Us Part

December 1999

Pure Poison

January 2000

Make No Mistake

February 2000

Instinct For Trouble

March 2000

False Impressions

June 2000

For Love or Money

August 2000

Cold As Ice

October 2000

Sweet Revenge

December 2000

Tall, Dark and Deadly

February 2001

Most Likely to Die

April 2001

Into Thin Air

June 2001

Perfect Plot

August 2001

Tall, Dark and Deadly/Runaway Bride (2 in 1 edition)

September 2001

SWIFT CHILDREN'S BOOKS - possibly Bath?, Chivers Press, published by Firescrest Publishing Ltd., Bath 1985-1992

 

These Swift Books are quite hard to find, especially since you have to compete with Hardy Boys collectors for most of them. All the copies I have are ex-library, so possibly they were not released for public consumption. Although SuperSleuths! recycles the US artwork, the other covers are all original illustrations. The Paul Frame internal illustrations are also still present.

During the 1980s, the first four volumes from the "Be A Detective" series were reprinted, as well as the other peripheral releases, such as SuperSleuths and Camp Fire Stories. Then in the 1990s, Swift appears to have gotten permission to release stories from the "core" series, and produced one each from the Classic Paperback series and the Files.

Digest-size glossy hardback - 7 3/4" H x 5 1/4" W; title in yellow, white line separates from author; Swift "flying bird" logo at base of spine
Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: Secret Cargo. Artwork by Stanley S. Drate, copyright © 1985 Chivers Press.

Title

Year

The Secret of the Knight's Sword

1985

Danger on Ice

1985

The Feathered Serpent

1985

Secret Cargo

1985

SuperSleuths #2

1986

Camp Fire Stories

1986

Super Sleuths

1987

Fatal Ransom (Nancy Drew Files #12)

1991

The Puzzle at Pineview School (Nancy Drew #90)

1992

 

FRANKLIN WATTS - 1988


I have seen evidence that the first 10 or so titles from the Nancy Drew Files series were printed in 1988. To date I have never seen one of these Franklin Watts books, and perhaps they were library editions such as the US Greycastle editions.

 
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© 2000, 2008 Lea Shangraw Fox
Last updated 24 June 2008