UNITED KINGDOM
 

Although British English cannot truly be called a separate language, the British Nancy Drew books are certainly foreign editions. These books were actually "translated" to a certain degree as some of the text would be Anglicized for the U.K. audience, such as the use of "torch" for flashlight or "lift" for elevator.

There is a multitude of formats released by various publishers in the U.K., many of which are subsidiary companies of the original publishers. The formats relate back generally to the American editions (e.g., dust jackets, picture covers, paperbacks), but the U.K. editions created new artwork for the covers.

Below are listed the names of the publishers . The details regarding the dust-jacketed books are described on this page, but for picture covers and paperbacks you will need to link to the appropriate pages.

Dust Jackets
Picture Covers
Paperbacks
Harold Hill & Co.
Collins
Armada (5 formats)
Sampson Low & Co.
Angus & Robertson
Archway U.K./Franklin Watts
MacDonald
Swift Children's Books
Diamond and other 3-in-1s

THE DUST JACKETED BOOKS

The earliest UK editions came in a style similar to those available at the time in the U.S. - a plain hardback book with a silhouette of Nancy on the cover by the title, encased in a paper dust jacket with a colorful illustration on the front. The first publishers, Harold Hill & Co., had new artwork created for their covers, but the subsequent editions by Sampson-Low and MacDonald used contemporary American artwork.

By popular demand, click here to view the gallery of all the Varty covers produced for Harold Hill & Company.

 

© 1954 Harold Hill & Son Limited, Newcastle Upon Tyne

Artwork by Bill Gillies © 1950 Grosset & Dunlap, New York.
Harold Hill & Son Limited

Green boards under DJ; thick book; DJ illustration original - not attributed, but signed "Varty" on lower left corner; 4 cartoon panels of next book in series on back of DJ; digger endpapers in slightly lighter blue than American books; title and black 1950s silhouette of Nancy on cover

Sampson Low & Co - wrap/white spine

Green boards under DJ; digger endpapers in slightly lighter blue than American books; title and black 1950s silhouette of Nancy on cover

Artwork by Rudy Nappi © 1954 Grosset & Dunlap, New York.

Artwork by Rudy Nappi © 1962 Grosset & Dunlap, New York.
Sampson Low & Co. - yellow spine

Red boards under DJ; green and white Dana Girls (walking) endpapers; title and black 1950s silhouette of Nancy on cover

MacDonald

Red boards under DJ; often had no title on front of book, just black 1950s silhouette of Nancy.

Here is the grid of the DJ numbering system (different than those used for picture covers and paperbacks). If there is a grey space in a cell below, this indicates that the titles was not available in that format; tan space below means that title was probably not available in that format.

U.K. No.

Title

Harold Hill

Sampson Low wrap/white

Sampson Low yellow-spine

MacDonald

1

Old Clock

1954

2

Hidden Staircase

1954

3

Bungalow

1954

4

Lilac Inn

1954

5

Shadow Ranch

1955

6

Red Gate Farm

1954

7

Clue in Diary

wrap 1960

8

Mysterious Letter

year not indicated (1960)

1969 (Nappi)

9

Twisted Candles

wrap 1960

10

Larkspur Lane

wrap* 1960

1969 (Nappi #2)

11

Broken Locket

wrap 1962

12

Hollow Oak

white spine 1962

13

Golden Pavilion

1963

14

Old Stagecoach

1963

15

Fire Dragon

1963

16

Dancing Puppet

1963

18

Haunted Showboat

1964

17?

Hidden Window

1964

19

Moonstone Castle

1964

20

Whistling Bagpipes

1964

21

Velvet Mask

1965

22

Ringmaster's Secret

1965

23

Scarlet Slipper

1965

24

Witch Tree

1965

25

Pine Hill

1966

26

Leaning Chimney

1966

27

Wooden Lady

1966

28

Black Keys

1966

29

Ski Jump

1967

30

99 Steps

1967

31

Blackwood Hall

1967

32

Old Album

1967 (Nappi #1)

33

Crossword Cipher

1967

34

Old Attic

1968 (Nappi #1)

35

Crumbling Wall

1968 (Nappi #1)

36

Tolling Bell

1968

37

Spider Sapphire

1969

38

Jewel Box

1969 (Nappi #1)

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© 1998, 1999, 2000 Lea Shangraw Fox
Last updated 13 May 2000