In The Clue of the Tapping Heels, Nancy Drew puts on her dancing shoes and works with her friends, Bess and George, to assist the elderly Miss Carter, a former dancer, who has come into some financial troubles. Miss Carter has been sustaining herself just barely by selling off her prized Persian cats, but as the cats begin to go missing and strange tapping noises are heard all over her house, Nancy and the girls find they have their work cut out for them.
Spoilers ahead!
I have now started reading the both the original and the revised version of the Nancy Drew novels. I think my above summary accurately describes both books, which I am proud of. Because these are two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORIES!
Differences between the Original and Revised
OG Plot: Elderly Miss Carter is a former dancer who has retired to Berryville and raises Persian cats. She’s a kind and warm person, but irresponsible, and recklessly spends her money on those she perceives in need. Gus Woonton, a boy with a cognitive disability who has been under the guardianship of her neighbors, is just one of those individuals in need, whom Ms. Carter has sponsored with her own money to stay at a hospital.
Revised Plot: Miss Carter, now an invalid, needs 24/7 help and is being assisted by an acquaintance of Hannah Gruen’s, Mrs. Bealing. She raises Persian cats for the express purpose of selling them. Gus Woonton, now a disturbed grown man, continually breaks into Ms. Carter’s house to find valuables he stashed away years ago when he lived in the home.
OG Ending: Nancy gets kidnapped by Fred Bunce and his wife, and is stashed on a boat headed to South America. Bess, George, and the police board the ship searching for her, and the friends are able to find her due to her tapping H-E-L-P in Morse Code on the door of her locked room. Fred Bunce is put on trial, and Gus ‘Woonton,’ who actually turns out to be Gus Bunce, is given a surgery that removes his disability (???).
Revised Ending: The girls finally trap grown Gus Woonton, who is actually Gus Woonton and not Gus Bunce, one night while he has broken into the home. Gus admits to all sorts of shenanigans, none of them being the most dangerous the friends have experienced (such as locking Nancy and Ned in a room and setting it on fire). It turns out these crimes have all been committed by Fred Bunce, who is trying to cover up that he’s been stealing the Woonton inheritance, in addition to stealing Ms. Carter’s cats and selling them. Fred Bunce is arrested, Gus Woonton goes to therapy (I assume), and the story ends with Nancy performing a tap dance number in a play.
Thoughts
I’ve pared down the differences quite a bit, because there are a lot. I can truly say that these are two entirely different stories.
I went on quite a bit in my last review about how superior the original version was to he revised, and this one has brought me back down to earth a bit. This was just alright. I think the originals are all unquestionably written better, but I actually don’t think it was very superior in quality. It was just okay, and to top it off, Nancy was racist. It was very uncomfortable to read, and a bit disenchanting.
Overall, not terrible, but not my favorite. What did you think of The Clue of the Tapping Heels?
Tapping Heels Griddle Cakes
This simple recipe came from my lovely Nancy Drew cookbook:
The recipe is as follows:
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 2 tbsps Melted Butter
- 1 Egg
- 1 cup Flour
- 2 tsps Baking Powder
- 2 tbsps Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- Beat the Milk, Butter, and Egg lightly in a large bowl.
- Sift the other ingredients together and add them to the liquid mixture. Stir just enough to dampen the Flour. If necessary, add more Milk to make the batter as thick as heavy cream.
- Lightly grease the griddle or skillet. Heat. Sprinkle a few drops of water on it. When the drops “dance” around, the pan is hot enough. Spoon the batter onto the pan. When bubbles start to form on a cake, flip it over with a pancake turner.
Makes 8 cakes.
Nancy Tip: Pour Honey or Maple Syrup 1/2 inch deep into a skillet and let it simmer. As the cakes are baked, ease them into the skillet. Cook 15 seconds on each side. Serve with a tbsp of Melted Butter poured on top.
I went a little rogue with this recipe. For one thing, I made waffles, and I can’t for the life of me understand why. I read ‘griddle’ and truly saw ‘waffle.’
While I was making these, I was brewing some really pungent blueberry herbal tea. It smelled so strongly of blueberry that I added some to the waffle batter. Unfortunately, herbal tea smells much better than it tastes, so it gave these waffles kind of a weird aftertaste.
Nancy’s tip is FANTASTIC. Is cooking waffles/pancakes in maple syrup healthy? No, but if you’re trying to be healthy, you aren’t eating waffles, so does it matter? I used my Dad’s homemade maple syrup for this.
Ultimately, very yummy. This is a simple waffle recipe elevated by a little trick that creates something really indulgent. Have you tried cooking your waffles in maple syrup before?
Philosodrama 
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