In Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk, Nancy Drew has set sail with her friends Bess and George on the Winschoten, an ocean liner set sail from South Africa to New York. After leaving the port, she quickly meets another young woman named Nelda who is bunking with her and the girls. Nelda, falsely framed for jewelry theft in her hometown of Johannesburg, has left for the States to have a fresh start. However, she quickly finds that the real jewel thieves are aboard as well, and are intent on retrieving a brass-bound trunk that was mistakenly stashed in the girls’ cabin.
Spoilers ahead!
This was so fun! I first the read the original version from 1940, and then next the revised version from 1968. I can, for once, honestly say they are both bangers. However, I preferred the revised, so that is what I summarized above.
The vibe of this book, particularly the revised, was really special; I think the only way I can capture it is to describe the events as such: Wrong trunk arrives in Nancy and her friend’s room. From that moment forward, the room, the trunk, and the girls are under constant attack. At least three times a day someone tries breaking into their room, enticing them out, or tossing them overboard. It’s such an endless onslaught of attack after attack after attack that the book moves quite speedily, and is never bogged down at any point. It’s just plain fun.
Differences between the Original and the Revised
- Time on Land versus Time on the Boat
The original is considerably longer, as it has five additional chapters, and all of these and then some are spent building up the tension before Nancy ever even steps foot on the boat.
In the revised, Nancy is already on her way back from Africa. In the original, at least 10 chapters in, she leaves River Heights to go to South America. And several chapters at the end are spent resolving the mystery in South America. In contrast, the revised is spent from start to finish on the boat.
- Nancy ‘Resolves’ a Love Triangle
This subplot exists only in the original, and honestly, I hated it. The way it was resolved was atrocious to me.
Part of the reason Nancy goes on the boat is to babysit the daughter of one of Carson Drew’s friends, Doris Trenton. Doris has been cold to a man her father favors her to marry, and the adults are hoping Nancy can steer the young woman straight. Nancy, on her end, thinks Doris should make her own decisions in regards to love and marriage. What neither Doris nor Nancy realize is that the young man, Henry Washburn, has followed Doris onto the boat with intentions of wooing her.
Henry is portrayed as well-meaning and clueless. He likes Doris and is a bit mystified by her coldness to him. All his advances toward her are pretty solidly turned down. While on the boat, Henry meets Nestrelda, a sweet young woman bunking with Nancy. Nestrelda and Henry hit it off instantly- and unlike Doris, she really sincerely likes him.
Nancy watches as these two spend time together on the boat falling in love, and she has no issues with it at all UNTIL!- she realizes that Nestrelda’s mother and step-father are responsible for an international jewelry theft scheme. At that point, Nancy begins warning Henry away from Nestrelda, to avoid scandal. He goes to Nancy for advice, as he feels torn about Nestrelda and Doris, and Nancy doesn’t tell him why, but she strongly encourages him to not see Nestrelda or send her any messages. She also begins talking more to Doris- “Are you sure you don’t like Henry? Would you really be happy if he stopped pursuing you?”
Henry listens to her advice, and Doris takes her words to heart, and the two get engaged. And Nestrelda is left out to dry, due to the misdeeds of her family. Yay!
What an atrocious ending. Nancy Drew doesn’t often come off this way, but this plot line struck me as deeply antiquated- we have notions of personal responsibility these days that don’t jive with this sort of thinking at all, where association with a person is desirable or not based on the respectability of their family. This was cut entirely from the revised – a wise decision.
Additional Notes
- When Nancy first meets Nelda, her unexpected bunk-mate, she’s not sure if Nelda is a trustworthy person, but then she thinks this:
“But she’s so lovely,” Nancy argued with herself. “I just can’t believe there’s anything dishonest about her.”
Very solid 10/10 reasoning, as one would expect from a detective.
- After a meteor crash lands in the ocean right next to the ship and nearly topples it over (yes, really), there is this sweet note that night:
Before each girl went to sleep, she said a prayer of thanks for being unhurt at a time when there might have been a great catastrophe.
I love these small mentions of church and prayers that are sprinkled into the books.
- The clever jewel theft villains communicate with each other secretly without revealing their plans by speaking to one another in Sign Language. A foolproof plan, only slightly foiled by the fact that Nancy can somewhat read Sign. One wonders why they don’t just talk with words in the privacy of their rooms.
- Throughout this whole book, Nancy has flirty vibes with a 30-year old man who assists the girls in solving the brass-bound trunk mystery. It’s a little weird, but nothing comes of it, and the book ends with Ned coming to meet them as the ship settles in America, so I suppose all is well. That might be my only complaint- this was a great story.
And that’s that. I teased a little, but I REALLY liked this one. No complaints about the revised version. The Nestrelda love story in the original was terrible, but not bad enough to ruin that book, either. I haven’t been rating the Nancy Drew novels so far, but this one would be one of my favorites.
What did you think of the Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk?
Brass Bound Trunk Candy
This recipe came from my handy Nancy Drew cookbook:
It goes as follows:
- 16 ozs Semisweet Chocolate Pieces
- 2/3 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Flavoring
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 3/4 cup Dry Oatmeal
- 1/3 cup any kind Chopped Nuts , unsalted (I used Pecans)
- 1/4 cup Flaked Coconut
- Pour water in the bottom of a double boiler and bring to a slow boil. In the top of the boiler melt Chocolate Pieces. Then add Condensed Milk, Vanilla, Salt, Oatmeal, Chopped Nuts, and Coconut to the melted chocolate. Stir until well blended.
- Grease the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square pan. Spread the candy mixture in the greased pan. Put in the refrigerator to chill.
- When the candy is firm, cut into squares. Wrap each candy square individually in cellophane or plastic wrap. Fill a glass vase or metal canister with the candy for a delicious holiday gift.
Nancy Tip: If you are making the squares for Valentine’s Day, decorate the container with paper hearts for an appropriate touch.
This was easy and tasty. Not delicious, but I may have overcooked the chocolate? I kept it on top of the bain-marie while I tried mixing everything else with it.. it may have just been too long.
But, this became a snack that I picked at for the next week, and it staved off the chocolate cravings. Not too bad for an easy sweet.
Philosodrama 
Leave a comment