In Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion, Nancy Drew packs up her friends and her housekeeper and flies to Merritt Island, Florida, where she investigates a plot to blow up the space base at Cape Kennedy- NASA! Situated near Cocoa Beach, the hometown of Jeannie and Captain Nelson, Nancy and friends stay at an orange-picking grove and work hard to prove the innocence of one of Carson Drew’s clients. While doing so, they stumble upon a mysterious moss-covered mansion, buried behinds woods in suburbia, that is home to various wild, jungle animals and managed by a person who doesn’t want to be found.
Spoilers ahead!
This was decent and fine, but somehow not one of the more compelling ones, despite involving a Russian plot to blow up NASA. That is my interpretation. Are Russians mentioned by name in this book? No. But do all the villains have Russian names and are described as having fallen prey to a foreign ideology? Yes.
That, at least, is the plot of the revised.
Plot of the Original
These are completely different books. They have absolutely no relation except there is a mansion, and it is full of wild animals. Also, Nancy is on vacation in both, but in one she is touring the Space Center at Cape Kennedy, and in the other she’s in some undisclosed location several hours from home, in a city called Ashley.
(After a quick Google search, I’ve found there is an Ashley Ohio, an Ashley Indiana, an Ashley Illinois, and an Ashley North Dakota. All places in Midwest America, and valid options of where this city would be.)
In the original, Nancy is assisting her father in finding a missing heiress who has, unbeknownst to her, inherited quite a bit money. While searching for the young woman, Nancy and her friends turn down a wrong road and stumble upon an old, moss-covered mansion. Intrigued, they approach it on foot, only to hear a lion stalking them from behind. They leave- (very reasonable)- but find themselves followed now by a man named Ramo, who accuses them of shooting his brother who had died near the mansion. Meanwhile, a woman reaches out to Mr. Drew to claim the money- but is it really the young heiress?
Does it sound like a convoluted plot? It is. However, I was rather charmed by the plot-line of the mansion, which is entirely innocent. The mansion is run by an eclectic artist who enjoys drawing jungle animals, and- surprise surprise- is keeping them under control with the assistance of the heiress, who is there to be his model and have her portrait done. I thought that was rather refreshing, as the mansion is kept under suspicion the whole book until the very end, and I was disappointed the revised version didn’t keep this element.
Also, Nancy and her father survive a plane crash. I just thought I’d mention that.
Notes on the Original
- This is how Nancy reacts a few minutes after the girls run away from a lion who was on their scent:
“Shall we turn back?” proposed Nancy. “Very likely the animal has wandered away by this time and we’ll be in no danger.”
- Nancy’s very normal idea after Bess bakes a bad cake:
“Hide it somewhere in the woods,” advised Nancy cheerfully. “I’ll dash into town again and buy one.”
- Bess has a line that made me laugh out loud, because it’s one of my father’s favorite things to say whenever he tries waking his children up unsuccessfully:
“Get up, lazies!” [Nancy] greeted them, laughing. “We have important work ahead of us.”
“No more trips,” Bess said with a groan. “The spirit may be willing but the flesh is weak.”
- Nancy decides to quote me from the time I took my little sister and her friends on a trip to Georgia:
Nancy skillfully turned her auto in the narrow road and gave it all the speed she could.
“Hold tight, girls! This will be a wild ride!” she cried.
Notes on the Revised
- George flexes her Judo chops again in this book:
[George] grabbed his arm and as Nancy staggered away, George buckled the man’s knees and flipped him over her shoulder. He fell to the floor with a crash.
“Good for you, George!” exclaimed Bess in glee.”
- Judo Alert 2, George is perhaps getting a little too comfortable:
“Shall we go tackle him?” George asked. “I’m sure he’s doublecrossing Mr. Billington.”
- This excellent illustration of the group of Nancy, Bess, George, Ned, Dave, and Burt, being attacked with tear gas – the rest of the group shields their eyes, while Nancy alone is looking directly at the attackers. I actually really like this picture.
- At the end of the book, Nancy and Ned are forced into a room which is, in its entirety, a pool full of boiling water with a thin ledge surrounding it. It is revealed to be a creation of the main villain, Fortin, and its sole purpose was for throwing people into who discovered his schemes. A bit grim, isn’t it? And what are the logistics of this?? Is it just always boiling??
- The book begins with the characters attending church, and ends with Nancy and her friends silently saying prayers of thankfulness. Lovely.
My final thoughts: a decent Nancy Drew story, and I thought the revised version was somewhat better, as the NASA plot was fun. What did you think of the Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion?
Moss-Covered Mansion Fruit Gelatin
This recipe was from my Nancy Drew Cookbook:
I’ll just say.. you can’t go wrong when you make what you love. And this is what happens what you make what you hate.
Anyway, here is the recipe:
- 2 packages Lime Gelatin
- 2 cups Boiling Water
- 1 30-oz can Mixed Fruits
- 10-ozs Crushed Pineapple
- Melt Gelatin in Boiling Water. Add juice from the Fruit, plus enough Cold Water to make 2 cups liquid. Then put in the Fruit. Stir well. Pour into a greased mold, a bowl, or custard cups. Place in the refrigerator and let stiffen.
- To loose Gelatin from mold, set in hot water for only a few seconds. Serve plain or with mayonnaise or other salad dressings.
Nancy Tip: If you wish to serve this as a dessert, prepare this topping: 1/4 cup Heavy Cream, 1/4 cup Honey, and 1/4 cup Lemon Juice, all mixed well. Pour over each serving.
I just absolutely did not like this at all, and I think a lot of that is because of Miss Nancy’s tip up there- DO NOT MAKE THE DESSERT TOPPING! I made it exactly according to instruction and it was very acidic and sickly honey tasting- absolutely not good at all.
My boyfriend and my oldest sister both liked the jello dessert itself (not the topping), so perhaps it was fine. I myself do not like jello very much and was not incentivized to try more after tasting it with the horrifying topping. Also, it was too watery. But I was a bit confused by the instructions (make 2 cups liquid? Two extra cups of liquid while adding the fruit?) but that is likely because, as I have stated before, I cannot read. Has anyone else made this recipe from the Nancy Drew Cookbook? Did you have a better experience than me?
Philosodrama 
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