every food in: Nancy Drew #9, The Sign of the Twisted Candles
Nancy Drew #9: The Sign of the Twisted Candles, by Carolyn Keene
Published 1933, revised 1968
Yes - two Nancys in a row! Honestly, probably a lot of Nancys in a row. There’s so many of them, and they’re so quick to read, that when I was writing these on the original blog I went through 15 or so in a row.
It’s kind of fitting actually, that I’m revisiting them during a time of national anxiety and my own very high personal anxiety. I used to hide in these a lot when I was younger, and part of the reason I reread them for the original blog is that I was going through a series of distressing personal events, including but not limited to multiple relatives having serious health scares, a newly-acquired stalker, and a bad mental health episode, and needed something comforting. Even more fitting, then, that I would read the Sign of the Twisted Candles at the time. In this one, Nancy helps an elderly man (Asa) who is on the verge of death secure a safe home for his younger relative/caretaker. It’s surprisingly well done, considering the usual tone of these books, and I wasn’t expecting to feel so invested in Carol’s safety. This one was my favorite of all of the ones I’ve read so far, I think.
So far, I’ve learned that Nancy spends a lot of time in inns and hotels in the first 15-20 books. I suspect this might be a 1930s cultural thing leftover from the first revision (she’s wealthy! she’s fashionable! she travels!), but she’s constantly getting caught in storms, or having car trouble, and deciding to stay at the first random house or inn or resort she finds without telling anyone. To that end, the food isn’t really updated from the 30s in this one, even though the rest of the book has been - there’s a distinctly retro feel to most of the food from both Hannah and the innkeepers. (Stay tuned for a recipe test in a few posts.)
This is one of the best in the series in terms of well written literary food descriptions. There’s a lot of actual full menus, and very carefully described food preparation as well. If you’re looking to hold a Nancy Drew themed dinner or tea, this title is likely your best reference point.
As usual, I’ve put links to any food you might be unfamiliar with. with a few exceptions.
The butterfly pie is almost certainly something Carol invented, just to be whimsical. There is such a real thing as butterfly pie, but it’s a molasses based pie - nothing even close to lemon chiffon. I made a version of this as a kid after reading the book, and it can be done pretty easily by cutting pizzelles into the right shape.
The exact type of fruit punch is unspecified, but Asa refers to it as “very good”, and later on Bess chases a maraschino cherry around the bottom of her cup. It would have almost certainly have been homemade by Carol. This prohibition era book is from around the same time the original Twisted Candles was published, and is a good starting point to see what kind of drinks people were making at home. Nancy and her friends don’t generally drink much, since these are children’s books, but the fruit punch is a pretty obvious nod towards sweet drinks being a 30s trend because they were used to disguise moonshine. Especially given that Bess’s drink is garnished with a maraschino cherry. She’s probably not drinking bathtub gin, but it is pretty funny to notice.
Canned chocolate milk. They don’t really say what kind, and at first I assumed Milo - but Milo doesn’t exist yet, in 1933. It’s a decent possibility that Carol and Asa were receiving a ration of milk from the government, since she’s a minor and he’s too old to work. But we really don’t know.
Chapter 1: The Tower Room
“Some tea and cinnamon toast..”
“a plateful of golden cinnamon toast”
“We’ll have jellied consomme, sliced breast of chicken, hearts of lettuce with Roquefort dressing, nut bread, ice cream, chocolate layer cake, and fruit punch.”
Chapter 4: A Strange Story
“a cup of steaming cocoa and homemade cookies for Nancy, while [Hannah] and Mr. Drew had second cups of coffee.”
Chapter 8: Eavesdropper
Some sandwiches, and a pitcher of cocoa
Chapter 10: A Shocking Summons
A roast put in the oven by Carol, type unspecified
Chapter 12: A Capture
Roast beef
“Butterfly pie” - lemon chiffon pie with “two large wafers, which [Carol] had stuck two large wafers which she had fashioned into the shape of butterfly wings”
Chapter 20: Startling Confession
“Nancy found canned chocolate milk, potted ham, and some relatively fresh bread. She made a sandwich and heated the milk.”
