The Secret of the Old Clock is the first volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. It was first published on April 28, 1930 and revised in 1959 by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. Nancy Drew is an eighteen-year-old high school graduate. Her father, Carson Drew, is a well-known criminal defense lawyer. The Drews reside in River Heights and employ a housekeeper, Hannah Gruen. In early editions, she is depicted as a mere servant; later in the series she becomes more of a family member. In 2001, the novel ranked 53rd on Publishers Weekly's list of the all-time best-selling hardcover children's books in English, having sold about 2.7 million copies. Sixteen-year-old Nancy Drew wishes to help the Turners, who are struggling relatives of the recently deceased Josiah Crowley. Aided along the way by chum Helen Corning, she becomes interested in the case because she dislikes his snobbish "nouveau-riche" social-climbing heirs presumptive, the Tophams. A ...