The mystery at Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene

The Mystery at Lilac Inn is the fourth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1930 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Mildred Wirt Benson was the ghostwriter of the 1930 edition. In 1961, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams extensively revised the novel, creating a completely different story. The original omitted the lead characters from much of the action, the titular inn was only a place where a crime was committed with minor investigatory follow-up, and a domestic help subplot was out of place in 1961. Ethnic slurs and opinions were removed. (This summary is from Wikipedia.)

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About this eBook

Author Keene, Carolyn
Illustrator Tandy, Russell H., 1891-1963
Title The mystery at Lilac Inn
Original Publication New York, NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 1930.
Series Title Nancy Drew mystery stories ; 4
Note Wikipedia page about this book: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mystery_at_Lilac_Inn
Credits Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net
Summary The Mystery at Lilac Inn is the fourth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1930 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Mildred Wirt Benson was the ghostwriter of the 1930 edition.
In 1961, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams extensively revised the novel, creating a completely different story. The original omitted the lead characters from much of the action, the titular inn was only a place where a crime was committed with minor investigatory follow-up, and a domestic help subplot was out of place in 1961. Ethnic slurs and opinions were removed.
(This summary is from Wikipedia.)
Language English
LoC Class PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres
Subject Teenage girls -- Juvenile fiction
Subject Mystery and detective stories
Subject Theft -- Juvenile fiction
Subject Women detectives -- Juvenile fiction
Subject Drew, Nancy (Fictitious character) -- Juvenile fiction
Category Text
EBook-No. 77873
Release Date
Most Recently Updated Feb 12, 2026
Copyright Status Public domain in the USA.
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