ITALY

 

ARNOLDO MONDADORI EDITORE - Milano - 1971 - 1981

Clan de Nancy Drew - il giallo dei ragazzi

In the 1970s, Mondadori (as they are generally listed in databases) introduced the "Clan de Nancy Drew" - which basically means the Nancy Drew series (the literal translation is the exclusive set or clique of Nancy Drew). "Il giallo dei ragazzi" means that they are detective stories. The series intermingled Nancy titles with Hardy Boys and Three Investigator stories, which explains the skips in sequence in the table below.

The Mondadori covers are some of my favorites - I am greatly amused by the trippy, psychedelic treatment of this artwork. Nancy appears with long red hair and freckles, usually clothed in some groovy outfit. Unlike in many of the European translations, everyone keeps their original names.

The back cover touts the series with the following:

IL CLAN DI NANCY DREW vi chiama a raccolta, ragazze! Entrate a farne parte ritagliando il bollino stampato nelle ultime pagine di questo volume ed applicandolo alla tessera omaggio che il vostro libraio sarà ben lieto di consegnarvi. Premi, sorprese e mille simpatiche iniziative vi attendono! Ma chi è questa NANCY DREW che con tanto calore vi invita a far parte del suo CLAN? NANCY DREW è una giovane simpatica e graziosa, che dà il suo nome a questa serie del Giallo dei Ragazzi perché, oltre che come allegra ragazza moderna, è insuperabile some detective.

Digest size paperback - 7 1/4"H x 5 3/8" W - yellow spine with number, title, and Mondadori all in black capitals

Il misterio del bungalow (The Bungalow Mystery). Artwork by Marco Rostagno;
copyright © 1971 Arnoldo Mondadori Editore.

Italian Title

U.S. Title

Year

Number

Il covo nascosto

Larkspur Lane

1970, 1977

2

Il vaso dei Ming

Leaning Chimney


4

La lettera mysteriosa

Mysterious Letter

1970

6

Il ranch delle ombre

Shadow Ranch

1970

8

Il misterio delle chiavi nere

Black Keys

1970

10

Il diario rivelatore

Diary

1971

12

Il passaggio segreto

Hidden Staircase

1971, 1976

14

Il misterio del bungalow

Bungalow Mystery

1971, 1980

16

Testamento a sorpresa

Twisted Candles

1971, 1974, 1976

18

Il medaglione spezzato

Broken Locket

1971, 1974, 1976

20

Il rubino d'oriente

Wooden Lady

1971, 1974

22

Una ladra in visone

Ski Jump

1971

24

L'ereditiera scomparsa

Moonstone Castle

1971, 1977

27

Un difficile enigma

Crossword Cipher

1971, 1975

31

L'invisibile intruso

Invisible Intruder

1974

35

La modella misteriosa

Mysterious Mannequin

1972, 1977

39

La maschera d'argento

Crooked Banister

1972

42

Il villaggio indiano

Pine Hill

1972

45

Una vicenda scozzese

Whistling Bagpipes

1972

48

L'alchimista imbroglione

99 Steps

1972, 1977

51

La maschera di velluto

Velvet Mask

1972, 1977

54

La marionetta che balla

Dancing Puppet

1972

57

La diligenza della paura

Old Stagecoach

1973

60

La banda dello scorpione

Golden Pavilion

1973

63

Il manoscritto cinese

Fire Dragon

1973

65

La principessa del fiume

Haunted Showboat

1973, 1975

69

La vedova nera

Old Attic

1974

74

L'orma del gigante

Moss-Covered Mansion

1974

77

Le perle della danzatrice

Crumbling Wall

1974

80

La grotta del terrore

Tolling Bell

1974, 1976

83

Il tip tap del mistero

Tapping Heels


87

Il messaggio dell'usignolo

Jewel Box

1975

95

Tra le grinfie del ciclope

Glowing Eye

1976

102

La mappa del tesoro

Missing Map

1976

110

La città dimenticata

Forgotten City


115

La baia dello specchio

Mirror Bay


121

L'uccello del malaugurio

Double Jinx

1978

127

Safari africano

Spider Sapphire

1978

133

Uno strano, vecchio orologio

Old Clock

1979

139

Il guerriero di verto

Hidden Window

1979

144

La locanda dei lilla

Lilac Inn

1980

151

Quello strano profumo

Red Gate Farm

1980

160

La quercia indiana

Hollow Oak

1981

164

Il triplice inganno

Triple Hoax

1981

172

L'amuleto d'avorio

Ivory Charm


174

Nancy Drew indaga

Larkspur Lane - Leaning Chimney - Mysterious Letter

1973

 

Nancy Drew non da tregua

Shadow Ranch - Black Keys - Diary

1974

 

Many thanks to "BigCobra" for their help with the information on the Italian Nancy Drew titles used in compiling this table.


SALANI EDITORE - Firenze - 1996-1997

The Salani cover heralds this series as "Il ritorno di Nancy Drew, la Più famosa investigatrice americana" - the return of Nancy Drew, the most famous American lady detective.

Salani adopted the novel concept of starting their "Nuova Series" (new series) with the U.S. #100, which was released domestically as a collector's edition of sorts. This is the story where the clock from Nancy Drew #1 is reintroduced and is involved in its second mystery. I think this is a clever place to start, as it incorporates the old into the new, while bringing new stories into the foray, rather than rehashing the same old ones which were available through Mondadori.

As a side note, I believe the only other publisher which has opted to translate Nancy Drew #100 is Wahlströms of Sweden.

The back of the book hypes:

LA REGINA DEL GIALLO PER RAGAZZI. Le nuove avventure di Nancy Drew, giovane e insuperabile investigatrice dai capelli ramati, armata di fiuto, intelligenza, buon senso. E dei suoi amici che la proteggono e l'aiutano a risolvere complicatissimi casi, magari tra una festa e l'altra.

La regina del giallo per ragazzi translates to The Queen of Mysteries for children.

 

Digest size paperback - 7 1/4" H x 4 7/8" W - yellow spine, number, Nancy Drew, Salani logo, title, Salani, all in black capitals

Segreto dell'orologio (A Secret in Time). Artwork by Marco Di Domenico, copyright © 1996 by Adriano Salani Editore s.r.l.

Italian Title

U.S. Title

Year

Segreto dell'orologio

A Secret in Time

1996

La miliardaria scomparsa

Missing Millionairess

1996

Il misterio del violino

A Secret in the Dark

1997

Lo sconosciuto nell'ombra

The Stranger in the Shadows

unpublished

Il mistero della tigre di giada

The Mystery of the Jade Tiger

unpublished

Salani bought the rights to the 5 titles listed above, and even had covers of the last 2 advertised in their catalog. However, the series did not sell well and so the 4th and 5th titles went unpublished. Simon & Schuster confirms that only these 5 titles were authorized, and the agreement was not renewed.


PIEMME JUNIOR - Milan - 2007-2008

Although the covers say "Girl Detective" the titles in this short lived series were from the classic digests.  Artist Alessandra Ceriani created some very cute illustrations for the covers which all showcased Nancy's awesome titian hair in some way. 

Piemme appears to be a division of the previous publishers Mondadori as they are mentioned on the copyright page.  Translation done by Matilde Macaluso.

The beginning of each chapter features a black silhouette illustration depicting various scenes.  They might be the work of Laura Zuccotti which is credited with the "graphics" on the copyright page.


Digest size paperback - 7 7/8" H x 5 1/8" W - black spine: Carolyn Keene, Nancy Drew, number, title, Piemme Junior

Misterio sulla spiaggia (Mystery on Maui). Artwork by Alessandra Ceriani,
copyright © 2008 by Edizione Piemme Spa, Milan.

Italian Title

U.S. Title

Year

Caccia allo smeraldo

Emerald Lady

2007

La maledizione di Fenley Place

Fenley Place

2007

Il manoscritto rubato

Rare Book

2008

Mistero sulla spiaggia

Mystery on Maui

2008

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Last updated 2 May 2016