Jesse, they were edited in the 60s or 70s? So if you find early editions, there's a fair bit of casual racism in them.

[link]

Now THAT does not surprise me! So, the go-ahead only applies to the edited version where all the servants are (apparently) white and half the villains are noticeable by their pale blue eyes.

Oh gods yes. I inherited a bunch of the original edtion NDs. with the blue cloth covers and orange silhouette of Nancy on the binding. I devoured them as a child, and at some point my mom threw them all away. I mourned, and as an adult, I started putting my collection back together. Until I actually *read* one, and was both jolted and appalled by the casual racism, classism, and callous disregard of the Other in every paragraph. I sold them (I'd invested a bit in the ones I'd found), but I felt bad about it. I really wanted to shred them so nobody would read that tripe.

I was more appalled by The Bobbsey Twins in the Land of Cotton. It is horrible. Nancy Drew I remember being very anti German.

Clearly I read the 1960's re-writes of The Bobbsey Twins.

In 1960, the Stratemeyer syndicate began to rewrite most of the older volumes, many of which became almost unrecognizable in the process. This was done concurrently with the release of a new edition of the series, with picture covers, no dust jackets, and a lavender spine and back cover (replacing the various green bindings that had been used before). Many of the cover paintings were originally dust-jacket paintings that had been added in the 1950s (before which a single common dust-jacket painting had been used throughout any given edition), but most were new with the "purple" edition. In all, 20 were completely rewritten, all but two with modernized titles, while 16 were never released in this edition, evidently having been deemed to be dated beyond repair.

Most of the rewrites were motivated by changing technology (automobiles replacing horses and buggies) or changing social standards, particularly in how Sam and Dinah, the African-American cook and handyman, were portrayed.

I remember the purple covers! I was into the Hardy Boys and the Dana Girls, but those shelves at the library with those matching spines made me very happy.

Oh, and Cowboy Sam was the highlight of my earliest reading. I felt very grownup when I graduated to the detective series.

I wonder about Trixie Belden.

I have a bunch of Trixie Beldens, and I'm a little afraid to look.

Yeah, same. (On the wondering. I think my mother threw out my books.)

I have a bunch that were published in the 70s-80s and I reread them about a decade ago. ETA: I don't have the whole series. I don't remember any obviously awful racism. The thing that struck me on re-reading them was how rich everyone was. Trixie always seems to say her family are modest/poor, but they own a farmhouse in Westchester. Her dad manages a bank. They're middle class at worst. It's only in comparison with all their filthy rich friends with estates, that they're not that wealthy.