The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk is the seventeenth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series, written by Mildred Wirt Benson published under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. It was first published in 1940 by Grosset & Dunlap and was extensively revised for publication in 1976.

Summary (original edition)

In The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk, a steamer trunk with peculiar brass fittings draws Nancy Drew into a transatlantic web of deception aboard a luxury ocean liner in this sleek pre-war mystery. The story begins with Nancy’s boarding pass for the SS Primrose and a mix-up that delivers someone else’s trunk to her stateroom—an ornate brass-bound case containing a couture wardrobe suspiciously tailored to her exact measurements.

The mystery unfolds with the rhythm of shipboard life—elaborate dinner menus masking tense conversations, shuffleboard games played a bit too aggressively, and the ever-present vibration of engines moving the vessel through waters where geopolitical tensions simmer. Nancy discovers the trunk’s false bottom conceals blueprints for a revolutionary aircraft propeller, stolen from an English inventor whose daughter now travels incognito in the third-class cabins. As the liner cuts through the Atlantic, Nancy must distinguish between potential allies and enemies among the passengers: the overly curious German baroness making sketches in the lounge, the American salesman with too much knowledge of metallurgy, and the ship’s own purser who seems determined to keep Nancy away from certain cargo manifests.

The 1940 original thrums with pre-war anxiety, its narrative laced with details later scrubbed from postwar revisions—Nancy noting how the trunk’s brass corners could conceal magnetic components to throw off compass readings, or recognizing that the “tourist” taking endless photos of the engine room might have darker purposes. Unlike the sanitized 1960s version that reduced the stakes to simple jewel theft, this edition builds to a moonlit confrontation on the boat deck where Nancy must protect the inventor’s daughter from being thrown overboard, the ship’s own foghorn drowning out their struggle.

This novel stands out for its sophisticated maritime atmosphere—the way salt air tarnishes the trunk’s brass fittings to reveal fingerprint smudges, how shipboard routines create perfect alibis, and why the vast ocean becomes both accomplice and witness to crime. The trunk itself serves as a microcosm of the era’s tensions—its beautiful exterior belying dangerous secrets, its very mobility making it the perfect vessel for betrayal. Nancy’s final deciphering of the blueprints’ hiding place (hint: corset boning wasn’t just for support) showcases the series at its most cleverly feminist.

Nancy Drew #17 –The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk First Edition Book Identification

Only the first few printings of the first/second year are shown. Printings codes are based on the Farrah Guide, 12th printing. Please refer to the guide for later printings.

Nancy Drew #17 –The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk First Edition Dust Jacket Identification

Reference:

• Farah’s Guide to Nancy Drew, 12th printing