The Hidden Staircase is the second volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, published in 1930 and revised in 1959. The original text was written by Mildred Wirt Benson, and she has said that it is her personal favorite of the Nancy Drew Books she wrote.

Summary (original edition)

In The Hidden Staircase, a grandfather clock’s erratic chimes in a supposedly empty house draw Nancy Drew into a labyrinth of secret passages and family betrayal in this Gothic-tinged mystery. The story begins when Nancy’s father takes on the case of the Nathan Gombet estate—a crumbling Victorian mansion whose elderly owner insists intruders are using hidden corridors to terrorize her into selling the property.

The mystery unfolds through architectural anomalies—a cold draft where no window exists, a bedroom mirror that reflects unseen space behind the walls, and most crucially, the titular staircase concealed within the chimney breast. Nancy’s investigation reveals how the house’s 19th-century quirks serve modern crimes: gaslight fixtures modified to release sleep-inducing fumes, speaking tubes repurposed to project ghostly whispers, and the old clock’s mechanism cleverly altered to signal when the coast is clear.

The 1930 original thrums with post-Crash urgency—Nancy discovers missing railroad bonds hidden in hollowed-out balusters, deciphers a property scheme exploiting Depression-era foreclosures, and narrowly avoids being walled alive in the mansion’s original coal chute. Unlike later revisions, this version retains Nancy’s harrowing realization that the “ghostly” footsteps follow precise schedules matching train arrivals, and the heartbreaking scene where she finds the old woman’s missing cat deliberately trapped in the walls to intensify her distress.

This novel stands as the blueprint for countless haunted house mysteries, with Nancy methodically debunking the supernatural while respecting the very real fear it creates. The hidden staircase itself becomes a metaphor for buried truths—its worn steps bearing generations of secrets, its discovery requiring both physical courage and intellectual curiosity. The climax, where Nancy uses the house’s own tricks to turn the tables on the villains, remains one of the series’ most iconic moments.

The next morning, Nancy and the Turnbull sisters go to the sheriff, who brings the police force to Gombet’s mansion. They find Nathan Gombet and the cell where he is holding Carson Drew as prisoner and arrest Gombet.

Nancy Drew #2 –The Hidden Staircase First Edition Book Identification Guide

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

Note: Glossy+: Glossy frontis + 3 glossy internals.

Nancy Drew #2 –The Hidden Staircase First Edition Dust Jacket Identification Guide

First edition DJ for Nancy Drew 02 – The Hidden Staircase 1930A-1

Reference:

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