The first Trixie Belden book, The Secret of the Mansion, was originally released in 1948, and new books were periodically released until 1986. The first six books were written Julie Campbell Tatham, a very real author who also wrote the similar teenager mystery series Ginny Gordon and a Rin Tin Tin novel, among other things. After that, various authors employed directly by publisher Western House, releasing an additional 33 books to bring the total Trixie Belden book list to 39!
One of the big differences between Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew appears to be that a bigger effort was made to make Trixie seem like a slightly more realistic view of a teenage girl. It was hard to imagine Nancy Drew having trouble with anything, and while this made her a figure to look up to, it also sometimes made her a bit harder to identify with than the more realistic Trixie.
In contrast, Trixie sometimes felt frustrated by her brothers (something I think anyone with siblings has felt from time to time), and despite her obvious intelligence, she had difficulty with certain school subjects >> particularly math. All of this likely goes a long way toward making Trixie feel more like a real person than the ethereal, at times almost-too-perfect Nancy Drew.
Unlike Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden hasn’t seen the same efforts to update and reinvigorate the series. Regardless of how you feel about the changes made to the Nancy Drew books to “modernize” them, this does at least make sure that a new edition is periodically released so new readers (and those of us who might be feeling a bit nostalgic) can pick up the series.
Please leave a comment below if you remember reading about Trixie’s adventures!
(Thank you, ALL, for your comments! There were so many, I thought I would post a Trixie Belden Follow-Up rather than try to respond to each of you. I hope this is OK!
dragons3 says
My parents gave me a set of the first 7 books in the Trixie Belden series when I was about 8. I loved them and collected the entire series. I went back and reread some of them a few years ago and I think they’ve held up pretty well. I could relate to Trixie much better than to Nancy Drew, although I read all of those, too, because Trixie was closer to my age. Nancy Drew was a grownup to me. She could drive and had a serious boyfriend and didn’t go to school.
Val H says
I am a British reader of your website and I remember, with great affection reading Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden books. I loved the Bobbsey Twins, too and had quite a collection of those!
Patty says
I loved Trixie Belden! She was younger than Nancy Drew when the series started, and I was in 5th grade when I started reading them, so she and her friends felt very real and normal.
xeniagrandma says
I remember sitting on my porch as a young teen reading all the Trixie Beldon books as they became available at our public library.
Thanks for the memory
Ingrid says
While I no longer remember anything about the Trixie Belden series which I read back in the 40s, I do remember preferring it to the Nancy Drew mysteries although I read them, the Hardy boys, and the Bobsey twins as well. Having read your remarks, I now know why I was probably more drawn to Trixie’s stories. I do remember having a pet rabbit in my early teens which I named Trixie after my then favorite heroine. Thanks so much for making me smile on a cold, rainy day!
Rob says
Never had a Trixie Belden but my mom and grandma always made sure I had Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames available. I loved those.
I even read Hardy Boys too.
Rob J
Nancy says
Thanks for reminding me of Cherry Ames. I devoured every one at our library. They never came out fast enough.
Judith says
FYI – Julie Campbell wrote some Cherry Ames, as well, under the name of Julie Tatham. (her full name was Julie Campbell Tatham.) Her Ames titles were:
Cruise Nurse (although credited to Helen Wells, Tatham actually wrote it
At Spencer
Night Supervisor
Mountaineer Nurse
Clinic Nurse
Rest Home Nurse
Country Doctor’s Nurse – set in…SLEEPYSIDE-ON HUDSON!
Cookie says
i started out very young with the Bobsey Twins (which i still own all of them)and moved onward, can’t forget the Happy Holisters (own all of them still) and of Course Nancy and Hardy and oh yea The Boxcar Kids (got all of those too still) Will be passed down to my grandchildren and great grand children in a few years. I know there are some others as i have them but for now they escape my memory bank after all i have quarter timers lol
Liz says
I loved the Trixie Belden series, and I think in addition to what you said comparing her to Nancy Dew, One thing that I like about it is that Trixie did not always do it all herself. While Nancy did have her friends, she was always the one to figure everything out.. tribe on the other hand, solving the mysteries was more of a group effort with the other Bob Whites. Also, as a younger girl (13-14 as opposed 18, she was easier to relate to this way as well, at the age i was reading them.
Kate says
I loved the Trixie Belden books and still vivid recall many scenes!
Linda says
I am a huge Trixie Belden fan and as a pre teen and young teen I read and re-read the first 15 books many times! Later as an adult i found several later written books in used book stores and bought and read them. I don’t have all 39, but periodically I think about getting the ones I still don’t have. Yes, I have kept all of my books from years ago and added to those. Altho my life was much different than Trixie’s, I could completely identify with her, she had chores, she didn’t like homework, she had a pesky younger brother, she liked a boy who was her best friend’s brother….she was a member in a secret club…yes!….and she solved mysteries that always ended up helping someone. She had a little envy of her best friend who’s family had millions, but appreciated her own loving family. This would be a great series to update and to attract a new generation of young readers!
Susan says
This used to be one of my favorite series. Also I remember the Happy Hollisters.
Jennifer says
I loved the Trixie Belden books! Unfortunately, when we moved from my childhood home, those and many other treasured books disappeared. I would love to reread them like I have reread Nancy Drew as an adult. Of course, I can get hold of copies, but just not the same.
Donamae says
My favorite Trixie Belden! I have all even the hard to get last one! I have Ginny Gordan, Cherry Ames, Nancy Drew, Donna Parker and all of the Annette mysteries and Janet Lennon of the Lennon sisters!! Plus more. But, Trixie is the best, I love horses, I grew up with them, so it was way more fun to read Trixie. The setting was awesome, the characters were great! I just love them, I think I’ll reread them for the hundredth time, lol!!
Candy says
I read all the Trixie Belden I could find. I don’t remember them as well as Nancy Drew, but I think it’s because Nacy was such a formula plot and Trixie was more thought out.
Elle says
Trixie Belden was my favorite and I pored over her books many, many times. She was more up to date for my generation and I loved all the families in the books too. I still have my Trixie Belden books and their covers are coming off due to all the use they got. I once wrote a fan letter to the author, not realizing that by that time, it was a variety of authors following a set writing formula. I still look back on Trixie with fondness and even named my favorite dog after her.
Cheri says
I loved Trixie Belden ! In fact I think I preferred her to Nancy Drew.
ME in VA says
Thanks to Trixie I have become a life-long mystery lover. When I was 12 I had pneumonia which required me to stay in bed for several weeks. My father brought me the book TRIXIE BELDEN ON HER OWN. I loved it and soon after read every book in the series. I haven’t stopped reading mysteries since and am reading JD Robb BROTHERHOOD IN DEATH right now. Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Trixie.
Pumpkin says
I started with Trixie Belden. She and her brothers were so similar to my family group. I used to try to emulate some of her adventures.I even had a cat named Honey! Nancy Drew was far more adult and glamorous to me but I also loved her too.
robin in oregon says
Remember her!? She’s one of my all time favorites. Bob Whites of the Glen, her cozy farmhouse in the glen, her friends estates on the hill, the great mysteries. I still use the recipe for juicier hamburgers mentioned in the Mysterious code. I have most of her books and read them every number of years. Along with Nancy Drew and The Dana Girls and Cherry Ames, they were great. My favorite though was and still is Judy Bolton. Ah! Great memories.
Jayne says
Yay Trixie! She was my all time favorite. Never could get into Nancy Drew. I still have all of my books from childhood along with a ton of other editions that I have collected over time. I saved them for so long just in case I had a daughter I could share them with her.
I am in the process of moving and just came across my collection in the attic. My oldest daughter is turning 6 and I’ve told her about Trixie over time and she’s so excited now that she sees the books. My youngest is 2 so she’s still a bit young. (I’m still trying to get them to call me “Moms” just like Trixie
Mark says
I loved the Trixie Belden books and read at least one of them to my 5th grade students every school year. My favorites are The Happy Valley Mystery, The Mystery at Bob-White Cave, The Mystery on Cobbett’s Island, and The Sasquatch Mystery.
I also love the Sammy Keyes mysteries by Wendelin Van Draanen. People always compare Sammy to Nancy Drew, but I think she is a lot more like Trixie.
Diane says
Yes, I grew up with Trixie Belden and also the Dana Girls and Nancy Drew.
makinahome says
I ADORED the Trixie Belden series in fact I have been looking for them for grandnieces to enjoy, mine are so worn out I’m afraid they will literally fall apart if opened. Loved all the characters and you couldn’t help but feel good when had finished. 🙂
Alma says
I loved Trixie Belden mysteries! I still have one somewhere!
Darlene says
Oh my yes, I most certainly remember Trixie Beldon and her best friend, Honey Wheeler. I dearly loved those books!
Marie says
I read more Trixie books then Nancy books. I think I did identify with Trixie Belden more. Never thought of it that way.
I remember saving my allowance to buy a Trixie Belden book for $3.59. Loved the books and of having her my first taste of the Mystery genre.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marie, wow >>> $3.59!!!
Janie says
I read every Trixie Beldon mystery when I was a child. I found them in a used bookstore and bought them for my daughter to read when she was older (she was 5 at the time). Oddly enough, it was my son who was 8 at the time who fell in love with them and read every one. I also read them again and loved them just as much. My daughter also liked them, but not with the same fervor as my son and I.
Abbie says
I was a Trixie Belden fan as a young girl. Coincidently, I pulled one off the shelf recently and re-read it. It would be a shame if these books aren’t kept in print for future generations.
Judy says
Read lots of Trixie Belden books as a kid. You’re right: she was much more human than Nancy. I loved Trixie!
I learned a forensic fact from one of the Belden stories: blue-eyed parents can’t have a brown-eyed child. Today, everyone knows that, but back when it was disclosed in a Belden story, it was not common knowledge.
dragons3 says
Actually, that’s been disproven. According to Mendelian Laws, it was thought that blue-eyed parents couldn’t have a brown-eyed child, but it’s been discovered that there is more than one gene that controls eye color, and it is possible for blue-eyed parents to have a brown-eyed child.
Margaret StashEmpress says
A fact apparently totally lost on Dr. House who deduced that a man’s wife had an affair when the man showed off pictures of his children, one of which had blue eyes — and the man and his wife both had brown eyes. I couldn’t believe nobody fact checked that show!!! Something *that* simple???? (fwiw, my husband and I both have brown eyes and some of our kids have blue eyes — just like both of their GRANDFATHERS!) 😉
dragons3 says
Actually, it’s not unusual for brown-eyed parents to have a blue-eyed child. Blue is recessive — carried but not expressed — so it just takes each parent carrying the recessive gene for blue.
Margaret StashEmpress says
My point exactly– with both my husband and myself having blue eyed fathers, guaranteed we are each carrying a blue eyed gene so pretty likely some of our kids would have blue eyes. Which is why I was so annoyed with that scenario on House!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Judy, I certainly thought two blue-eyed parents couldn’t have a brown-eyed baby! I think that’s how I learned it in school.
dragons3 says
That’s what I learned in high school biology, but a genetics course in college taught me differently. By that time we were learning more about genes and what they do and how their expressed. Much to my relief. I have brown eyes and both my parents were blue-eyed. However, I had a brown-eyed grandfather on one side and my great grandmother on the other side was NA and brown-eyed.
dragons3 says
They’re, not their. Sorry. Rough morning.
Becky B. says
I absolutely love Trixie Belden! When i was young, I read everything my sisters, who were 5 years older, read, so I didn’t start reading Nancy Drew till I was 18. I liked her a lot, but found her a bit stuffy-too perfect. When I discovered Trixie Belden in my twenties, I fell in love with the books, Trixie, & the Bobwhites. She & her family & her friends had some amazing adventures, but they were mostly so normal. I often found myself thinking of them as my crazy cousins who just seemed to know where all the excitement is.
Carole says
i loved Trixie Beldon read all the books just like i loved Nancy Drew books
i wish i still had them
Susan* says
Yes!
I agree with almost everything that everyone here has said. I loved Nancy Drew, but Trixie just struck a real chord with me.
She ‘was’ real, in fact. Everything I wanted to be. (But sadly, never was. Lol!)
Nancy was fun, but she was never quite as real as Trixie and Co. Nancy didn’t have curfew / bedtime, chores, or anything like that – especially chores: she had a housekeeper to do it all for goodness sake! And she never seemed to have any shortage of money – if she wanted something, she just paid for it.
Trixie, on the other hand, had an allowance which she had to make stretch, and she had a real home life. (Nancy spent more time gadding about solving mysteries, than she spent at home.)
The Hardy Boys, whom I also loved, had similar *issues* to Nancy. I never really thought about it at the time, all of them were great fun, but Nancy and the boys were, somehow, one step removed from reality.
Trixie was real.
Oh, and, yes, I still have ALL of the Trixie Belden books! Lol! Even the last, hard-to-find five, which I collected long after I had stopped reading the books, simply for the sake of completeness.
They’re hard to find, btw, (At least in paperback) simply because they were never sold in the same numbers as the earlier books. I think I’ve rambled on enough for one post, but if anyone wants further elaboration on that, I’m happy to explain. (I was in the book trade at the time, so I have ‘inside information’! Lol!)
Karin says
I read all the Trixie Belden books. I remember saving my money to buy news ones. My daughter is not a big mystery lover (yet – I still have hope), but when she had to do a mystery book report I did talk her into reading a Trixie Belden since I still have my old books. 🙂
Mel says
I didn’t read Trixie, but does anyone remember “The Dana Girls”? They were put out by the same publisher as Nancy Drew, and were ghostwritten under the name Carolyn Keene. They were about two sisters at boarding school, solving mysteries just like Nancy. I usually read these when all the Nancy’s were checked out at the library.
They were ok, but Nancy was my favorite.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Mel, I’m making a list of all our favorite girl detectives, and the Dana Girls are close to the top!
Linda 2E says
I didn’t see anyone mention Honey Bunch series – I read those before I read Trixie Belden.
Joyce says
I wanted to be Trixie Belden! I loved the books, I loved how adventuresome she was. Sadly, my mother gave all my books to my cousins when I left for college…
Margaret StashEmpress says
I loved Trixie Belden! Unfortunately I didn’t have access to many of them — our public library didn’t have any “series” books in those days, so all I had was what was bought for me as presents. Since money was tight, my parents didn’t spend money on books — because that’s what public libraries are for! (Don’t get me wrong — reading was highly valued in our house — just not spending money on what was available free of charge — to that end I had my own library card at 3yo — yes — 3yo — all I had to do was print my name — which my parents had already taught me to do — along with reading — because in those days we were allowed to only check out 10 books per card — and no way was 10 books enough to keep me for the 2 weeks until we went back again — so 10 books checked out on my card, plus 10 checked out on my father’s card.
But Trixie Belden… nope… 🙁
When I was about 10yo or so my brother-in-law started buying me books from a used bookstore near their house as presents for every occasion (did he know me or what?) — which is how I got the Nancy Drew books I did own — and how I got the few Trixie Belden books I had. Either the bookstore didn’t have much in the way of used Trixie or else my brother in law just figured he was safe with Nancy Drew, I don’t know.
Carolyn says
I loved the Trixie Belden books. the first set of books I actually collected. Found all of them when I started cleaning out my parents home.
Goodcats says
I loved the Trixie Belden books and read quite a few, but not all, of them. Your discussion got me thinking of another series I liked, but I can’t remember anything about it except for the main character’s first name, Trudy. She also lived in a small town and was in high school and her best friend was born on Halloween. I’m fairly sure that they took place in the fifties because there were references to displaced people who were now living in the small town. Does anyone remember this series?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Goodcats, this is Trudy Phillips, and her friend, Spooky Ruddle was born on Halloween. Trudy Phillips, New Girl is the first in the series, and it’s from back in the early 1950s.
dragons3 says
Thank you, Danna! That was driving me crazy. I vaguely remember those, too, mostly because of the first name. Trudy was so odd, I thought. Does anyone remember the Connie Blair series? I don’t remember a lot about them, but she was a twin and was going to art school. There was a color in each title. I always liked the Vicky Barr series, too. It came from the same syndicate as Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames and The Hardy Boys. Vicky was a stewardess and encountered mysteries on her flights and with her passengers. Then there was Donna Parker — those were okay. I liked Polly French too, although I think there were only 3 or 4 in that series. Okay, all you mystery readers — can you help me place this one. I don’t think it was part of a series. A group of kids — I think siblings but they may have been friends — have a model of a sailing ship. The hatch on the model comes open and they find jewels in the opening. They solve the mystery of the jewels. I don’t really remember anything else about it but I remember loving it when I was a kid.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Dragons3, this sounds like a tough one…
Goodcats says
Thank you, thank you! I’m going to try and find some of the other books in the series. I don’t remember reading about the Dana Girls so I’ll look for them too. Love this site and all the help we give each other to answer our questions.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Goodcats, you’re welcome. I agree with you about “all the help we give each other to answer our questions”!
Janet says
I have all of my original Trixie Beldon books from when I was a child! I loved them (and Nancy Drew, The Bobbsey Twins, Cherry Ames, etc., etc.!) I devoured mysteries then and still do! Unfortunately, my childhood books all smell musty. Someone moved them from my hall closet to the cellar where a water pipe burst and everything in the cellar (an old, sandstone walls cellar) absorbed a lot of moisture. I did not discocver the cardboard boxes of my beloved books until too late. BUT, I still have them! They are readable, if you can get beyond the musty smell! I just can’t bear to part with any of them!
dragons3 says
You might be able to get rid of that musty smell. Put them out in the sun, occasionally ruffling the pages, for a day. Then repack them in a clean carton with crumpled fresh newspaper. Add a couple of dryer sheets. It may not get rid of the smell completely but it will help a lot. I’ve used it on some used books I’ve ordered and it worked. I’m allergic to mold and mildew and they didn’t bother me after that.
Susan* says
Janet, if you fill some bags with kitty litter and bury your books in them for a few days, it will get rid of a lot of the musty smell. Old book dealer’s trick! 🙂
ME in VA says
I heard that if you pack mildewy items with wads of newspaper and change the paper every few days, you can get rid of the odor. I never tried it myself but it may work.
Lenora says
This post brought back fond memories! One summer in the 1970’s, I bought a small stash of juvenile mysteries at a neighbor’s garage sale with my allowance: Trixie Belden, Annette, and The Mystery of the Pilgrim Trading Post by Anne Molloy.
The Three Investigators series (available those days in PB through the Scholastic Book Club), is also an old favorite of mine. I recall the excitement from my elementary school days when our teacher handed out the latest Scholastic Book flyer.
Money was tight back then, so the books were precious to me and still hold pride of place on my bookshelves to this day (along with my cozy mystery collection). The Phantom Cyclist & Other Ghost Stories by Ruth Ainsworth and Fog Magic by Julia Sauer are well-worn from being beloved and reread many times growing up.
P.S. In a similar vein as Fog Magic, Lavendar Green Magic by Andre Norton was another memorable book from my elementary library. As a child, I tried making rose beads from the author’s instructions after reading this book.
ME in VA says
I taught school for 40 years and one of the things I enjoyed most was ordering Scholastic Books for my students. I believe I was as excited as they were when that white and red box arrived. It is nice to know people remember them. By the way FOG MAGIC was one of my very favorites. I still think of it when I walk through fog.
Lenora says
I attended school in a small farming community. The Scholastic Book Club was such an important source for books for those of us living in a rural area. It is so nice to share my happy memories of Scholastic as a student with a teacher on the other side of that white and red box.
Nancy T says
I loved this series in general, but even as an uncritical teenager I was uncomfortable with some of the politically incorrect aspects from the 50s. I remember som references to “dirty, lazy squaws” when the boys were teasing the girls that made my skin crawl.
Billie says
My aunt was an avid reader and she bought theses books for my cousin. I got to read them also. Seems like Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden were not in the library system at the time.
Enjoy this site and the info about books, authors. Keep up the good work.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Billie, I’m glad you’re enjoying the site. Thank you.
Anna says
Loved Trixie Beldon even more than Nancy Drew. I wanted to be a part of the Bob-Whites! I still have the books (although I’m missing some).
Jennifer K says
Wow, do I feel out of the loop. I was a hardcore Nancy Drew (my cousin and I owned all of them between us) and even read a few Hardy Boys, but somehow I completely missed Trixie Belden. You all have me convinced I need to give her a read. Dare I ask which few are the best?
Sasparilla says
I recently discovered – well actually, my daughter discovered – a modern series about a 12 year old girl with a geeky yet fun boy sidekick who has to solve mysteries, engage evil villains and whose life, despite the trappings of wealth, material possessions, living in New York City, etc, etc is not perfect (see under evil villains :-). It’s called the Bella Street Mystery series, written by Clare Havens. The first book is ‘The Secret Formula’. My daughter loved them all. Havens also writes for adults I’ve noticed (cozy mysteries!) but I have yet to read them. Will report back when I do.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sasparilla, thanks for telling us about Clare Havens’ Bella Street mysteries!
KinNC says
As Jayne said… “Yay Trixie!” my favorite
grannyfrye says
Hello Danna;
I just found a delightful cozy mystery…I got a kindle last year for Christmas….I have enjoyed some new authors. one is Diana Xarissa.
The one I am reading now is “AUNT BESSIE CONSIDERS. She writes these mysteries. They seem to be a little like Miss Marple.
In this story and others she always finds a dead body….and the mystery begins….I free one and was hooked.
So Danna read one of her books or on Kindle…..the stories are fantastic. smile.