# The Hidden Staircase

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1930 book in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series

The Hidden Staircase The original dust jacket for "The Hidden Staircase" Author Carolyn Keene Illustrator Russell H. Tandy Cover artist Russell H. Tandy Language English Series Nancy Drew Mystery Stories Genre Mystery Publisher Grosset & Dunlap Publication date April 28, 1930 (original) May 15, 1959 (revised edition) Publication place United States Media type Print (hardback & paperback) Pages 210(1930-1959); 180 ISBN 0-448-09502-5 OCLC 17335741 Preceded by The Secret of the Old Clock Followed by The Bungalow Mystery

***The Hidden Staircase*** is the second volume in the *[Nancy Drew Mystery Stories](/source/Nancy_Drew_Mystery_Stories)* series written under the pseudonym [Carolyn Keene](/source/Carolyn_Keene), published in 1930 and revised in 1959.[1] The original text was written by [Mildred Wirt Benson](/source/Mildred_Wirt_Benson), who said that it was her personal favorite of the Nancy Drew Books she wrote.[2]

The novel was adapted as a [Warner Bros.](/source/Warner_Bros.) film, *[Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase](/source/Nancy_Drew_and_the_Hidden_Staircase_(1939_film))*, in 1939. [Another adaptation](/source/Nancy_Drew_and_the_Hidden_Staircase_(2019_film)) of the book from Warner Bros. was released on March 15, 2019.

## Summaries

### 1930 original edition, 25 chapters

At the beginning of the original edition of *The Hidden Staircase* Nancy is home alone while her father and their housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, are both out for the day. The doorbell rings and Nancy is introduced to the "rude visitor," Nathan Gombet, who has come to see Carson Drew about some papers. When his persistence irritates and insults Nancy, she grows impatient and angrily tells him to leave and threatens to call the police.

Soon after, Nancy is surprised at her house by Allie Horner, whom she aided in *[The Secret of the Old Clock](/source/The_Secret_of_the_Old_Clock).* Allie knows Nathan Gombet by reputation because he tried to steal eggs from her farm. When Carson Drew arrives home, he explains his history with Gombet: Gombet signed over his land to build a railroad and then decided after the construction that he had been cheated out of money.

The following day, Abigail Rowen introduces Nancy to the Turnbull sisters, Rosemary and Floretta. They ask Nancy to help them learn the cause of the mysterious "hauntings" of their mansion in Cliffwood, several miles from River Heights. The sisters explain that numerous valuable items have gone missing from their Civil War-era mansion, but they cannot understand how any person could have entered the locked home during these different instances to commit the thefts.

After a gap of a few days in which Nancy visits with Helen Corning (a recurring friend in the earliest books in the series) Nancy stays overnight with the Turnbull sisters for a week to determine the source of their problems. She goes alone and has her own bedroom. Before she leaves, her father gives her a revolver from his desk to protect herself. He explains that he will be out of town on business in Chicago for a few days but no more than a week. They decide that when he knows the day of his arrival back in River Heights, Nancy will pick him up at the train station to discuss her findings at the Turnbull mansion.

Before Nancy leaves for Cliffwood, she receives a threatening letter telling her to stay away from the Turnbull mansion. While she is there more items are stolen and at one point they find a couple of canaries flying about the mansion. When Nancy notices a stone mansion across a hill which is almost identical to the Turnbull Mansion, the Turnbull sisters tell her that both mansions were built at the same time by distant relatives of theirs, two brothers who eventually became rivals during the Civil War. Likewise, they explain that none other than Nathan Gombet owns the other stone mansion, and he has even asked to purchase their house.

Armed with this knowledge, Nancy is certain that Nathan Gombet is the culprit behind the thefts and is determined to prove it. Meanwhile, her father, who sent a telegram to Nancy to pick him up on a certain day at the station for their meeting, disembarks to find Nathan Gombet waiting for him. Nathan confuses Carson and leads him to believe that Nancy has had an accident near Gombet's mansion and is waiting there, in trouble. Distraught and believing Gombet, Carson Drew rides back to Gombet's mansion, where he is then held prisoner. Nancy never receives the telegram from Carson Drew and worries that something is wrong since she cannot reach him.

Late one night, once the Turnbull sisters are asleep, and convinced that there is some passage between the two mansions, Nancy ventures out to Gombet's mansion in the dark, rainy night, armed with her revolver and a flashlight. While she is running through the rain, she sees Gombet walking toward the Turnbull mansion. She decides that this is her only opportunity to get into his house and resists her urge to follow him.

After sneaking through a cellar window of Gombet's house, Nancy is almost discovered twice by his servant. Upon the second search by Gombet's servant, Nancy is narrowly saved from discovery but ends up locked in an upstairs room. In the closet of this room, Nancy finds a knob and after pulling it, discovers a hidden staircase. The stone staircase, as it turns out, leads to a large tunnel that splits off at various points, all of which lead into different rooms in the Turnbull mansion.

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.

### 1959 revised edition, 20 chapters

At the beginning of *The Hidden Staircase*, Nancy's friend Helen Corning calls her about a possible mystery to be solved. Helen introduces Nancy to Mrs. Flora Turnbull and Mrs. Rosemary Hayes. Helen is the great-granddaughter of Miss Flora and great-niece of Aunt Rosemary. Miss Flora believes that their home, Twin Elms, is haunted. Just after Nancy agreed to help solve the mystery of Twin Elms, a man named Nathan Gomber tells Nancy that her father, Carson Drew, is in great danger. Gomber represents a client and other landowners who are dissatisfied with the proceeds of land purchases for a new railroad. Mr. Drew tells Nancy to go to Twin Elms with Helen and help Miss Flora and Mrs. Hayes, as he will be traveling to Chicago during the first part of Nancy's stay at the old estate, and will join her later.

After an enjoyable dance with her former prom date, Nancy and her father inspect the railroad construction near the river but are forced to swim to safety when a runaway truck nearly runs them down. Nancy and Helen pack their bags and head off to Twin Elms, with Helen announcing the news of her engagement to her boyfriend Jim Archer over the weekend, en route. At Twin Elms, Miss Flora explains her theory of a ghost and explains the disappearance of items both precious and of little value, and strange things happening, such as music playing with no explanation. A chandelier moving by itself, and a mask held up in the windows over the next few days lead Nancy to investigate the interior and exterior of the Colonial house thoroughly. Nathan Gomber, coincidentally, is trying to buy the historic home despite protests from the Turnbull family. Although an adjoining estate with a twin home is available for purchase, it is run down and not of interest to Gomber.

In the meantime, Nancy's father fails to return from Chicago, and after tracing him to the train station, she is led to believe from eyewitness accounts that he has possibly been drugged and kidnapped. Nancy continues to search for clues to her father's whereabouts and also to solve the mystery of the intruder at Twin Elms, helped by a night watchman and discovery of a secret room. She and Helen decide to investigate the neighboring estate for clues to a secret entrance since the house was built with the same design as Twin Elms.

Upon their arrival at the realtor, Nancy is horrified to discover Nathan Gomber has just purchased the neighboring estate. Mr. Dodd agrees to lend the girls a key since Gomber has not taken possession, and they make a daytime visit to Riverview Manor. Nancy finds a secret panel to an underground passage and staircase. The tunnel leads to another staircase. But at the top of the stairs is a man who stops Nancy and Helen. Nancy discovers a missing property owner, hidden staircases and passages inside Twin Elms; with police help, she finds her father imprisoned in a room off the tunnel. Nathan Gomber is found out and arrested.

## Reception

By 2000, 1.8 million copies of *The Hidden Staircase* had been sold in the US market.[3]

## Adaptations

The novel was adapted as a [Warner Bros.](/source/Warner_Bros.) film, *[Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase](/source/Nancy_Drew_and_the_Hidden_Staircase_(1939_film))*, in 1939. [Another adaptation](/source/Nancy_Drew_and_the_Hidden_Staircase_(2019_film)) of the book from Warner Bros.[4][5] was released on March 15, 2019.

The 12th installment in the [Nancy Drew](/source/Nancy_Drew) [point-and-click adventure game](/source/Point-and-click_adventure_game) series by [Her Interactive](/source/Her_Interactive), named *[Nancy Drew: Secret of the Old Clock](/source/Nancy_Drew%3A_Secret_of_the_Old_Clock)*, is loosely based on the novel and also incorporate elements from *[The Secret of the Old Clock](/source/The_Secret_of_the_Old_Clock)*, *[The Bungalow Mystery](/source/The_Bungalow_Mystery)*, and *[The Mystery at Lilac Inn](/source/The_Mystery_at_Lilac_Inn)*.

A reference to the book is made in the pilot episode of the *[Nancy Drew](/source/Nancy_Drew_(2019_TV_series))* television series, with Nancy finding a missing girl behind a hidden staircase. Later in the first season, in an episode named "The Hidden Staircase", Nancy returns to the old warehouse where she found the staircase.[6]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-SS1_1-0)** Lundin, Leigh (June 1, 2014). ["Secrets of the Girl Sleuth"](http://www.sleuthsayers.org/2014/06/secrets-of-girl-sleuth.html#Karig). *SleuthSayers.org*. Orlando: SleuthSayers. Retrieved June 8, 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Benfer, Amy (October 8, 1999). ["Who was Carolyn Keene?"](http://www.salon.com/1999/10/08/keene_q_a/). *Salon*. Retrieved April 14, 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Roback, Diane; Britton, Jason; Turvey, Debbie Hochman (December 17, 2001). ["All-time Bestselling Children's Books"](https://web.archive.org/web/20051225125934/http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA186995.html). *[Publishers Weekly](/source/Publishers_Weekly)*. Archived from [the original](http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA186995.html) on December 25, 2005. Retrieved November 24, 2017.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_multiple_names:_authors_list))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** N'Duka, Amanda (April 20, 2018). ["'It' Star Sophia Lillis To Topline Warner Bros' 'Nancy Drew And The Hidden Staircase'"](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/939705-sophia-lillis-star-nancy-drew-hidden-staircase). *[Deadline Hollywood](/source/Deadline_Hollywood)*. Retrieved April 20, 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Evry, Max (April 20, 2018). ["IT's Sophia Lillis to Star in Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase"](https://deadline.com/2018/04/it-sophia-lillis-warner-bros-nancy-drew-and-the-hidden-staircase-1202372950/). *Comingsoon.net*. Retrieved April 20, 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Bruce, Amanda (November 1, 2020). ["Nancy Drew: 10 Details You Missed In The CW Show"](https://screenrant.com/nancy-drew-details-fans-missed-cw-tv-show/). *ScreenRant*.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [The Hidden Staircase](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:The_Hidden_Staircase).

English [Wikisource](/source/Wikisource) has original text related to this article:

**[The Hidden Staircase](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/en:The_Hidden_Staircase)**

- [*The Hidden Staircase*, original 1930 edition](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/carolyn-keene/the-hidden-staircase) at [Standard Ebooks](/source/Standard_Ebooks)

- [*The Hidden Staircase (1930 edition)*](https://fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20201164) at [Faded Page](/source/Distributed_Proofreaders_Canada) (Canada)

- [*The Hidden Staircase*](https://librivox.org/search?title=The+Hidden+Staircase&author=Keene&reader=&keywords=&genre_id=0&status=all&project_type=either&recorded_language=&sort_order=catalog_date&search_page=1&search_form=advanced) public domain audiobook at [LibriVox](/source/LibriVox)

- [*The Hidden Staircase (1959 edition)*](https://fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20191065) at [Faded Page](/source/Distributed_Proofreaders_Canada) (Canada)

- [Bookmice.net - comparison of 1937 & 1987 releases](http://www.bookmice.net/darkchilde/yadult/drewcompare2.html)

v t e Nancy Drew Stratemeyer Syndicate Carolyn Keene Edward Stratemeyer Characters Nancy Drew George Fayne Ned Nickerson Writers Mildred Benson Walter Karig Harriet Adams Susan Wittig Albert George Edward Stanley James D. Lawrence See also The Hardy Boys Tom Swift TV series The Dana Girls Books Nancy Drew Mystery Stories The Secret of the Old Clock (1930) The Hidden Staircase (1930) The Bungalow Mystery (1930) The Mystery at Lilac Inn (1930) The Secret at Shadow Ranch (1931) The Secret of Red Gate Farm (1931) The Clue in the Diary (1932) Nancy's Mysterious Letter (1932) The Sign of the Twisted Candles (1933) The Password to Larkspur Lane (1933) The Clue of the Broken Locket (1934) The Message in the Hollow Oak (1935) The Mystery of the Ivory Charm (1936) The Whispering Statue (1937) The Haunted Bridge (1937) The Clue of the Tapping Heels (1939) The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk (1940) The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion (1941) The Quest of the Missing Map (1942) The Clue in the Jewel Box (1943) The Secret in the Old Attic (1944) The Clue in the Crumbling Wall (1945) The Mystery of the Tolling Bell (1946) The Clue in the Old Album (1947) The Ghost of Blackwood Hall (1948) The Clue of the Leaning Chimney (1949) The Secret of the Wooden Lady (1950) The Clue of the Black Keys (1951) The Mystery at the Ski Jump (1952) The Clue of the Velvet Mask (1953) The Ringmaster's Secret (1953) The Scarlet Slipper Mystery (1954) The Witch Tree Symbol (1955) The Hidden Window Mystery (1956) The Haunted Showboat (1957) The Secret of the Golden Pavilion (1959) The Clue in the Old Stagecoach (1960) The Mystery of the Fire Dragon (1961) The Clue of the Dancing Puppet (1962) The Moonstone Castle Mystery (1963) The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes (1964) The Phantom of Pine Hill (1965) The Mystery of the 99 Steps (1966) The Clue in the Crossword Cipher (1967) The Spider Sapphire Mystery (1968) The Invisible Intruder (1969) The Mysterious Mannequin (1970) The Crooked Banister (1971) The Secret of Mirror Bay (1972) The Double Jinx Mystery (1973) Mystery of the Glowing Eye (1974) The Secret of the Forgotten City (1975) The Sky Phantom (1976) The Strange Message in the Parchment (1977) Mystery of Crocodile Island (1978) The Thirteenth Pearl (1979) The Triple Hoax (1979) The Flying Saucer Mystery (1980) The Secret in the Old Lace (1980) The Greek Symbol Mystery (1980) The Swami's Ring (1981) The Kachina Doll Mystery (1981) The Twin Dilemma (1981) Captive Witness (1981) Race Against Time (1982) The Broken Anchor (1983) The Mardi Gras Mystery (1988) The Case of the Rising Stars (1988) The Mystery of the Masked Rider (1992) The Treasure in the Royal Tower (1995) The Wedding Day Mystery (1997) The E-mail Mystery (1998) Whispers in the Fog (2000) The Legend of the Emerald Lady (2000) Mystery By Moonlight (2002) The Bike Tour Mystery (2002) The Mistletoe Mystery (2002) No Strings Attached (2003) The Riding Club Crime (2003) Danger on the Great Lakes (2003) Werewolf in a Winter Wonderland (2003) Other series The Nancy Drew Files (1986-97) Nancy Drew Notebooks (1993-2005) Nancy Drew on Campus (1995-98) Nancy Drew: Girl Detective (2004-12) Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew (2006-15) Nancy Drew Diaries (2013-present) Nancy Drew Clue Book (2015-present) Hardy Boys crossovers Be a Detective Mystery Stories (1984-85) Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys Supermystery (1988-98) Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys Super Mystery (2007-12) Other media Video games Secrets Can Kill (1998) (Remastered, 2010) Stay Tuned for Danger (1999) Message in a Haunted Mansion (2000) Treasure in the Royal Tower (2001) The Final Scene (2001) Secret of the Scarlet Hand (2002) Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake (2002) The Haunted Carousel (2003) Danger on Deception Island (2003) The Secret of Shadow Ranch (2004) Curse of Blackmoor Manor (2004) Secret of the Old Clock (2005) Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon (2005) Danger by Design (2006) The Creature of Kapu Cave (2006) The White Wolf of Icicle Creek (2007) Legend of the Crystal Skull (2007) The Phantom of Venice (2008) The Haunting of Castle Malloy (2008) Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses (2008) Ransom of the Seven Ships (2009) Dossier: Resorting to Danger (2009) Warnings at Waverly Academy (2009) Trail of the Twister (2010) Shadow at the Water's Edge (2010) The Captive Curse (2011) Alibi in Ashes (2011) Tomb of the Lost Queen (2012) The Deadly Device (2012) Ghost of Thornton Hall (2013) The Silent Spy (2013) The Shattered Medallion (2014) Labyrinth of Lies (2014) Sea of Darkness (2015) Midnight in Salem (2019) Mystery of the Seven Keys (2024) Film and television Nancy Drew: Detective (1938 film) Nancy Drew: Reporter (1939 film) Nancy Drew: Trouble Shooter (1939 film) Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (1939 film) The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977 TV series) Nancy Drew (1995 TV series) Nancy Drew (2002 TV movie) Nancy Drew (2007 film) Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019 film) Nancy Drew (2019 TV series)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Hidden Staircase](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hidden_Staircase) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hidden_Staircase?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.