Last night, I was reading my children to sleep. \u00a0I might have read past normal time, but my wife is away:)<\/p>\n
We started the Nancy Drew Mystery at Lilac Inn.<\/em> \u00a0On the first page it describes Nancy as a “titian blond”.<\/p>\n Not having seen “titian” before, I went to the dictionary. \u00a0I didn’t see “titian” in my paperback Merriam-Webster<\/em>, nor in my Oxford Canadian<\/em>.<\/p>\n I found “Titian” – in capitalized form – in my Collins Essential Canadian English Dictionary & Thesaurus.<\/em>\u00a0 By that source, “Titian” applies to hair, and means “reddish-gold.” \u00a0My desk Webster’s<\/em> contains “titian”, giving it the meaning “of a brownish orange color”.<\/p>\n As I understand, the Nancy Drew series targets ten- to-fourteen year olds. \u00a0 Yet, the vocabulary suggests higher sophistication. \u00a0I haven’t needed three dictionaries to chase down a word for some time.<\/p>\n In my post about the Hardy Boys<\/a> series, I arrived at this point: the Hardy Boys, as well as Nancy Drew, have excellent value both for entertainment and education. At age 45, I read both series to my kids because I really enjoy them myself.<\/p>\n By the way: the cover of The Mystery at Lilac Inn<\/em>, when I saw it last night, was instantly familiar. I think a lot of my classmates read the book when I was in grades 5-7:)<\/p>\n Source<\/em>:
\nKeene, Carolyn. The Mystery at Lilac Inn<\/em>. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1989.<\/p>\n