Nancy Drew is a fictional character. She is the main character in a series of chapter books called Nancy Drew Mystery Stories. Her books were written in the 1930s by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate. The first writings in The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories were written by Mildred A. Wirt Benson, and changed by Harriet Adams, Edward's daughter. Nancy Drew's birth year is 1914 and she is 18 years old in the books.
Nancy Drew lives in the fictional River Heights with her father, Carson Drew. Their housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, has acted like a mother to Nancy, ever since Nancy's mother died when she was three years old. Nancy has a few close friends that appear in the book series and some of them in the computer games. When the book series first begins, Nancy's best friend is Helen Corning, who is a few years older than Nancy. A few books later, some new friends are introduced. Nancy's two best friends in the later books are Bess Marvin and George Fayne, the latter two being cousins. Ned Nickerson, Nancy's boyfriend, first appears in the book, The Clue in the Diary. Bess, George, and Ned all appear in the computer games and Helen Corning is never mentioned.