History Literature / PennyParker

* FriendOnTheForce: Sort of; they're newspaper staff members, not policemen, but they still help Penny get the inside scoop.

* SleuthDatesCop: Jerry Livingston wasn't a cop, but he did have a job that could get him inside the crime scene, which helped Penny.

* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: Or Riverview, in this instance.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Mrs. Weems's first name is ''Maude'', not Maud.

* JustAStitch: Mr. [=DeWitt=] sort of said this in ''Ghost Beyond the Gate'': "Lately I've been having a little pain in my side--it's nothing though. Just getting old, that's all."

* SpoiledSweet: Penny

The Penny Parker series was a collection of seventeen books written by Mildred Wirt Benson between 1939 and 1947 (two books a year except for 1945, which only had one). The heroine was the eponymous Penny Parker, a slim, blond young woman, an only child with [[MissingMom a dead mother]] who was raised by her father and the housekeeper, who was like family. She solved mysteries, most of which took place in her hometown, Riverview, but sometimes were in other locales. Her friends assisted her on her cases and she usually made new ones along the way. [[Literature/NancyDrew Does this sound familiar?]]

* ChekovsSkill: Penny's ice boating in ''Ghost Beyond the Gate''.

The Penny Parker series was a collection of seventeen books written between 1939 and 1947 (two books a year except for 1945, which only had one). The heroine was the eponymous Penny Parker, a slim, blond young woman, an only child with [[MissingMom a dead mother]] who was raised by her father and the housekeeper, who was like family. She solved mysteries, most of which took place in her hometown, Riverview, but sometimes were in other locales. Her friends assisted her on her cases and she usually made new ones along the way. [[Literature/NancyDrew Does this sound familiar?]]

This was Wirt's favorite of her series, and she is quoted as saying that she thought Penny was "a better Nancy Drew than Nancy was."

* Recurring Character: Salt Sommers and Mr.[=DeWitt=]

* CopBoyfriend: Jerry Livingston wasn't a cop, but he did have a job that could get him inside the crime scene, which helped Penny.

There were some marked differences from Nancy Drew, however. Penny's father, Anthony Parker, owned and printed ''The Riverview Star'', a newspaper, unlike Carson Drew, who was a lawyer. Penny's character is actually more similar to that of the original Nancy Drew, as she is terribly flippant and impulsive, which tended to get her into hot water. Penny (who, unlike Nancy, is still in school) also has only one close girlfriend her age, Louise Sidell, as opposed to Nancy's Bess and George. Her other friends included Salt Sommers and Jerry Livingston, a photographer and reporter on her father's paper. The latter was more of a LoveInterest. The cast was rounded out by Mr. Dewitt (later spelled [=DeWitt=]), the ''Star's'' gruff city editor.