Alice leonhardt, who wrote nancy drew books for megabooks, never even met the intermediaries who passed on her manuscripts to the publisher. Mildred wirt benson, the woman who wrote the original stories about teenage detective nancy drew, has died aged 96. Nancy drew diaries books by carolyn keene from simon. Its no longer a secret that carolyn keene, the hardworking, prolific, zippily named and incredibly longlived author of the nancy drew books. Although it is a novelization of the movie plot, it is written in the style of the actual nancy drew mystery serieshaving not seen the movie yet, i didnt feel like i was reading a script, it is a fullfledged nancy drew mystery story, with all the usual suspects, including bess, george, ned, hannah. Walter karig, a regular stratemeyer syndicate author, wrote three nancy drews in the 1930s.
The adventurous writer who brought nancy drew to life arts. Nancy drew fans will enjoy the mildred wirt benson website, which is devoted to the works of mildred a. Applewood books published facsimile editions of the early, unrevised editions of the nancy drew volumes 1 through 21 from 1991 to 2005. Most of the original nancy drew books were ghostwritten by a woman named mildred wirt benson, whom edward stratemeyer hired in 1926 to turn his scribbled notes about a girls mystery series into a manuscript. Producing films in the late 1930s and recently as well in 2007, its eponymous character has an enduring appeal, which is also reflected in its videogame titles as well. Carolyn keene is a pen name used by a variety of authors for the classic nancy drew mystery series. Mildred wirt benson, who wrote the text of 23 of the first 25 nancy drew books under the direction of edward stratemeyer, was still an active newspaper columnist when she died in may of 2002 at the age of 96. Nancy drew, fictional teenage amateur detective in an extended series of mystery books written by carolyn keene a collective pseudonym, used by edward stratemeyer and, among many others, by his daughter harriet s. However, mildred wirt was largely responsible for shaping the nancy drew character. The literary tycoon nancy drew was one of the many characters dreamed up by edward stratemeyer, a publishing titan who pioneered the mass production of childrens book series, including those. A recent article about the cw series referred to carolyn keene as the original nancy drew author. Drew fans learned that benson was the original carolyn keenethe.
The ladora native is the one whose vision made nancy drew. She wrote the books under the pseudonym carolyn keene. Bringing the famous teenage detective to a new generation of readers, the nancy drew diaries is a modern adaptation of the original mystery series, still written under the pen name carolyn keene. The nancy drew cookbook contained recipes and short stories. Other writers who have adapted the carolyn keene moniker include leslie mcfarlane, james duncan lawrence, walter karig, and nancy axelrod. Benson, known as millie to friends and fans, wrote 23 of the 30 original nancy drew stories. The threepage outline stratemeyer wrote for the first nancy drew book, the secret of the old clock, set a tone for his new protagonist, whom he described as an uptodate american girl at her. After an unforgettable vacation on the exclusive beaches of california, nancy, bess, and george are glad to be back in downtoearth river heights. Heralded by many feminists as a strong female rolemodel, nancy drew has had an extremely positive influence on her young readers over the years. Nancy drew and her friends bess and george tackle everything from sabotage to kidnapping, using their impressive powers of deduction and reasoning to creatively crack cases and outsmart their enemies in the clever, contemporary, and delightfully suspenseful nancy drew diaries. The book nancy drew and the clue of the dancing puppet, with 177 pages, written in 1990 by carolyn keen is intended for older kids from ages ten to fourteen. The series, which ran from january 30, 1977 to january 14, 1979, was produced by glen a. Both titles under the nancy drew picture book banner were illustrated picture books aimed at younger readers.
Nancy drew all new girl detective books by carolyn keene. The company that was the creator of the nancy drew series, the stratemeyer syndicate, hired a variety of writers. Aunt eloise drew invited nancy and her friends to mirror bay bideawee cabin near cooperstown, new york, for a visit and a chance to solve the mystery of the woman who glides across the water. Benson was the one who developed nancy drews personality, turning her from a quick character sketch into an actual character. The first nancy drew book, the secret of the old clock, was written by mildred wirt benson. The secret syndicate behind nancy drew jstor daily. The mystery of carolyn keene the question of who wrote the nancy drew books was a mystery for many years.
According to the new york times, the hardy boys creator edward stratemeyer first conceived of nancy drew in 1929. Many of the nancy drew books were written by mildred wirt benson, who was the first to use the pseudonym. To her readers, she was carolyn keene, one of at least two and perhaps as many as six writers who used that pseudonym for the original 56. Nancy was the embodiment of independence, pluck, and intelligence and that was what many little girls craved to be like and to emulate. The character of nancy drew ghostwritten and credited to the pseudonymous carolyn keene has appeared in a number of series over the years. Benson wrote the first seven volumeswhich also include the secret of shadow ranch, the secret of red gate farm, and the clue in the diaryas well as books 11 through 25.
Over the course of more than 600 books, nancy drews adventures. Nancy drew s intelligence, courage, and independence made her a popular role model for many generations of young readers. She wrote under the pseudonym carolyn keene, and was behind 23 of the original 30 nancy drew books, which were first published in 1930. The nancy drew books have been ghostwritten by a number of authors and are published under the pseudonym carolyn keene. Harriet wrote 26 of the nancy drew books and rewrote an additional eight. The main problem in the clue of the dancing puppet is that every night a mysterious puppet comes out and dances in the backyard o. Wirt benson who penned 17, 1125, and 30, walter karig who penned 810, george waller jr. The first 34 nancy drew books in the original texts published from 1930 to 1956 contain 25 chapters and around 210 to 225 pages each. She would go on to write 23 of the first 30 nancy drew books volumes 17, 1125 and 30. Wirt, who wrote 23 of the first 30 books, sculpted nancy drew into an archetype of a young, independent woman. For nancy drew, the writers used the pseudonym carolyn keene to assure anonymity of the creator. As mentioned, several other people wrote nancy drew books. Iowan mildred wirt benson authored original nancy drew.
She was a ghost writer for many of the original books in the series. Parker stevenson and shaun cassidy starred as detective brothers frank and joe hardy, respectively, while. Carolyn keene is a pseudonym used by ghostwriters over the years who wrote under that pen name. David farahs guide is the accepted guide book for identifying the various editions. The first author to use the pseudonym was mildred wirt benson, who wrote 23 of the original 30 books. As with his other book series, the nancy drew series was penned by a collection of ghostwriters under the pseudonym carolyn keene. Wirt benson, who breathed such a fiesty spirit into nancys character. The pseudonym carolyn keene was also used for the dana girls mystery series and for the river heights spinoff series mildred wirt benson was the author of many early titles and brought nancy to life. Nancy drew became a hit and by 1934 was outselling boys series like the hardy boys and tom swift. Nancy drew and the mystery of carolyn keene nancy drew books have historically been credited to author carolyn keene, a woman who never existed.
Stratemeyer adams claimed credit as the series sole author because, she said. Mildred may have created the nancy drew voice, but harriet refined and ultimately defined it. Mildred wrote 23 of the original 30 nancy drew mystery stories. The early nancy drew is smart, adventurous, flippant, and daring. The books are ghostwritten by a number of authors and published under the. The author of the best books about americas favorite teenage sleuth is iowas mildred wirt benson, who wrote as carolyn keene. Margaret scherf, alma sasse, and charles strong each wrote a single title. Billman credits stratemeyer himself with writing the first three nancy drew novels, and then passes the credit on to his daughter, harriet stratemeyer adams, who made nancy less bossy. Nancy drew complete series set, books 164 hardcover october 11, 2006 by carolyn keene author. Mildred wirt benson, who wrote 23 of the first 30 nancy drew novels those spinechilling tales of the fearless teenage sleuth who motored about in a blue roadster solving crimes. The character of nancy drew ghostwritten and credited to the pseudonymous carolyn. The hardy boysnancy drew mysteries retitled the hardy boys for season three is a television mystery series based on hardy boys and nancy drew novel series. The books are ghostwritten by a number of authors and published under the collective pseudonym carolyn keene. Nancy drew is a fictional character, a sleuth in an american mystery series created by publisher edward stratemeyer as the female counterpart to his hardy boys series.
Believe it or not, nancy drew is nearly 90 years old. Stratemeyers daughter, harriet stratemeyer adams, also had a. Edna and harriet stratemeyer inherited the company from their father edward stratemeyer. Nancy has blond hair and drives a smart blue roadster. The hardy boys, nancy drew, and the secret ghostwriters of. Malibu mayhem follows nancy drew back to river heights in this conclusion to the latest mystery arc. Diehard fans of nancy drew books will definitely want to add this one to their collection. Upon their arrival, nancy becomes mixed up in a vacation hoax and is nearly arrested for fraud. Carolyn keene and the mystery of the real nancy drew author.
Carolyn keene nancy drew and friends umd libraries. The adventurous writer who brought nancy drew to life. For the classic series of 56 nancy drew books, there were 8 ghostwriters. Nancy drew books, in one form or another, have been popular for more than 70 years. Although edward stratemeyer created the characters and synopsis for the first few nancy drew books, he did not write them himself, and the actual writers agreed not to reveal their names. Mildred wirt benson holds the credit to being the primary writer of the nancy drew book series. Wirt benson who wrote 6 books including 23 of the original nancy drew books. In the years that followed, she wrote several books for the syndicate.
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