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href="#icon-caret-right"></use> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div><div class="loc article-pre-content"><div id="article-meta_1-0" class="comp article-meta mntl-block" data-tracking-container="true"><div id="reference-bylines_1-0" class="comp reference-bylines mntl-bylines right-rail__offset"><div id="mntl-bylines__group_1-0" class="comp mntl-bylines__group mntl-block mntl-bylines__group--author"><div id="mntl-bylines__item_1-0" class="comp mntl-bylines__item mntl-attribution__item mntl-attribution__item--has-date"> <span class="mntl-attribution__item-descriptor">By</span> <div data-tooltip="Elizabeth Kennedy is an educator specializing in early childhood and elementary education who has written about children's literature for over a decade." tabindex="0" data-inline-tooltip="true"> <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/elizabeth-kennedy-626254" rel="nocaes" data-trigger-link="true" class="mntl-attribution__item-name" tabindex="-1" >Elizabeth Kennedy</a> <div id="mntl-author-tooltip_1-0" class="comp mntl-author-tooltip mntl-tooltip mntl-group "> <div class="mntl-author-tooltip__top mntl-author-tooltip__top--no-image"> <div id="mntl-author-tooltip__name_1-0" class="comp mntl-author-tooltip__name mntl-attribution__item "> <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/elizabeth-kennedy-626254" rel="nocaes" class="mntl-attribution__item-name" tabindex="0" >Elizabeth Kennedy</a> </div> <span id="mntl-author-tooltip__job-title_1-0" class="comp mntl-author-tooltip__job-title mntl-text-block">Education and Literature Expert</span> <ul id="mntl-author-tooltip__education_1-0" class="comp mntl-author-tooltip__education mntl-block"><li id="mntl-author-tooltip__education-item_1-0" class="comp mntl-author-tooltip__education-item mntl-text-block">M.S., Instructional Design and Technology, Emporia State University</li> <li id="mntl-author-tooltip__education-item_2-0" class="comp mntl-author-tooltip__education-item mntl-text-block">B.A., English Literature, Brown University</li></ul> <div class="mntl-author-tooltip__bio"> Elizabeth Kennedy is an educator specializing in early childhood and elementary education who has written about children's literature for over a decade. </div> </div> <div class="mntl-author-tooltip__bottom"> <span class="mntl-author-tooltip__learn-more-text">Learn about our</span> <a href="/about-us-4779650#toc-editorial-guidelines" rel="nocaes" class="mntl-author-tooltip__learn-more-link" >Editorial Process</a> </div> </div></div> </div> <div class="mntl-attribution__item-date">Updated on January 30, 2020</div></div> </div></div> </div><div class="loc article-content"><div id="article-content_1-0" class="comp article-content mntl-block"><div id="mntl-sc-page_1-0" class="comp mntl-sc-page mntl-block structured-content expert-content" data-sc-sticky-offset="85" data-sc-ad-label-height="24" data-sc-ad-track-spacing="100" data-sc-min-track-height="250" data-sc-max-track-height="600" data-sc-breakpoint="50em" data-sc-load-immediate="3" data-sc-content-positions="[1, 1050, 1250, 1550, 1950, 2350, 2750, 3150]" data-bind-scroll-on-start="true"><p id="mntl-sc-block_1-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> Teenage sleuth <a href="http://www.mysterynet.com/nancy-drew/" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="externalLink" data-ordinal="1" rel="nofollow">Nancy Drew</a> and Mildred Wirt Benson had a great deal in common, including very long and active lives. Nancy Drew books, in one form or another, have been popular for more than 70 years. 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. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_2-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <span class="heading-toc" id="toc-bensons-early-years"></span><h2 id="mntl-sc-block_3-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block reference-sc-block-heading mntl-sc-block-heading"> <span class="mntl-sc-block-heading__text"> Benson's Early Years </span> </h2> <p id="mntl-sc-block_4-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> Mildred A. Wirt Benson was a remarkable woman who knew from an early age that she wanted to be a writer. Mildred Augustine was born on July 10, 1905, in Ladora, Iowa. Her first story was published when she was only 14. While attending the University of Iowa, she wrote and sold short stories to help cover college costs. Mildred also worked on the student newspaper and as a reporter for the Clinton, Iowa <em>Herald</em>. In 1927, she became the first woman to receive a master's degree in journalism from the University of Iowa. In fact, it was while she was working for a master's degree that Benson submitted a manuscript for the Stratemeyer Syndicate's Ruth Fielding series and was hired to write for the series. She was then offered the opportunity to work on a new series about teenage sleuth Nancy Drew. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_5-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <span class="heading-toc" id="toc-the-stratemeyer-syndicate"></span><h2 id="mntl-sc-block_6-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block reference-sc-block-heading mntl-sc-block-heading"> <span class="mntl-sc-block-heading__text"> The Stratemeyer Syndicate </span> </h2> <p id="mntl-sc-block_7-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> The <a href="http://stratemeyer.org/" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="externalLink" data-ordinal="1" rel="nofollow">Stratemeyer Syndicate</a> was established by author and entrepreneur Edward Stratemeyer for the purpose of developing children's book series. Stratemeyer created the characters and developed outlines of the plots for a variety of children's series and the Syndicate hired ghostwriters to turn them into books. The Hardy Boys, The Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, and Nancy Drew were among the series created through the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Benson received a flat fee of $125 from the Stratemeyer Syndicate for each book for which she was the writer. While Benson never hid the fact that she wrote the text for the Nancy Drew books, the Stratemeyer Syndicate made it a practice to require that its writers remain anonymous and listed Carolyn Keene as the author of the Nancy Drew series. Not until 1980, when she testified in a court case involving the Stratemeyer Syndicate and its publishers, did it begin to become commonly known that Benson wrote the text of the first Nancy Drew books, following the outlines provided by Edward Stratemeyer. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_8-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <figure id="mntl-sc-block_9-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block reference-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-universal-image mntl-sc-block-image--no-theme no-theme mntl-sc-block-image figure-landscape figure-high-res"> <div class="figure-media"> <div class="img-placeholder" style="padding-bottom:70.0%;"> <img data-src="https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/XJJQY8eV-CrMbpjy48i-1Xjef1g=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/IMG_5022-2-b9d0c125a618466292ebc74e127527cb.jpg" width="950" height="665" data-srcset="https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/kNpYiFzjiwjKk4bzgcH_ZH_y4XQ=/750x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/IMG_5022-2-b9d0c125a618466292ebc74e127527cb.jpg 750w" data-sizes="750px" alt="title page and frontispiece of "Mystery of the Glowing Eye", 1974" class="lazyload universal-image__image" data-expand="300" id=mntl-sc-block-image_1-0 data-tracking-container="true" data-img-lightbox="true" data-click-tracked="true" /> <noscript> <img src="https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/XJJQY8eV-CrMbpjy48i-1Xjef1g=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/IMG_5022-2-b9d0c125a618466292ebc74e127527cb.jpg" width="950" height="665" class="img--noscript universal-image__image" srcset="https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/kNpYiFzjiwjKk4bzgcH_ZH_y4XQ=/750x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/IMG_5022-2-b9d0c125a618466292ebc74e127527cb.jpg 750w" sizes="750px" alt="title page and frontispiece of "Mystery of the Glowing Eye", 1974" /> </noscript> </div> </div> <figcaption id="mntl-figure-caption_1-0" class="comp mntl-figure-caption type--mouse figure-article-caption"> <svg class="icon icon-camera figure-article-caption-icon" > <use xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="#icon-camera" href="#icon-camera"></use> </svg> <span class="figure-article-caption-text">"Carolyn Keene" is listed as the author of all books in the Nancy Drew series.</span> <span class="figure-article-caption-owner">Courtesy of Nicole DiMella</span> </figcaption></figure> <span class="heading-toc" id="toc-bensons-career"></span><h2 id="mntl-sc-block_10-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block reference-sc-block-heading mntl-sc-block-heading"> <span class="mntl-sc-block-heading__text"> Benson's Career </span> </h2> <p id="mntl-sc-block_11-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> Although Benson went on to write numerous other books for youth on her own, including the Penny Parker series, the bulk of her career was devoted to journalism. She was a reporter and columnist in Ohio, first for <em>The Toledo Times</em> and then, <em>The Toledo Blade</em>, for 58 years. While she retired as a reporter in January of 2002 due to her health, Benson continued to write a monthly column "Millie Benson's Notebook." Benson was married and widowed twice and had one daughter, Ann. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_12-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <p id="mntl-sc-block_13-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> Like Nancy Drew, Benson was smart, independent, and adventurous. She traveled a good deal, particularly in <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/important-events-in-latin-american-history-2136471" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="1">Central and South America</a>. In her sixties, she became a licensed commercial and private pilot. It seems fitting that Nancy Drew and Mildred Wirt Benson had so much in common. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_14-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <span class="heading-toc" id="toc-what-makes-nancy-drew-books-so-popular"></span><h2 id="mntl-sc-block_15-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block reference-sc-block-heading mntl-sc-block-heading"> <span class="mntl-sc-block-heading__text"> What Makes Nancy Drew Books So Popular? </span> </h2> <p id="mntl-sc-block_16-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> What is it that has made Nancy Drew such a popular character? When the books were first published, Nancy Drew represented a new kind of heroine: a bright, attractive, resourceful girl, capable of solving mysteries and taking care of herself. According to Mildred Wirt Benson, "...it seems to me that Nancy was popular, and remains so, primarily because she personifies the dream image which exists within most teenagers." The Nancy Drew books continue to be popular with 9-12-year-olds. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_17-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <figure id="mntl-sc-block_18-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block reference-sc-block-image mntl-sc-block-universal-image mntl-sc-block-image--no-theme no-theme mntl-sc-block-image figure-portrait figure-low-res"> <div class="figure-media"> <div class="img-placeholder" style="padding-bottom:135.7%;"> <img data-src="https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/_aYYQwxMgfalUdLZWLPCTRkHDCs=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/IMG_5025-2-8770523cbb4d41769c26377129753cda.jpg" width="700" height="950" data-srcset="https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/MoDz-JD3N4WGDIF7owCspxJz6c8=/750x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/IMG_5025-2-8770523cbb4d41769c26377129753cda.jpg 750w" data-sizes="750px" alt="3 Nancy Drew books in a stack on a table" class="lazyload universal-image__image" data-expand="300" id=mntl-sc-block-image_2-0 data-tracking-container="true" data-img-lightbox="true" data-click-tracked="true" /> <noscript> <img src="https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/_aYYQwxMgfalUdLZWLPCTRkHDCs=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/IMG_5025-2-8770523cbb4d41769c26377129753cda.jpg" width="700" height="950" class="img--noscript universal-image__image" srcset="https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/MoDz-JD3N4WGDIF7owCspxJz6c8=/750x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/IMG_5025-2-8770523cbb4d41769c26377129753cda.jpg 750w" sizes="750px" alt="3 Nancy Drew books in a stack on a table" /> </noscript> </div> </div> <figcaption id="mntl-figure-caption_2-0" class="comp mntl-figure-caption type--mouse figure-article-caption"> <svg class="icon icon-camera figure-article-caption-icon" > <use xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="#icon-camera" href="#icon-camera"></use> </svg> <span class="figure-article-caption-text">Nancy Drew books like "The Hidden Staircase" are still popular with young readers.</span> <span class="figure-article-caption-owner">Courtesy of Nicole DiMella</span> </figcaption></figure> <p id="mntl-sc-block_19-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> Some of the boxed sets you might consider are: </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_20-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <ul id="mntl-sc-block_21-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> <li>Nancy Drew Starter Set, which includes <em>The Secret of the Old Clock</em>, <em>The Hidden Staircase</em>, <em>The Bungalow Mystery</em>, <em>The Mystery at Lilac Inn</em>, <em>The Secret of Shadow Ranch</em>, and <em>The Secret of Red Gate Farm</em> </li><li>Nancy Drew Girl Detective Sleuth Set, which includes <em>Without a Trace</em>, <em>A Race Against Time</em>, <em>False Notes</em>, and <em>High Risk</em>.</li> </ul> <div id="mntl-sc-block_22-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <p id="mntl-sc-block_23-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> If you like audiobooks, try </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_24-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <ul id="mntl-sc-block_25-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> <li><em>The Secret of the Old Clock </em></li><li><em>The Hidden Staircase</em></li> </ul> <div id="mntl-sc-block_26-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <p id="mntl-sc-block_27-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> Individual Nancy Drew books, such as <em>The Case of the Creative Crime</em> and <em>The Baby-Sitter Burglaries</em> are also available in hardbound and/or paperback editions. </p></div> <div id="sources-and-citation_1-0" class="comp sources-and-citation mntl-block"><div id="citation-widget_1-0" class="comp citation-widget js-citation-widget" data-tracking-container="true"> <div class="citation-widget__container js-container"> <button class="citation-widget__button js-button"> <span class="citation-widget__cite-label">Cite this Article </span> <svg class="icon icon-cite citation-widget__icon-cite" > <use xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="#icon-cite" href="#icon-cite"></use> </svg> </button> <div class="citation-widget__window js-window"> <svg class="icon icon-close citation-widget__icon-close js-icon-close" > <use xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="#icon-close" href="#icon-close"></use> </svg> <div class="citation-widget__heading">Format</div> <a href="#" class="citation-widget__format-link citation-widget__format-link--active js-format-link">mla</a> <a href="#" class="citation-widget__format-link js-format-link">apa</a> <a href="#" class="citation-widget__format-link js-format-link">chicago</a> <div class="citation-widget__heading">Your Citation</div> <div class="citation-widget__content js-content"> <span class="citation-widget__citation citation-widget__citation--active js-active" data-citation-format="mla">Kennedy, Elizabeth. "Mildred Wirt Benson, aka Carolyn Keene Biography." ThoughtCo, Jun. 25, 2024, thoughtco.com/mildred-wirt-benson-author-bio-626287.</span> <span class="citation-widget__citation" data-citation-format="apa">Kennedy, Elizabeth. (2024, June 25). Mildred Wirt Benson, aka Carolyn Keene Biography. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/mildred-wirt-benson-author-bio-626287</span> <span class="citation-widget__citation" data-citation-format="chicago">Kennedy, Elizabeth. "Mildred Wirt Benson, aka Carolyn Keene Biography." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/mildred-wirt-benson-author-bio-626287 (accessed February 16, 2025).</span> </div> <div class="citation-widget__copy-container"> <button class="citation-widget__copy-button js-copy-button"> <div class="citation-widget__copy-wrapper"> <svg class="icon icon-checkmark citation-widget__icon-checkmark" > <use xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="#icon-checkmark" href="#icon-checkmark"></use> </svg> <span class="citation-widget__copy-label js-copy-label">copy citation</span> </div> </button> </div> </div> </div> </div></div></div> </div><div class="loc article-right-rail"><div id="mm-ads-right-rail_1-0" class="comp mm-ads-right-rail mntl-block"><div id="sc-billboard-group_1-0" class="comp sc-billboard-group mntl-block js-scads-inline-content"><div id="mntl-block_2-0" class="comp mntl-block"><div id="ref-billboard1-sticky-dynamic_1-0" class="comp ref-billboard1-sticky-dynamic mntl-block"><div id="mm-ads-sc-sticky-square-ad_1-0" class="comp 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