Carolyn Keene and the Mystery of the Real Nancy Drew Author
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Who really wrote the Nancy Drew books? A recent article about the CW series referred to Carolyn Keene as the original Nancy Drew author and stated that Harriet Stratemeyer Adams later rewrote some of the novels. This is close to the truth, but not the whole story by a long shot. Let’s talk about the real Nancy Drew author(s).
Nancy Drew is a fictional “girl detective,” and one of the first, at that. Over the course of a 175-book series published over 73 years (from 1930 to 2003, with assorted spin-off series totaling 328 books continuing to the present day, not including comics), Nancy solved mysteries in and around her small hometown of River Heights, sometimes working with her lawyer father, Carson Drew, and almost always assisted by her best friends, Bess Marvin and George Fayne.
Mildred Wirt Benson (July 10, 1905–May 28, 2002) was the original Carolyn Keene, and eventually wrote 23 of the original Nancy Drew series, beginning with the very first, The Secret of the Old Clock. She is the person who really set the voice of the Nancy Drew books, and in my mind is the Nancy Drew author. (She also wrote other Stratemeyer Syndicate series, including The Dana Girls, also by Carolyn Keene.)
Mildred initially earned $125 per book, later taking pay cuts. Her contract prohibited her from acknowledging that she wrote the books, and all royalties went to the Stratemeyer Syndicate. She eventually identified herself as (one) Carolyn Keene in the 1980 publishing lawsuit mentioned above, in which she testified. In 2001 she was given a special Edgar Award for her contributions to the mystery genre.
Who Is Nancy Drew?
Nancy Drew is a fictional “girl detective,” and one of the first, at that. Over the course of a 175-book series published over 73 years (from 1930 to 2003, with assorted spin-off series totaling 328 books continuing to the present day, not including comics), Nancy solved mysteries in and around her small hometown of River Heights, sometimes working with her lawyer father, Carson Drew, and almost always assisted by her best friends, Bess Marvin and George Fayne.
Who Was Carolyn Keene?
Carolyn Keene did not exist. The name is a pen name that was used for the series, which was written entirely by ghostwriters.So Who Wrote the Nancy Drew Books?
The Backstory
Edward Stratemeyer (October 4, 1862–May 10, 1930) essentially invented book packaging. His company, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, sold book series to publishers. Those series included The Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, The Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew. Stratemeyer developed the series concepts and wrote detailed outlines of the books before handing them off to a ghostwriter, who wrote to his specifications, which were often exacting. Stratemeyer’s daughters, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams and Edna Stratemeyer Squier, took over writing the Nancy Drew outlines after the first three books, following their father’s death in 1930. Incidentally, Stratemeyer’s secretary, Harriet Otis Smith, worked closely with him and later with Harriet and Edna, and helped to develop the series, including creating the characters Bess and George. (Please note that where I refer to “Harriet” in this article, I am referring to Stratemeyer Adams, not Otis Smith.)Nancy Drew Publishers
Stratemeyer Syndicate created and owned the Nancy Drew brand, but they were not a publishing house. Grosset & Dunlap published the Nancy Drew books from 1930 until 1979. Simon & Schuster took over in 1979 (Grosset & Dunlap sued, but the court found that Stratemeyer Syndicate had the right to choose their publisher). The books were published under the Wanderer imprint until 1985, at which time Simon & Schuster purchased the Stratemeyer Syndicate and began publishing the Nancy Drew books under their Minstrel imprint, which marked a distinct change in style. The final 16 books in the Nancy Drew series were published by Aladdin, yet another subdivision of Simon & Schuster. Other series have been published since, all by various Simon & Schuster imprints.The First Carolyn Keene
Mildred Wirt Benson (July 10, 1905–May 28, 2002) was the original Carolyn Keene, and eventually wrote 23 of the original Nancy Drew series, beginning with the very first, The Secret of the Old Clock. She is the person who really set the voice of the Nancy Drew books, and in my mind is the Nancy Drew author. (She also wrote other Stratemeyer Syndicate series, including The Dana Girls, also by Carolyn Keene.)
Mildred initially earned $125 per book, later taking pay cuts. Her contract prohibited her from acknowledging that she wrote the books, and all royalties went to the Stratemeyer Syndicate. She eventually identified herself as (one) Carolyn Keene in the 1980 publishing lawsuit mentioned above, in which she testified. In 2001 she was given a special Edgar Award for her contributions to the mystery genre.
