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The Mystery of Carolyn KeeneThe question of who wrote the Nancy Drew books was a mystery for many 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. We now know that Mildred A. Wirt was the ghostwriter “Carolyn Keene” for 23 of the first 30 Nancy Drew books. (Mildred was born Mildred Augustine and married men named Wirt and Benson.)Mildred Wirt Benson (1905-2002) was herself an independent, resourceful woman and she endowed Nancy and many of her other heroines with these same qualities.
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Nancy Drew is the protagonist of several series of children’s mystery novels, written under the house name of Carolyn Keene.The character was created by Edward Stratemeyer, head of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, which produced not only Nancy Drew, but also The Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, the Bobbsey Twins, the Rover Boys and more series.Nancy began as a 16 year-old high school grad, but was later. Cossacks european wars graphics problem.
It is these strong and vivid characteristics of Nancy Drew that made her so beloved of readers and still wildly popular after 75 years.Mildred Wirt Benson respected the oath of silence she had agreed to with Edward Stratemeyer until the 1980 trial of a lawsuit brought by Grosset & Dunlap against the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Even afterwards, news of her identity as the original Carolyn Keene did not become widely known until the Nancy Drew Conference of 1993 at the University of Iowa. Nancy Drew Mystery StoriesNancy Drew became the ideal of the independent woman that readers wanted to be themselves. Mildred Wirt Benson herself realized this when she stated:“It seems to me that Nancy was popular, and remains so, primarily because she personifies the dream image which exists within most teenagers. Definitely, Nancy had all the qualities lacking in her author.
She was good-looking, had an oversupply of college dates, and enjoyed great personal freedom. She never lost an athletic contest and was far smarter than adults with whom she associated. Leisure time was spent living dangerously. She avoided all household tasks and, indeed, might rate as a pioneer of Women’s Lib.”Mildred Wirt Benson, “Fulfilling a Quest for Adventure ”, p. 62 Rediscovering Nancy Drew.Keene, Carolyn.
The Hidden Staircase. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1930.Keene, Carolyn. The Quest of the Missing Map. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1942. AboutTo celebrate the 75th year of publishing of Nancy Drew books, The University of Maryland Libraries featured an exhibit on Girls’ Series books in the fall of 2005 in Special Collections and University Archives Exhibit Gallery. This exhibit highlights the girls’ series books in the Rose and Joseph Pagnani Collection.
This collection was donated to the University of Maryland Libraries Special Collections in 1998 and contains over 300 books from 33 different girls’ series published from 1917 to 1980. Although Nancy Drew is the star of the exhibit, other girls’ series heroines such as Vicki Barr, Sue Barton, Judy Bolton, and the Dana Girls are also included.Curator: Ann HudakAssistant Curators: Kathleen Brown, Rebecca Mooney, and Dun Yee WongEditors: Eric Lindquist and Doug McElrathGraphic Designer: Rebecca Wilson. Contact UsHornbake Library is located on University of Maryland’s College Park campus. This library is home to the Exhibit Gallery, Special Collections & University Archives and Library Media Services.For general information about the library and our collections,For questions about the exhibit and related events, please or call 301-405-9210. Semester HoursMonday & Tuesday: 10:00am-5:00pmWednesday: 10:00am-8:00pmThursday & Friday: 10:00am-5:00pmSaturday: ClosedSunday: 1:00pm-6:00pm Summer HoursMonday-Friday: 10:00am-5:00pm.
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