Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson (July 10, 1905 – May 28, 2002) was an American journalist and writer of children's books. She wrote some of the earliest Nancy Drew mysteries and created the detective's adventurous personality. Benson wrote under the Stratemeyer Syndicate pen name, Carolyn Keene, from 1929 to 1953 and contributed to 23 of the first 30 Nancy Drew mysteries, which were bestsellers.

Early life

Mildred Benson was born Mildred Augustine on July 10, 1905, in Ladora, Iowa, to Lillian and Dr. J. L. Augustine. Benson earned her degree in English from the University of Iowa in 1925 in just three years. She later returned to the university, and in 1927, became the first student there to earn a master's degree in journalism.

Writing career

Benson began her career selling short stories to magazines such as St. Nicholas and Lutheran Young Folks. During her college years, she worked at The Daily Iowan under editor George Gallup, and after receiving her undergraduate degree, for the society pages of the Clinton Herald. In addition to her work with the Stratemeyer Syndicate, Benson also wrote many other series both in her name and under other pseudonyms from the 1930s to the 1950s. She ultimately wrote under a dozen names and published more than 130 books. In 1930 and 1931, Benson wrote the Ruth Darrow series. Taking flying lessons and flying her own aircraft, Ruth wins a national cross-country race, lands on an aircraft carrier, helps the Forest Service in fighting forest fires, and alerts the Coast Guard of an immigrant-smuggling scheme. The series has been highlighted as unusual for its time, for both its generally authentic aeronautical lore, and the consistent and outspoken advocacy of women's abilities and mechanical competence. From 1939 to 1947, Benson wrote the Penny Parker books which were published under her own name. Parker was the daughter of a newspaper editor who sought to become a reporter herself, often becoming involved in mysteries and dangerous situations. Parker was modeled after both the Nancy Drew character and Benson herself, but also gave Benson creative control of the character and her stories that she did not have for the Nancy Drew series. Benson would later cite Parker as her favorite of the characters she wrote, and considered her to be "a better Nancy Drew than Nancy is." Benson began working at the Toledo Blade in 1944, and continued there for 58 years. After the death of her second husband in 1959, Benson focused on journalism. In the 1990s, she began writing a weekly column for the Toledo Blade titled "On the Go". She continued this and writing obituaries full-time until a few months before her death.

Stratemeyer Syndicate

In the spring of 1926, literary publisher Edward Stratemeyer wrote an ad looking for ghostwriters for the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Benson applied with mentioning that she had plans to move to New York City where Stratemeyer's offices were located. At his request, Benson sent Stratemeyer some of her work with which he was impressed. While vacationing, she met Stratemeyer in New York in July and was offered to undertake the Ruth Fielding series. Under the pseudonym of Alice B. Emerson, Benson wrote Ruth Fielding and Her Great Scenario. Stratemeyer credited Benson's writing for reviving sales of the Fielding series. Syndicate ghostwriters took the outlines supplied by Stratemeyer and wrote the novel based from an outline sent to them. After her initial meeting with Stratemeyer, Benson never saw him again; the work was done through correspondence. As with all Syndicate ghostwriters, under the terms of her contract, Benson was paid a flat fee of $125 to $250 for each Stratemeyer-outlined text, the equivalent of three months' pay for a newspaper reporter at that time. Ghostwriters signed away all rights to their texts and any claim to the Syndicate pseudonym used. Writers were, however, permitted to reveal that they wrote for the Syndicate. The Syndicate protected their pseudonyms to preserve series continuity as contributors to the series came and went. In 1929, Stratemeyer developed a new series of detective novels with Benson in mind as the ghostwriter. He initially titled the heroine "Stella Strong", though upon selling the series to Grosset & Dunlap, they chose the alternative name "Nan Drew" and lengthened the name to Nancy Drew. While Stratemeyer supplied the outlines of the first four novels for Benson, she developed Nancy's spunky, plucky personality, and her daring, adventurous spirit. Benson sought to make the heroine an unusually liberated woman for her time. She later said about writing the initial books, "I always knew the series would be successful. I just never expected it to be the blockbuster that it has been. I'm glad that I had that much influence on people." Shortly after finishing work on The Mystery at Lilac Inn, and only a few weeks after the launch of the series, Stratemeyer died. Under the terms of his will, all Syndicate ghostwriters, including Benson, were sent one-fifth of the equivalent of the royalties the Syndicate had received for each book series to which they had contributed. Stratemeyer's daughters, Harriet Adams and Edna Stratemeyer, initially attempted to sell the company as per his wishes, but were unable to find a buyer due to the Great Depression. They ultimately continued their father's work, and kept correspondence with Benson. Though Benson briefly quit the Nancy Drew series, she continued writing the Fielding books until the series was cancelled by its publisher in 1934. Upon returning to the Nancy Drew series in 1934, Adams and Stratemeyer were able to convince her to also write the Kay Tracey and Dana Girls series they had developed. The Dana Girls, which also used the Carolyn Keene pseudonym, had been written by The Hardy Boys ghostwriter Leslie McFarlane until he quit following the initial four books. Benson continued writing for the Syndicate until the early 1950s, when the Syndicate underwent management changes. Beginning in 1959, Adams began revising and updating the Nancy Drew books written by Benson. Adams also made changes to Nancy's personality that had been crafted by Benson, making her less assertive and spunky. In 1980, Grosset & Dunlap called Benson as a witness during a lawsuit against the Syndicate for contracting new titles with their competitor Simon & Schuster. Benson's testimony revealed her identity to the public as a contributor to the Nancy Drew mystery stories. After the death of her sister in 1973, Adams claimed she had written the series since her father's passing; she had received considerable publicity for this especially since both The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew were adapted for television in the late 1970s. Since the revelation and subsequent research into Syndicate files, Benson has been acknowledged the creator of the original Nancy Drew along with Edward Stratemeyer. In 2001, Benson received a Special Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for her contributions to the Nancy Drew series. Benson's favorite Nancy Drew story was The Hidden Staircase, the second mystery in the series. Whenever asked, she would gladly autograph copies of the Nancy Drew books, but only the titles she actually wrote.

Personal life

In 1928, she married Asa Wirt, a correspondent for the Associated Press. The couple had a daughter, Margaret "Peggy" Wirt, who was born in 1936. Asa Wirt died in 1947, following a long illness during which Mildred took care of him. In 1950, she married George A. Benson, her editor at the Toledo Blade newspaper. He died in 1959. Benson was also known as a great adventurer. She made numerous trips to Central America, witnessing archaeological excavations and visiting Mayan sites. After her second husband's death, Benson obtained her pilot's license, and continued flying for several years. Benson died in Toledo at the age of 96 on May 28, 2002.

Selected bibliography

Non-series

As Mildred A. Wirt or Mildred Benson:

A Mystery Book/Story for Girls series, Cupples & Leon, as Mildred A. Wirt

Stratemeyer Syndicate Series

Nancy Drew (as Carolyn Keene)

Kay Tracey (as Frances K. Judd)

Penny Parker (as Mildred A. Wirt)

Dana Girls (as Carolyn Keene)

Penny Nichols (as Joan Clark)

Connie Carl (as Joan Clark)

Madge Sterling (as Ann Wirt)

Ruth Darrow (as Mildred A. Wirt)

Dan Carter Cub Scout (as Mildred A. Wirt)

Ruth Fielding (as Alice B. Emerson), a 30-book series

Doris Force (as Julia K. Duncan), a four-book series

Electronic editions