Mildred Augustine with friends, 1910s
Showing off the day’s catch after fishing with Asa Wirt, 1930s
Mildred & daughter Peggy, 1950s.
A day of outdoor fun, September 1965
A reporter’s photograph, 1990: Image courtesy of the Toledo Blade.
In April 1993, the University of Iowa made international headlines when it hosted a scholarly conference about Nancy Drew. Mildred Wirt Benson, a ghost writer of the Nancy Drew series and honored guest of the conference, appeared on newspaper pages and television screens across the country. Fans of the popular series were thrilled, but not because they recognized her name. Rather, the excitement stemmed from the fact that most people didn’t know Benson or her role in the creation of the famous teen sleuth. A decades-long mystery had been solved.
The writer behind the Nancy Drew series had always been an enigma. Readers assumed Carolyn Keene was a real person, not realizing the name printed on the book covers was a pseudonym. In 1937, the Library of Congress mistakenly attributed the entire series to Walter Karig. In the 1960’s, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, the head partner at Stratemeyer Syndicate, began telling reporters that she was the true author. When Benson appeared in the spotlight in 1993, the mystery of Carolyn Keene deepened.
The question “Who is Carolyn Keene?” had been replaced with “Who is Mildred Wirt Benson?” Benson had led a private life as a newspaper reporter in Ohio, masked by her anonymity. Now that her identity was revealed, fans and researchers wanted to learn more about her. The Mysterious Mildred Wirt Benson website is a resource for those intrepid sleuths, revealing information about Benson’s life and work, the Nancy Drew Sleuths and their connection to the Iowa Women’s Archives, the history behind the 1993 Nancy Drew Conference, and places to look for even more clues.
Acknowledgements
The Mysterious Mildred Wirt Benson website was created by Rachel Black, Archives Assistant, Iowa Women’s Archives, University of Iowa Libraries in 2017 and produced by Ken Clinkenbeard, Web Services Specialist, University of Iowa Libraries.
The Iowa Women’s Archives thanks Jennifer Fisher and the Nancy Drew Sleuths for financially supporting the creation of the website. Special thanks to Dan and Roxanne Bohlke, Paragon Cabinet Co., Iowa City, for building and donating the beautiful bookcase that now houses the Mildred Wirt Benson collection of published works in the Reading Room of the Iowa Women’s Archives. This generous donation is in memory of of their daughter Megan.
The published resources drawn upon for this website include works by Geoffrey Lapin, Frank Paluka, Julie K. Rubini, Melanie Rehak, Jennifer Fisher, Carolyn Dyer, and Mildred Wirt Benson. Images courtesy of the Toledo Blade and of Jennifer Fisher have been labelled.