“Even as a child, a determination to write possessed me. I detested dolls, but played with hundreds of tiny wooden spools, moving them as actors on a stage. ‘When I grow up I’m going to be a GREAT writer,’ I proclaimed to anyone who would listen.” -- Mildred Wirt Benson, “The Ghost of Ladora”

biographies: browse artifacts

Although contractually forbidden from identifying herself as a ghost writer for the Nancy Drew series, the forthright Benson was not one to deny authorship when asked directly. Two brief biographies published by the University of Iowa Libraries quietly revealed the secret many years before a 1980 lawsuit between the copyright holders, Stratemeyer Syndicate, and one of its publishers made the fact a matter of public record in court.

Iowa Authors: A Bio-bibliography of Sixty Native Writers [excerpt] by Frank Paluka

Several rounds of correspondence with staff of the UI Libraries Special Collections Department resulted in the inclusion of Benson in its Iowa Authors Collection and in the corresponding Iowa Authors “bio-bibliography.” Published in 1967, the text paid tribute to the University’s longstanding tradition of commitment to writing and the creative arts. Its short biographical sketch of Benson is followed by a bibliography compiled by Special Collections staff, in consultation with the novelist. She later informed staff members that this list proved invaluable both in providing testimonies for the Stratemeyer lawsuit, and in working with the Library Congress to receive attribution for her pseudonymous novels in library catalogs worldwide.

Books at Iowa

The journal Books at Iowa was published twice a year from 1964 to 1996 by the Friends of the University of Iowa Libraries. Edited by members of the Libraries’ Special Collections Department, the journal described collections and acquisitions on the UI’s key collecting areas.  

• “The Ghost of Ladora” by Mildred Wirt Benson
  This six-page article, Benson’s most extensive piece of autobiographical writing, touches on her early life in Ladora, her years at the University of Iowa, her careers as a novelist and as a journalist, and her writing process. A slightly revised version of this essay was reprinted under the title “Fulfilling a Quest for Adventure” in Rediscovering Nancy Drew (University of Iowa Press, 1995).
• “The Ghost of Nancy Drew” by Geoffrey Lapin
  Fan-turned-activist Lapin was instrumental in helping Benson receive recognition for her pioneering work on the Nancy Drew series. This essay details his crusade to correct false information about the novels’ authorship. It also contains biographical information gleaned from his friendship with Benson, as well as the definitive bibliography of her novels.