introduction [continued from home page]

...Born Mildred Augustine in Ladora, Iowa, in 1905, Benson began her writing career at age 13 with a short story published in the children's magazine St. Nicholas. After a handful of similar publication credits, she signed a contract with Stratemeyer in 1927 to ghostwrite novels for some of his established children's series. This soon led to the Nancy Drew assignment; in 1930 the first three books in the series, written under the name Carolyn Keene, were published simultaneously to instant success. Over the next 29 years, Benson wrote a total of 135 young adult novels (including 20 more Nancy Drew titles) under her own name as well as a variety of pseudonyms, along with almost 100 short stories.

At the same time, Benson managed to earn two degrees at the University of Iowa (B.A. in English, 1925; M.A. in journalism, 1927), then worked full-time as a newspaper reporter (briefly at The Iowa City Press-Citizen and The Clinton [Iowa] Herald, and a 58-year stint at The Toledo Blade). She also found time for family, marrying journalist Asa Wirt in 1928, giving birth to daughter Margaret in 1936, and, after Wirt’s death, marrying newspaper editor George Benson in 1950. Age didn’t seem to slow down Benson either. From the 1960s until shortly before her death in 2002, Benson developed an interest in aviation, starting flying lessons at age 59 and eventually earning a commercial pilot’s license. She also studied archaeology and undertook several expeditions to remote sites in Central America.

However, it is Benson’s role as the original author of Nancy Drew that has proven to be her most enduring legacy. Over 70 years after the teen sleuth solved her first case, she remains a symbol of freedom and adventure for millions of fans. At the University of Iowa’s Nancy Drew symposium in 1993, writer Nancy Pickard spoke on this icon’s continuing appeal:

"I think it is not overstating the case to maintain that the original Nancy Drew is a mythic character in the psyches of the American women who followed her adventures as they were growing up. She may have been Superman, Batman, and Green Hornet, all wrapped up in a pretty girl in a blue convertible...Nancy Drew, especially the Nancy of the original story, is our bright heroine, chasing down the shadows, conquering our worst fears, giving us a glimpse of our brave and better selves, proving to everybody exactly how admirable and wonderful a thing it is to be a girl." [2]


While Nancy Drew has become world-famous, with over 200 million books sold and translations into 25 different languages, Benson has remained in the background. With this digital collection, featuring artifacts drawn from the Iowa Women’s Archives, University Archives, Special Collections, and general stacks, The University of Iowa Libraries hopes to provide clues about the mysterious author behind this beloved character.