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Millie Benson at work, 1949

Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson, a newspaper reporter for more than eight decades and author of 23 of the first 30 Nancy Drew mysteries that inspired generations of readers, shown here at her desk surrounded by her works on August 10, 1949. 

Mrs. Benson - Millie to her friends and fans - was widely acclaimed and internationally known for her work on the Nancy Drew series, which began in 1930. She wrote the initial books in the series under the pen name Carolyn Keene but was sworn to secrecy by a contract she signed with her publisher. Mrs. Benson did not reveal her true identity until a 1980 court case allowed her to do so. The revelation made her an instant celebrity.

“Millie’s innovation was to write a teenage character who insisted upon being taken seriously and who by asserting her dignity and autonomy made her the equal of any adult. That allowed little girls to dream what they could be like if they had that much power,” said Ilana Nash, a Nancy Drew authority from Bowling Green State University.

The longevity and commercial success of the Nancy Drew books have become as good a story as Mrs. Benson’s tales.

“She’s a publishing phenomenon, selling more than 100 million volumes, inspiring translations into 17 languages, and spinning off four movies, a television series ... and a bevy of Nancy Drew products,” wrote University of Northern Iowa English professor Barbara Lounsberry upon Mrs. Benson’s 95th birthday. Mrs. Benson died at 96, tht day she had been working on a column.

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