Editing Mildred Benson

{{Short description|American writer (1905–2002)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Mildred Wirt Benson
| image = Mildred_Benson.png <!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Mildred Wirt Benson.jpeg|250 px]] -->
| caption = Benson in the late 1990s
| pseudonym   = [[Carolyn Keene]]<br>[[Alice B. Emerson]]<br>Frances K. Judd<br>Joan Clark
| birth_name  = Mildred Augustine
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1905|7|10|}}
| birth_place = [[Ladora, Iowa]], United States
| death_date  = {{death date and age|2002|5|28|1905|7|10}}
| death_place = [[Toledo, Ohio]], United States
| occupation  = Writer<br>Journalist
| alma_mater  = [[University of Iowa]]
| notable_works = ''[[Nancy Drew]]''
| genre       = Children's fiction<br>Mystery
| spouses     = {{Plainlist|
* {{marriage|Asa A. Wirt|1928|1947|end=d.}}
* {{marriage|George Benson|1950|1959|end=d.}}
}}
| children    = 1
| awards = [[Agatha Award]]<ref name="Gorman2002">{{cite book|author=Ed Gorman|title=The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories: 3: Third Annual Collection|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xbquWDpEHRQC&pg=PA24|date=October 18, 2002|publisher=Tom Doherty Associates|isbn=978-1-4299-9331-9|pages=24–}}</ref>
| years_active = 1925–2002
}}

'''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.<ref name=bustle/> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|title = Mildred Benson Is Dead at 96; Wrote 23 Nancy Drew Books|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/30/books/mildred-benson-is-dead-at-96-wrote-23-nancy-drew-books.html|newspaper = The New York Times|date = May 30, 2002|access-date = December 15, 2015|issn = 0362-4331|first = Douglas|last = Martin}}</ref><ref name="lib.umd.edu">{{Cite web|url=http://www.lib.umd.edu/RARE/SpecialCollection/nancy/benson.html|title=Nancy Drew and Friends Online Exhibit: The Mystery of Carolyn Keene|website=lib.umd.edu|access-date=April 14, 2016}}</ref>
{{TOC-limit|2}}

==Early life==
Mildred Benson was born Mildred Augustine on July 10, 1905, in [[Ladora, Iowa]], to Lillian and Dr. J. L. Augustine.<ref name="USA">{{cite web |url= https://www.usatoday.com/life/books/2002/2002-05-29-nancy-drew-author-obit.htm |title= Nancy Drew's first author dies |date= May 29, 2002 |work=USA Today |publisher= [[Gannett Company|Gannett Company Inc.]] |location= Toledo, Ohio |access-date= May 16, 2012}}</ref> 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.<ref name="USA" /><ref name="Martin">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/30/books/mildred-benson-is-dead-at-96-wrote-23-nancy-drew-books.html|title=Mildred Benson Is Dead at 96; Wrote 23 Nancy Drew Books|last=Martin|first=Douglas|date=May 30, 2002|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=April 14, 2016}}</ref>

==Writing career==
Benson began her career selling short stories to magazines such as ''[[St. Nicholas (magazine)|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]]''.<ref name="USA" /><ref name="Martin" /><ref name="UIA Bio">{{Cite web |title=The Tale of the Ghost Writer |url=https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa/mildred/biography/ |access-date=June 1, 2023 |website=[[University of Iowa]]}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mwbworks.html|title=The Mildred A. Wirt Benson Website|last=Fisher|first=Jennifer|website=nancydrewsleuth.com|access-date=April 14, 2016}}</ref><ref name="OLIVER">{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-may-30-me-benson30-story.html|title=Mildred Benson, 96; Author Gave Life to Nancy Drew|last=OLIVER|first=MYRNA|date=May 30, 2002|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|issn=0458-3035|access-date=April 14, 2016}}</ref> 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 [[United States Forest Service|Forest Service]] in fighting forest fires, and alerts the [[United States Coast Guard|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.<ref>{{Cite book|title = From Birdwomen to Skygirls: American Girls' Aviation Stories|last = Erisman|first = Fred|publisher = TCU Press|year = 2009|isbn = 978-0-87565-397-6|location = Fort Worth, Texas|pages = 84–92}}</ref><ref name="digital.lib.uiowa.edu">{{Cite web|url=http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/bai/lapin.htm|title=Books at Iowa: The Ghost of Nancy Drew|website=digital.lib.uiowa.edu|access-date=April 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141130144517/http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/bai/lapin.htm|archive-date=November 30, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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."<ref name="bustle">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bustle.com/articles/97957-original-nancy-drew-ghostwriter-mildred-wirt-benson-was-a-feminist-badass-who-deserves-to-be-championed|title=Original Nancy Drew Ghostwriter Mildred Wirt Benson Was A Feminist Badass Who Deserves to Be Championed As Much As Her Famous Sleuth |website=bustle.com|date=July 17, 2015 |access-date=April 16, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Visci">{{Cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/07/14/nancy_drew_ghostwriter_and_journalist_mildred_wirt_benson_flew_airplanes.html|title=The Original Ghostwriter Behind Nancy Drew Was One of The Most Interesting YA Writers of All Time|last=Visci|first=Marissa|date=July 14, 2015|newspaper=Slate|issn=1091-2339|access-date=April 14, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://old.post-gazette.com/obituaries/20020529nancyobit3p3.asp|title=Obituary: Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson / Author of first 23 Nancy Drew mysteries|publisher=Philadelphia Post-Gazette|author1=Mark Zaborney|author2=George J. Tanber|accessdate=20 October 2015}}</ref>

Benson began working at the ''[[The Blade (Toledo, Ohio)|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 [[Obituary|obituaries]] full-time until a few months before her death.<ref name="USA" /><ref name="Visci" />

===Stratemeyer Syndicate===
In the spring of 1926, literary publisher [[Edward Stratemeyer]] wrote an ad looking for [[ghostwriters]] for the [[Stratemeyer Syndicate]]. Benson applied, 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rehak |first=Melanie |title=Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her |publisher=Mariner Publishing |year=2006 |isbn=9780156030564 |pages=101–107 |language=en}}</ref> Under the pseudonym of [[Alice B. Emerson]], Benson wrote [[Ruth Fielding|''Ruth Fielding and Her Great Scenario'']].<ref name="Martin"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/> 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,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/09/weekinreview/conversations-mildred-benson-ghostwriter-her-sleuth-63-years-smarts-gumption.html|title=Conversations/Mildred Benson; A Ghostwriter and Her Sleuth: 63 Years of Smarts and Gumption|last=Brown|first=Patricia Leigh|date=May 9, 1993|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=April 14, 2016}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rehak |first=Melanie |title=Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her |publisher=Mariner Publishing |year=2006 |isbn=9780156030564 |pages=110–115 |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wgte.org/wgte/watch/item.asp?item_id=110|title=Storied Life of Millie Benson -|website=WGTE Public Media|access-date=April 14, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314033632/http://www.wgte.org/wgte/watch/item.asp?item_id=110|archive-date=March 14, 2016}}</ref> 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."<ref name="OLIVER"/>

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.<ref>{{cite book | last=Johnson | first=Deidre | title=Edward Stratemeyer and the Stratemeyer Syndicate | publisher=Twayne Publishers Maxwell Macmillan Canada Maxwell Macmillan International | publication-place=New York Toronto New York | year=1993 | isbn=0-8057-4006-6 | oclc=27172193 | page=11 |quote=Stratemeyer had arranged that each of his writers [be sent] a sum equal to one fifth of their earnings from the Syndicate}}</ref> 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.<ref name="lib.umd.edu"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mwbdg.html|title=The Mildred A. Wirt Benson Website|last=Fisher|first=Jennifer|website=nancydrewsleuth.com|access-date=April 14, 2016}}</ref>

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 [[The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/1999/10/08/keene_q_a/|title=Who was Carolyn Keene?|last=Benfer|first=Amy|website=Salon|date=October 8, 1999|access-date=April 14, 2016}}</ref><ref name="newreleasetoday.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.newreleasetoday.com/authordetail.php?aut_id=260|title=Mildred A. Wirt Benson Author Profile {{!}} Biography And Bibliography {{!}} NewReleaseToday|website=www.newreleasetoday.com|access-date=April 14, 2016}}</ref> In 2001, Benson received a Special [[Edgar Award]] from the [[Mystery Writers of America]] for her contributions to the Nancy Drew series.<ref name="Visci"/>

Benson's favorite Nancy Drew story was ''[[The Hidden Staircase]]'', the second mystery in the series.<ref name="newreleasetoday.com"/> 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]].<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|title = Mildred Wirt Benson {{!}} The Writing University|url = http://www.writinguniversity.org/author/mildred-wirt-benson#footnote5_jj8xt4h|website = www.writinguniversity.org|access-date = December 15, 2015|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151217144423/http://www.writinguniversity.org/author/mildred-wirt-benson#footnote5_jj8xt4h|archive-date = December 17, 2015}}</ref> 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.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2014972.stm |title= Nancy Drew author dies |date= May 29, 2002 |work= [[BBC News]] World Edition |access-date= May 16, 2012}}</ref><ref name="NYT1">{{cite web |url= https://nytimes.com/2002/05/30/obituaries/30BENS.html |title= Mildred Benson, Author of Nancy Drew Mysteries, Dies at 96 |author= Douglas Martin |date= May 30, 2002 |work=The New York Times |access-date= May 16, 2012}}</ref> In 1950, she married George A. Benson, her editor at the ''[[Toledo Blade]]'' newspaper. He died in 1959.<ref name="BBC" /><ref name="NYT2">{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/30/books/mildred-benson-is-dead-at-96-wrote-23-nancy-drew-books.html |title= Mildred Benson Is Dead at 96; Wrote 23 Nancy Drew Books |author= Douglas Martin |date= May 30, 2002 |work= The New York Times |access-date= May 16, 2012}}</ref><ref name="LAT">{{cite web |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-may-30-me-benson30-story.html |title= Mildred Benson, 96; Author Gave Life to Nancy Drew |author= Myrna Oliver |date= May 30, 2002 |work=Los Angeles Times  |access-date= May 16, 2012}}</ref>

Benson was also known as a great adventurer. She made numerous trips to Central America, witnessing [[Excavation (archaeology)|archaeological excavations]] and visiting [[Maya peoples|Mayan]] sites. After her second husband's death, Benson obtained her pilot's license, and continued flying for several years.<ref name="Visci"/><ref>{{Cite news|title = The Original Ghostwriter Behind Nancy Drew Was One of The Most Interesting YA Writers of All Time|url = http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/07/14/nancy_drew_ghostwriter_and_journalist_mildred_wirt_benson_flew_airplanes.html|newspaper = Slate|date = July 14, 2015|access-date = December 16, 2015|issn = 1091-2339|first = Marissa|last = Visci}}</ref>

Benson died in Toledo at the age of 96 on May 28, 2002.<ref name="USA" /><ref name="Visci" />

==Selected bibliography==
===Non-series===
As Mildred A. Wirt or Mildred Benson:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mwbbks.html|title=The Mildred A. Wirt Benson Website}}</ref>
* ''Sky Racers'', 1935<ref name="ReferenceB">{{Cite web|url=https://www.lib.umd.edu/nancy/influential-authors/books-by-mildred-wirt|title = Books by Mildred Wirt &#124; Nancy Drew and Friends}}</ref>
* ''Carolina Castle'', historical fiction within a [[frame story]]
* ''Courageous Wings'', 1937<ref name="ReferenceB"/>
* ''Linda'', 1940
* ''Pirate Brig'', historical fiction, published 1950 by [[Charles Scribner's Sons|Scribners]] but written earlier.
* ''Dangerous Deadline'', published by [[Dodd, Mead & Co.]] in 1950, a winner of the Boys' Life—Dodd, Mead Prize Competition, and reprinted by Scholastic Book Services. 
* ''Quarry Ghost'' 1959, UK edition, 1960, ''Kristie at College''

===A Mystery Book/Story for Girls series, [[Cupples & Leon]], as Mildred A. Wirt===
* ''The Twin Ring Mystery'', 1935
* ''The Clue at Crooked Lane'', 1936
* ''The Hollow Wall Mystery'', 1936
* ''The Shadow Stone'', 1937
* ''The Wooden Shoe Mystery'', 1938
* ''Through the Moon-Gate Door'', 1938
* ''Ghost Gables'', 1939
* ''Painted Shield'', 1939<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mwbmaw.html|title=The Mildred A. Wirt Benson Website}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://c.web.umkc.edu/crossonm/mildredwirtmysterystories.htm|title = The Mildred Wirt Mystery Stories}}</ref>

===The Boy Scout Explorers series, Cupples & Leon, as Don Palmer===
* ''At Treasure Mountain'', 1955
* ''At Emerald Valley'', 1955
* ''At Headless Hollow'', 1957

===[[Stratemeyer Syndicate]] Series===
====Nancy Drew (as Carolyn Keene)====
*1. ''[[The Secret of the Old Clock]]'', 1930
*2. ''[[The Hidden Staircase]]'', 1930
*3. ''[[The Bungalow Mystery]]'', 1930
*4. ''[[The Mystery at Lilac Inn]]'', 1930
*5. ''[[The Secret at Shadow Ranch]]'', 1931
*6. ''[[The Secret of Red Gate Farm]]'', 1931
*7. ''[[The Clue in the Diary]]'', 1932
*11. ''[[The Clue of the Broken Locket]]'', 1934
*12. ''[[The Message in the Hollow Oak]]'', 1935
*13. ''[[The Mystery of the Ivory Charm]]'', 1936
*14. ''[[The Whispering Statue]]'', 1937
*15. ''[[The Haunted Bridge]]'', 1937
*16. ''[[The Clue of the Tapping Heels]]'', 1939
*17. ''[[The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk|The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk]]'', 1940
*18. ''[[The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion]]'', 1941
*19. ''[[The Quest of the Missing Map]]'', 1942
*20. ''[[The Clue in the Jewel Box]]'', 1943
*21. ''[[The Secret in the Old Attic]]'', 1944
*22. ''[[The Clue in the Crumbling Wall]]'', 1945
*23. ''[[The Mystery of the Tolling Bell]]'', 1946
*24. ''[[The Clue in the Old Album]]'', 1947
*25. ''[[The Ghost of Blackwood Hall]]'', 1948
*30. ''[[The Clue of the Velvet Mask]]'', 1953

====Kay Tracey (as Frances K. Judd)====
*3. ''The Mystery of the Swaying Curtains'', 1935
*4. ''The Shadow on the Door'', 1935
*5. ''The Six-Fingered Glove Mystery'', 1936
*6. ''The Green Cameo Mystery'', 1936
*7. ''The Secret at the Windmill'', 1937
*8. ''Beneath the Crimson Briar Bush'', 1937
*9. ''The Message in the Sand Dunes'', 1938
*10. ''The Murmuring Portrait'', 1938
*11. ''When the Key Turned'', 1939
*12. ''In the Sunken Garden'', 1939
*14. ''The Sacred Feather'', 1940

====Penny Parker (as Mildred A. Wirt)====
*1. ''Tale of the Witch Doll'', 1939
*2. ''The Vanishing Houseboat'', 1939
*3. ''Danger at the Drawbridge'', 1940
*4. ''Behind the Green Door'', 1940
*5. ''Clue of the Silken Ladder'', 1941
*6. ''The Secret Pact'', 1941
*7. ''The Clock Strikes Thirteen'', 1942 
*8. ''The Wishing Well'', 1942
*9. ''Saboteurs on the River'', 1943
*10. ''Ghost Beyond the Gate'', 1943
*11. ''Hoofbeats on the Turnpike'', 1944
*12. ''Voice from the Cave'', 1944
*13. ''Guilt of the Brass Thieves'', 1945
*14. ''Signal in the Dark'', 1946
*15. ''Whispering Walls'', 1946
*16. ''Swamp Island'', 1947
*17. ''The Cry at Midnight'', 1947
*18. '''''Unpublished Title''''', would have been 1948

====Dana Girls (as Carolyn Keene)====
*5. ''The Secret at the Hermitage'', 1936
*6. ''The Circle of Footprints'', 1937
*7. ''The Mystery of the Locked Room'', 1938
*8. ''The Clue in the Cobweb'', 1939
*9. ''The Secret at the Gatehouse'', 1940
*10. ''The Mysterious Fireplace'', 1941
*11. ''The Clue of the Rusty Key'', 1942
*12. ''The Portrait in the Sand'', 1943
*14. ''The Clue in the Ivy'', 1952
*15. ''The Secret of the Jade Ring'', 1953
*16. ''Mystery at the Crossroads'', 1954

====Penny Nichols (as Joan Clark)====
*1. ''Penny Nichols Finds a Clue'', 1937
*2. ''Penny Nichols and the Mystery of the Lost Key'', 1936
*3. ''Penny Nichols and the Black Imp'', 1936
*4. ''Penny Nichols and the Knob Hill Mystery'', 1939

====Connie Carl (as Joan Clark)====
*1. ''Connie Carl at Rainbow Ranch'', 1939
*2. ''Connie Carl on Skis'', would have been 1939 (made into Penny Parker #4)
*3. '''''Untitled Third volume''''', would have been 1939<ref>The end of the manuscript of ''Connie Carl on Skis'' hints at another adventure for Connie when she wins the contest, which is a modeling job. No further information on the title is available.</ref>

====Madge Sterling (as Ann Wirt)====
*1. ''The Missing Formula'', 1932
*2. ''The Deserted Yacht'', 1932
*3. ''The Secret of the Sundial'', 1932

====Ruth Darrow (as Mildred A. Wirt)====
*1 Ruth Darrow in the Air Derby, 1930
*2 Ruth Darrow in the Fire Patrol, 1930
*3. Ruth Darrow in Yucatán, 1931
*4. Ruth Darrow in the Coast Guard, 1931

====Dan Carter Cub Scout (as Mildred A. Wirt)====
*1. ''Dan Carter Cub Scout'', 1949
*2. ''Dan Carter and the River Camp'', 1949
*3. ''Dan Carter and the Money Box'', 1950
*4. ''Dan Carter and the Haunted Castle'', 1951
*5. ''Dan Carter and the Great Carved Face'', 1952
*6. ''Dan Carter and the Cub Honor'', 1953

====Ruth Fielding (as Alice B. Emerson), a 30-book series====
*23. ''Ruth Fielding and her Great Scenario'', 1927
*24. ''Ruth Fielding at Cameron Hall'', 1928
*25. ''Ruth Fielding Clearing Her Name'', 1929
*26. ''Ruth Fielding in Talking Pictures'', 1930
*27. ''Ruth Fielding and Baby June'', 1931
*28. ''Ruth Fielding and Her Double'', 1932
*29. ''Ruth Fielding and Her Greatest Triumph'', 1933
*30. ''Ruth Fielding and Her Crowning Victory'', 1934

====Doris Force (as Julia K. Duncan), a four-book series====
*1. ''Doris Force at Locked Gates'', 1931
*2. ''Doris Force at Cloudy Cove'', 1931

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt9489s46n Guide to the Mildred Wirt Collection.] Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070701230834/http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/mwb/ The Mildred Wirt Benson Collection] (archived): digitized scrapbooks, correspondence, photographs and other artifacts donated by Benson to The University of Iowa Libraries.
* [http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/mildredwirtbenson.html The Mildred Wirt Benson Website]: biography, book lists, photographs and more, at the NancyDrewSleuth.com archive.
* [http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/1999/10/08/keene_q_a/ Who was Carolyn Keene?] An interview with Mildred Wirt Benson, the original ghostwriter for the Nancy Drew mystery novels. (October 1999)
* [http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2002/06/10/drew/ The case of the girl detective] With the passing of Nancy Drew's first author, the mystery of the teenage sleuth's true identity only deepens. (June 2002)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080615021220/http://www.wgte.org/storiedlifeofmilliebenson/ The Storied Life of Millie Benson] at [[WGTE-TV]]
* {{Find a Grave|6456163|Mildred Benson}}

===Electronic editions===
* {{Gutenberg author | id=37000}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Mildred Augustine Wirt}}
* {{Librivox author |id=10769}}

{{Nancy Drew}}
{{Iowa Women's Hall of Fame}}
{{Ohio Women's Hall of Fame}}
{{Agatha Award}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Mildred}}
[[Category:1905 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:Agatha Award winners]]
[[Category:American children's writers]]
[[Category:American women children's writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American women journalists]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in Ohio]]
[[Category:Edgar Award winners]]
[[Category:Journalists from Ohio]]
[[Category:People from Iowa County, Iowa]]
[[Category:Stratemeyer Syndicate]]
[[Category:University of Iowa alumni]]
[[Category:American women mystery writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Iowa]]
[[Category:Writers from Toledo, Ohio]]
[[Category:20th-century American journalists]]