Who penned the 'Nancy Drew Mystery' book series?

Nancy Drew is a fictional character, a sleuth in an American mystery series created by publisher Edward Stratemeyer as the female counterpart to his 'Hardy Boys' series. Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson was an American journalist and author of some of the earliest Nancy Drew mysteries & created the detective's adventurous personality. The books are ghostwritten by a number of authors and published under the collective pseudonym 'Carolyn Keene'.

Over the decades, the character evolved in response to changes in US culture and tastes. The books were extensively revised and shortened, beginning in 1959, to lower printing costs with arguable success.

By the 1980s, an older and more professional Nancy emerged in a new series. The original 'Nancy Drew Mystery Stories' series started in 1930 and ended in 2003. By 2004, the 'Girl Detective' series features Nancy driving a hybrid electric vehicle & using a cell phone.

The character proves continuously popular worldwide: with at least 80 million copies of the books that have been sold, and the books have been translated into over 45 languages. Nancy Drew is featured in five films, three television shows, and a number of popular computer games; she also appears in a variety of merchandise sold around the world.

Nancy Drew is cited as a formative influence by a number of women, from Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Sonia Sotomayor to former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton & former First Lady Laura Bush.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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24 Comments

Annie

I still have my original books, hard copies $.99 each. I saved up allowance money, rode the bus to downtown Okla City, John A. Browns department store, bought my precious new Nancy Drew, headed home to read it immediately. Thanks for letting me enjoy a great memory!

Joanne Serin

Nancy Drew is the first series I ever read, starting at age 9, and have always loved the genre of female sleuths through Kinsey Milhone (by Sue Grafton), Eve Dallas (J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts) Stephanie Plum (Janet Evanovich), Rizzoli and Isles (Tess Gerritsen, The Women's Murder Club (James Patterson), and Kay Scarpetta, though she's a medical examiner (Pat Cornwell).

Susan Cece MacVicar

It has been 65 years since I read a Nancy Drew book. I loved them and I still know who wrote them.

Jim Cleary

Actually, The Carolyne Keene mysteries were penned by the same boiler room hacks who did the same for the Hardy Boys sereis.

Bank-Robber

I remember my sister had these books!!!

marijohnross

I read all of the Nancy Drew books back in the mid 1960's. The ones I read were the books written in the 1930's. Even though those books are not politically correct and some reeked of racism in their portrayal of characters, I enjoyed them more than the numerous rewrites that have come along. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the automobiles, the clothing descriptions, and the manner in which the characters spoke. My sister and I were talking about my obsessive reading of the books and she told me "you THOUGHT you were Nancy Drew. You always saw mystery in everyday activities and gathered clues to prove something was actually happening." Which of course it wasn't.

Dena Barrett

That was actually a pseudonym for Laurie Lykken.

Marianne Frederick Halterman

Published by Bobbs-Merrill

larrywagner

tesla alset, Great reply Tesla.

Paul R Hanna

Carolyn Keene not a person,penned nothing. lots of authors wrote the books. terrible way to word the question

Chrissy Krainock Luders

JFK had a ghostwriter for “Profiles in Courage”, yet he still won the Pulitzer. I think we can all agree Carolyn Keene is listed as the author. She must be at least 130!