21 Facts About Mildred Benson

Mildred Benson wrote some of the earliest Nancy Drew mysteries and created the detective's adventurous personality.

Mildred Benson earned her degree in English from the University of Iowa in 1925 in just three years.

Mildred Benson later returned to the university, and in 1927, became the first student there to earn a master's degree in journalism.

Mildred Benson began her career selling short stories to magazines such as St Nicholas and Lutheran Young Folks.

Mildred Benson ultimately wrote under a dozen names and published more than 130 books.

In 1930 and 1931, Mildred Benson wrote the Ruth Darrow series.

From 1939 to 1947, Mildred Benson wrote the Penny Parker books which were published under her own name.

Mildred Benson began working at the Toledo Blade in 1944, and continued there for 58 years.

Mildred Benson continued this and writing obituaries full-time until a few months before her death.

Mildred Benson applied with mentioning that she had plans to move to New York City where Stratemeyer's offices were located.

At his request, Mildred Benson sent Stratemeyer some of her work with which he was impressed.

Under the pseudonym of Alice B Emerson, Benson wrote Ruth Fielding and Her Great Scenario.

Stratemeyer credited Mildred Benson's writing for reviving sales of the Fielding series.

Mildred Benson sought to make the heroine an unusually liberated woman for her time.

Under the terms of his will, all Syndicate ghostwriters, including Mildred Benson, were sent one-fifth of the equivalent of the royalties the Syndicate had received for each book series to which they had contributed.

Mildred Benson continued writing for the Syndicate until the early 1950s, when the Syndicate underwent management changes.

Adams made changes to Nancy's personality that had been crafted by Mildred Benson, making her less assertive and spunky.

Mildred Benson's testimony revealed her identity to the public as a contributor to the Nancy Drew mystery stories.

Since the revelation and subsequent research into Syndicate files, Mildred Benson has been acknowledged the creator of the original Nancy Drew along with Edward Stratemeyer.

In 2001, Mildred Benson received a Special Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for her contributions to the Nancy Drew series.

Mildred Benson died in Toledo at the age of 96 on May 28,2002.