Nancy Drew had a lot of Iowa girl in her

The character Nancy Drew has been a global phenomenon thrilling readers for the past 90 years, yet a good portion of those readers don't know the real Nancy Drew, the author behind the pseudonym 'Carolyn Keene.” Iowa Wesleyan University alum Patricia Essick spoke about the first author of the Nancy Drew series, Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson, at the last lecture in the Brown Bag Series.

'I've been fascinated with Nancy Drew since the fourth grade,” Essick said. 'She was smart, she was capable, and she could get herself out of any predicament she found herself without any boy coming to her rescue. How did Nancy Drew come to be the way she was? ”

The first seven Nancy Drew books were ghostwritten by Mildred Benson, who was born and raised in Ladora, Iowa. Though Benson did not create the character herself, Essick believes Benson's own character and upbringing were sources of inspiration for Nancy Drew.

'She was responsible for breathing life and spirit into Nancy Drew,” Essick said. 'You'll find lots of things from Millie's life reflected in the character of Nancy Drew that she developed.”

Much like Nancy Drew, Benson was known for her sense of adventure and independence.

'She wasn't a girlie type girl, and she always thought girls should be able to do things boys can do,” Essick said.

Benson had a passion for reading, and when she was only 13 years old, she had her first piece of writing published in the St. Nicholas magazine. The story was called 'The Courtesy.”

In 1925, Mildred earned her bachelor's in English from the University of Iowa, and shortly after she entered the master's program for journalism at Iowa, to which she was the first student, she was tasked with her first ghostwriting books, the Ruth Fielding series.

Edward Stratemeyer, the editor and creator of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, saw the popularity of the Hardy Boys and wanted to introduce a teen female detective, Nancy Drew. Stratemeyer chose Benson as the author for the series, and in October 1929, he sent her a three-page outline for the first book.

'Years later in an interview, Mildred said ‘I didn't really analyze that outline Mr. Stratemeyer sent me. I just put a piece of paper in my typewriter and let it roll,' and she did.” Essick said. 'She let it roll and roll, and it's still rolling to this day.”

Mildred was paid $125 for a 250-page, 25 chapter book, and out of the 30 original Nancy Drew books, she wrote 20. Mildred had to sign away her rights to the books and couldn't get recognition or other royalties other than the initial $125 per book.

'Her family knew that she wrote these books, but hardly anybody else did,” Essick said. 'She didn't get acknowledged for writing the Nancy Drew books until the 1990s.”

Essick ended the lecture by praising Benson for her writing and depictions of the Nancy Drew character.

'The impact of Nancy Drew was remarkable, and I think we can all say thank you to Mildred for creating her,” she said. 'Thank you as well for the Iowa girl, because without her, there would be no Nancy Drew.”