MAUMEE, OH (WTOL) - A local author and city councilwoman has dug into the archives of Millie Benson's "Nancy Drew" series and written her own mystery book about her.
The book is titled, "Missing Millie Benson: The Secret Case of the Nancy Drew Ghostwriter and Journalist" and explores what made the author of the series "tick." The book was published just in time for the 110th anniversary of Benson's birthday and the 85th anniversary of the Nancy Drew Mystery series.
Benson worked in Toledo and is credited with the 23 books in the Nancy Drew series. She wrote under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene and was a former Toledo Times and Toledo Blade journalist. She lived from 1905 - 2002.
Growing up in Iowa, Mildred "Millie" Benson had ample time to develop her imagination and sense of adventure. While she was a journalism graduate student at the University of Iowa, Millie began writing for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, which published the phenomenally popular Hardy Boys series, among others.
Soon, Millie was tapped for a new series starring amateur sleuth Nancy Drew, a young, independent woman not unlike Millie herself. Under the pen name Carolyn Keene, Millie wrote the first book, "The Secret of the Old Clock", and 22 other Nancy Drew Mystery Stories. She also found time to obtain her pilot's license at age 62.
In total, Millie Benson wrote more than one hundred novels for young people.
Julie Rubini, author of "Hidden Ohio" - a children's book about her home state - says she wrote this book about the late Millie Benson with young readers in mind.
For more information on the author, click here.
