Happy 111th to Mildred Wirt Benson - the original Carolyn Keene who wrote 23 of the first 30 Nancy Drew books, wrote 135 total published children's books and series, many short stories and was a newspaper woman for over 50 years when she passed away in Toledo, OH at age 96, still working at the Toledo Blade.
I am currently writing her biography and she's a very fascinating subject - very spirited, independent and adventurous, much like Nancy Drew and other plucky heroines she wrote about including Penny Parker, her favorite.
The University of Iowa has her author's collection of the books she wrote in their Women's Archive. Nancy Drew Sleuths funded a special book case to hold the collection this year. Here's several images of the first book she ever wrote for Edward Stratemeyer of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, Ruth Fielding and Her Great Scenario, this copy is her author's copy that resides at U of IA.
For more info on Millie and my progress on the biography, visit the Mildred Wirt Benson Website.