A Real Life Nancy Drew - The Mildred Wirt Benson Biography Update & Archive

Today marks the birthday of the original Carolyn Keene, prolific children's book author, Mildred Wirt Benson, who wrote 23 of the first 30 Nancy Drew books. She was a journalist for most of her life, a writer, and an adventurer. Much like Nancy Drew in that her style of Nancy was an out in the world, more rough and tumble version with lots of  pluck and gumption, much like herself.

I am currently working on her biography. Life and Nancy Drew Convention planning have sidetracked me a little - not to mention getting a ton of new research material to sort through - so it's an ongoing process but it's going to be amazing once done. It's been like playing Nancy Drew to put all the puzzle pieces together, which has been so fascinating. So many new stories and angles to things that really make her story an exceptional one. She was the right person and the right time to help breathe life into such a phenomenal character, Nancy Drew, who has inspired generations of kids and has become such a Pop Culture icon. 

You can follow my progress and learn more about Millie, her books and series and life at my website.

I also want to update on a special project to create a shelf to house Millie's author's copies at the University of Iowa, Women's Archive - see below. Thanks to Nancy Drew Sleuths for  helping make this happen.

Millie around the age she was writing Nancy Drew

Millie on an archaeological adventure 

1940s Image of Millie with her author's copies in her writing room, Toledo, OH

1950s image from Mille's writing room, Toledo, OH

When the Nancy Drew Sleuths fan organization visited the University of Iowa as part of their 2015 convention, a plan was made to help raise funds to have a book case built to house all of Millie's author's copies which were donated to the University of Iowa following the death of her daughter Peggy. 

Some members contributed to raise the funds for the shelf - and the man who made the shelf, dedicated it to his daughter, now deceased, who was a Nancy Drew fan. Some of our funds ended up going to help create a special website on Millie that the University created to showcase the donation and the collection they have of not only her author's copies but also her archive. Mildred donated many papers, manuscripts and other neat items to the IA Women's Archive, so fans and researchers can go and learn more about her life's work. 

Some of our funds were also used to purchase a few original letters and documents of Millie's to bring them "home" to the collection. Back in the 1990s, there were some auctions and sales of some of Millie's personal papers to Nancy Drew collectors. I'd like to take a moment to point out - to collectors - who purchased these items, that you consider donating them to the Iowa Women's Archive so they can go where they should be archived and preserved properly, as they are historical pieces of  publishing history and important. It's better to do so before the opportunity is lost, by confusion with heirs and what to do and how to do it in the future once you are gone. So, to those of you who have original documents, consider donating or even selling them to the archive while you can make sure that it happens properly and is accomplished. If for some reason, you are unwilling to donate or sell such documents, even after 20+ years of having them, consider making photo copies and donating those so that researchers have more scholarly material to work with. Photo copies should be easy enough to make and ship off. If you are willing and able to donate materials or send photo copies, they can be sent to: 

Karen Mason, Curator

Univ. of Iowa Women’s Archives
100 Main Library
Iowa City, IA 52242-1420

Here's images of the Millie Benson shelf that I took in the spring of 2018 when I researched at the library:

 

 

 

 

 

There's a really neat magnifying glass that thanks the Nancy Drew Sleuths inside the case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

31 Days of Nancy Drew Topic #27 1940s Nancy Drew Books

31 Days of Nancy Drew Topic #27

1940s Nancy Drew Books

As I discussed in yesterday's posting, by the mid 1930s, the Nancy Drew series was popular and selling very well. Even the Great Depression couldn't stop Nancy Drew. The 1940s rolled around and the war years came and then era of post-war. During this time period behind the scenes, there was a lot going on. Edna Stratemeyer Squier, who handled the majority of the Nancy Drew books as to plotting and editing up until this point, would soon relocate to Florida and her sister Harriet Stratemeyer Adams would take over full time on the outlines and editing. Ghostwriter Mildred Wirt Benson's first husband, Asa Wirt, would start having a series of strokes that would cause him to be bedridden and in need of lots of care. Millie would have to go to work full time to support them and eventually got on as a reporter at the Toledo Times. Between that and taking care of Asa and writing books at night, there was a lot of work for the weary. Things would become more volatile between Harriet and Millie though the letters at NYPL show a mostly professional and cordial relationship. But letters between Harriet and Edna revealed Harriet's frustrations. Eventually, there would be new ghostwriters beginning with George Waller, Jr., who ghosted #26, The Clue of the Leaning Chimney, and by the 1950s - the subject of tomorrow's posting, I'll briefly go more into that change up and what was going on.

Due to the war and rations, there was a paper shortage - some of the vintage books carry a  paragraph inside that states the book was produced during war time conditions. Paper from these war time books is a cheaper pulp paper that ages and is brittle. If you've ever picked up one of these and found the pages chipping and flaking off or very tanned and dark, that's why. I've included an image of the notice and you can see the aged paper.

As we start off the decade, originally Nancy's cruise in Brass-Bound Trunk involved England, but due to the war, this had to be changed up to South America which the Syndicate took care of. Inside the books, however, the goal wasn't to focus on WW2 or mention it - as to not date the books, but Nancy did some things like walking more or using her bicycle rather than driving, as part of a way to appear to be conserving. She even takes up flying lessons in #22 The Clue in the Crumbling Wall. Regardless of what was going on in the real word, Nancy forged on and solved quite a few thrilling mysteries during the 1940s from #17 The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk to #26 The Clue of the Leaning Chimney, all published from 1940 to 1949. This was the last decade to feature the lovely Russell H. Tandy illustrated covers and frontispiece illustrations. And the introduction of the wrap spine to the dust jackets beginning with #23, The Mystery of the Tolling Bell. By #24, The Clue in the Old Album, the revised book cover 1940s silhouette missing the scarf, shadow and high heels debuted. We get a fun format during this decade that I like, which is the 30s silhouette but in blue instead of orange for a print run before the 40s silhouette debuted. I'll include an image of that. Some printings or a portion of a print run even used up old maroon Dana Girls endpapers but not all books are found with these. The books I've found - listing to Tolling Bell on the dust jacket's front inner flap - are #'s 3-7, 9, 12, 14, and 18. It is possible they might exist for #'s 1-2, 8, 10-11, 13, 15-17, and 19-24--if anyone has these volumes with these endpapers, let us know.

 

In the 1940s we get to meet Chief McGinnis for the first time, Nancy's cat Snowball makes a one time appearance (Brass-Bound Trunk) and housekeeper Hannah Gruen becomes even more motherly and a part of the family. Nancy's dog Togo becomes more involved in Nancy's sleuthing - like in  #25, The Ghost of Blackwood Hall, a requirement that Harriet had in sending the outline to Millie. Romance is more of a focus - at least in #21 The Secret in the Old Attic, requested by Harriet and you'll see that play out in the mystery with the dance, the invitation stolen by Diane Dight, and the ever-annoying Horace Lally who tries to get Nancy to go with him to the dance. Then there's the memorable and melodramatic rescue of Nancy by Ned breaking into the secret room off the old attic, sweeping her up in his arms and carrying her out of the evil tarantula's (was a black widow in the revision) clutches and then getting to ride in the backseat together while the others ride up front ;-)  Ooh la la. Behind the scenes, Harriet wanted Millie to bring in a more modern take on romance to the book and had to add a few touches here and there, because romance wasn't Millie's strong suit. The romance, though more pronounced in this book, was still a minor focus, because the old attic mystery kept Nancy pretty busy. Sorry Ned! Did she end up going to the dance with Ned? Read it and see.....

Throughout the 1940s, Nancy sails to South America, investigates a moss-covered mansion, searches for treasure on Little Palm Island, sleuths in what is most likely Maine on a quaint coastal mystery involving a tolling bell and a strange dream sequence involving "elves," deals with swindlers and thieves, travels to New Orleans briefly, and gets to sail her own boat. In #20, The Clue in the Jewel Box, Nancy even gets involved in a mystery involving Madame Alexandra and discovering Madame's long lost heir - a mystery inspired by the Bolshevik Revolution and the killing of the Tsar and his family and the mystery that transfixed the world about the possibility of one of the Romanovs escaping - Anastasia. While not specifically referenced in the letters, it's clearly obvious, based on the story in Jewel Box and the Russian background, that the background material was indeed this. We have a fantastic article written by Pamela Hancock on Jewel Box and the back story for our upcoming March/April 2019 issue of The Sleuth which focuses on Jewel Box.

 

Nancy is much less brash in the 1940s and less "rough and tumble" - Harriet's idea of Nancy is more of a Wellesley girl, after all, so this decade begins the taming of Nancy Drew in some degree to a little more demure, more respectful of authority figures, relying more on her friends and Ned at times, and we'll see that full transformation by the 1960s and 1970s.

Here's but a few of the many things we learned about Nancy from the 40s books:

1. Nancy keeps an atlas in her bedroom.

2. Nancy often smiles "wanly" after bad things happen to her.

3. Wherever she goes, intrigue follows.

4. Nancy keeps a scrapbook.

5. An owl hoot signal is one of her sleuthing specialties.

6. Nancy's taking flying lessons.

7. Nancy always carries a flashlight in her purse.

8. Nancy has dolls, but she doesn't play with them!

9. Nancy likes to fish.

10. The police wish they had her woman's intuition.

 

Here's some fun lessons we learned from Nancy:

If you suspect your purse may be snatched, hide the important contents in a skirt pocket.

You can weed out an impostor by checking for distinguishing marks like a birth mark!

As important as it is to use your own wits and rely on yourself, sometimes it just feels really good to be rescued by a cute strong boy.

You can tail someone by pressing your ear to the ground to listen for footsteps.

Kids are easily bribed to spill the beans by offering candy and soda.

It never pays to flimflam the public!

Small footprints with a short stride might mean a villain is using height-enhancing shoes.

 

In the comments, let us know if you've read any of the 1940s versions of books 17-26 (they all have 25 chapters, remember that tip!). Do you have a favorite among these books? When reading these, did you notice a change of writer between #25 and #26? (You would if you read them back to back.) Were there any particular mysteries in the 17-26 that you preferred over the others?

Nancy Drew Blog Party Day 9 - 1940s Nancy Drew

1940s Nancy Drew

By the 1940s, Nancy Drew was becoming less brash and daring--still quite the adventurer, but more toned down. By this time, the housekeeper Hannah Gruen was becoming more a part of the family too. And Nancy's boyfriend Ned was starting to do a little more of the helping and even the rescuing like the scene at the end of The Secret in the Old Attic when he gallantly rescues Nancy from the near-death of a venomous spider and she feels so good to be swept up and rescued in such strong arms ;-)

The artwork reflects the changing fashion styles and the Rita Hayworth like hair. We even see some reflection of the war years, though it's not mentioned, when in The Clue in the Jewel Box, Nancy doesn't really use her car but does use a bicycle to get around.

The internal illustrations by now have gone from glossy to plain paper and have been revised to reflect the style of the 1940s.

Nancy begins to start to travel around a little more too - to Buenos Aires in The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk and to an island in the Caribbean or somewhere similar The Quest of the Missing Map, to Maine (not specifically mentioned but geography appears to be Maine) in The Mystery of the Tolling Bell and to New Orleans in The Ghost of Blackwood Hall. We'll see her travel more often to real US states and foreign countries more by the 1950s onward.

This was also a period of transition beginning behind the scenes of the Stratemeyer Syndicate. The second to last book that ghostwriter Mildred Wirt Benson wrote was #25, The Ghost of Blackwood Hall published in 1948. The next 4 books would have different ghosts and her last would be #30, The Clue of the Velvet Mask.

Jenn:)