Two Great Ladies of Children's Literature

A recent on-line poll asked the question, "Who is the most famous female character in children's literature?" Time and time again, one name kept appearing, that of super-sleuth, Nancy Drew. It would be difficult to find a girl in the United States who has not heard the name, Nancy Drew. But, not many have heard the name of Mildred Benson.

Mildred Wirt Benson is the ghost-writer behind the first 23 Nancy Drew books. Mrs. Benson died at work, at her desk, still writing on May 28. She was 96.

Mrs. Benson was a newspaper reporter and continued writing her entire life. On her last day she was working on her monthly column, "Millie Benson's Notebook". She wrote this column for her hometown newspaper. She was the first woman to earn a master's degree in journalism from the University of Iowa in 1927. At the age of 59 Mrs. Benson earned a pilot's license. In addition to the Nancy Drew novels, Benson also wrote more than 120 books and numerous newspaper columns.

Until 1980, because of a confidentiality agreement, Benson's authorship was a secret. But after winning a court case she was freed from this agreement.

Benson wrote the Nancy Drew books for $125 a book and signed away all rights and royalties. In an interview with "Saturday Evening Post" Mildred Benson stated that much of her fiction was based on an unfulfilled desire for adventure. Of the Nancy Drew books themselves she stated:

"The plots provided me were brief, yet certain hackneyed names and situations could not be bypassed. Therefore I concentrated upon Nancy, trying to make her a departure from the stereotyped heroine commonly encountered in series books of the day. Never was Nancy patterned after a real person, unless as one who recently interviewed me suggested: "I gain the impression tht Nancy was yourself." In writing, I did feel as if I were she, but then when I created the Dot and Dash stories for younger children (Cupples & Leon, 1938) I likewise felt as if I were Dot's obnoxious dog, Dash. Not only in the Nancy books, but in others written after my association with the syndicate ceased, a "feel" for situation and presentation of a character with which readers could identify, were my goals.

"When I was writing with ease, words fairly flowed from my typewriter. Always I sought for rhythm by word, sentence, paragraph and ultimately by chapter. If all were achieved, a story seemed to gain suspense--in effect, hooking the reader. As work piled up, writing became increasingly burdensome, physically and mentally. The most tying part for me was the making of a detailed outline. An order would arrive, would be requested, all "at earliest convenience." Always panic took possession of me. If only I had an idea! A plot! Three plots!! Usually several days of painful concentration would bring the glimmer of an idea upon which one could build. First, the story's opening problem and the climax were plotted. If these were sufficiently strong, and basic complications satisfactory, then interior chapters fell into place.

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