You might have read some mystery books within a series of mysteries. Like The Hardy Boys, Encyclopedia Brown and even other Mystery books that aren't as popular as Nancy Drew was.
However, there is a mystery on who really wrote the stories of Nancy Drew.
"Carolyn Keene"
Well the thing is, there is no Carolyn Keene. She's just a pen name, and there is one person who came up with the idea.
His name was Edward Steinmeyer. He came up with the idea, and a ghostwriter named Mildred Benson wrote most of the stories.
Carolyn Keene was just a pen name. Many authors used pen names. Even Ghost writers as well. Stephen King is a pen name when is actual was Stephen Edwin King.
J.K. Rowing was another, with her actual name being Joanna. Why does Nancy Drew's author not want to use her real name?
Well, ghost writers most often don't acknowledge their work, so use a pen name. For me, being a writer, I too use a pen name. "Sally P. Barker"
The reason why is "Sally" is another name for Sara.Some people do need help writing stories, so they are considered ghostwriters.
It doesn't mean the author is a fraud, but maybe they aren't as great as writing the story as a professional writer.
Some stories are written by more than one ghost writer, and the creator would come up with an interesting pen name.
Why Nancy Drew though? It doesn't mean the Hardy Boys author might be using a fake pen name, and a ghost writer.
Many writers do that for help and inspiration, as well as jotting ideas and notes on a note card, or a piece of paper.
Ideas spread every day, and for writers, it's every minute on what their character is going to do next.
With Nancy Drew, she solves mysteries with clues, somewhat like Harriet the Spy, but in a different way.
In 2007 they released a Nancy Drew movie. It was ok, not bad acting, but I don't know if it felt to the take of the story or what the author wanted. It had the style but not the feel of a Nancy Drew story.
I preferer the books over the movie as well. The Hardy boys are ok, but I never was into them.
And I've noticed they get into danger more than Nancy Drew does. Her father, Carson, seems to get into danger as well as the Hardy Boys. I think Nancy Drew is more of a detective that can solve the case without getting caught by the burglar or murderer.
Even the Olsen Twins had their own spinoff of solving mysteries
They try to solve mysteries by dinner time. LOL. We don't have them anymore but there are so many Sherlock Holmes stories, miniseries, movies, TV shows. It's mindboggling.
The author who came up with Nancy Drew was Edward Stratemeyer. The mind behind Nancy Drew. He also was the mind behind the Rover Boys as well. What are the Rover Boys????
They aren't like the Hardy Boys mysteries, but it does involve two boys, and a pen name of Arthur M. Winfield. Another pen name from Edward Stratemeyer.
From the Hardy Boys, to Nancy Drew...there are many detective stories, it doesn't mean the true author is the one writing, except maybe for Harriet the Spy author, the late Louise Fitzhugh.Beware, that some of the authors that have written the book, might not be the ones writing. It could just be a coincidence, but it seems that Franklin W. Dixin, the creator of Hardy Boys, might just be a pen name.
Till then, again, more a Nancy Drew fan, and knowing the stories that Edward and Mildred have come up with, they are geniuses. It's as if they created a female Sherlock.
