Missing Millie Benson: The Secret Case of the Nancy Drew Ghostwriter and Journalist (Biographies for Young Readers)

Growing up in Ladora, Iowa, Mildred "Millie" Benson had ample time to develop her imagination and sense of adventure. While still 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 twenty-two other Nancy Drew Mystery Stories. In all, Millie wrote more than a hundred novels for young people. Millie was also a journalist for the __Toledo Times__ and the __Toledo Blade__. At sixty-two, she obtained her pilot's license. Follow the clues throughout __Missing Millie__ to discover the story of this ghostwriter, journalist, and adventurer. "Missing Millie Benson is as lively and compelling as a Nancy Drew Mystery Story. For anyone who loves Nancy, getting to know the woman who first brought her to life in this wonderful biography is not just a treat but a necessity an inspiration to young writers and sleuths alike!" Melanie Rehak, author of Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created HerGrowing up in Ladora, Iowa, Mildred "Millie" Benson had ample time to develop her imagination, sense of adventure, and independence. Millie left her small hometown to attend the University of Iowa, where she became the first person to earn a master's degree from the school of journalism. While still a graduate student, Millie began writing for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, which published the phenomenally popular Hardy Boys series, among many others. Soon, Edward Stratemeyer tapped Millie for a new series starring amateur sleuth Nancy Drew, a young, independent woman not unlike Millie herself. The syndicate paid its writers a flat fee for their work and published the books under pseudonyms. Under the pen name Carolyn Keene, Millie went on to write twenty-three of the first thirty books of the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories. In all, Millie wrote more than a hundred novels for young people under her own name and under pseudonyms. Millie was also a journalist for the Toledo (Ohio) Times and The Blade. At the age of sixty-two she obtained her pilot's license and combined her love of aviation with her passion for writing, sharing her travels and adventures with readers. Follow the clues throughout Missing Millie to solve the mysteries of this ghostwriter, journalist, and adventurer. "-- Provided by publisher