The original 'Carolyn Keene'

This is the lady who brought River Heights' spirited teen detective to life when she wrote the first mystery in 1929 as a 24-year-old ghostwriter.  

A woman of  mystery: Mildred Wirt in 1946, with some of her mystery books for kids (Photo: Toledo Blade)

The Secret of the Old Clock was published the following year, and it was only the first of 23 stories she would write in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series within almost two and a half decades.

Her name was Mildred Wirt Benson and she was the original Carolyn Keene. In 1953, she wrote her last Nancy Drew mystery before moving on to her other pursuits, both on and away from the typewriter. She was, after all, an accomplished author of over a hundred children's books (many of which she wrote under her real name) as well as a reporter for the Toledo Times, and later for the Toledo Blade, where she maintained a weekly column till the day she died in 2002, at age 96. 

The adventurous Mrs. Benson also loved to travel, exploring countries outside of the US and holding a particular fascination for the Mayan ruins in Central America. She went on archeological digs, and even once was mistaken for a princess and inadvertently was kidnapped (it was brief and she came out of it fine). 

Adventure seemed to have followed the writer, much like the amateur detective about whom she wrote for many years. Many of her adventures she shared with journalist George Benson, her husband, and after his death in 1959, Mrs. Benson continued her newspaper work and her occasional travels. 

Ever the spirited adventurer, she decided to take flying lessons, and in 1964 earned her commercial pilot's license. She was 59 at the time.

Though Mildred Wirt Benson's legacy includes the distinction of being the person behind Nancy Drew who first brought the literary character to life, she is much more than that. Hers was a full life, and reading about it can almost make one feel like going along for a ride through her rough-and-tumble experiences. Nancy Drew expert and consultant Jennifer Fisher provides a more in-depth look into Mrs. Benson's life in this Smithsonian magazine article. For an extensive biography, including numerous photos of the writer's life, this page from the University of Iowa's archives is both fascinating and informative. Write-ups following her death in May 2002 included this piece from The Washington Post.

This is my current read. It's volume 30, the last of the 23 mysteries that the original "Carolyn Keene" wrote under the Nancy Drew Mystery Series. 

It's now July 11 in the Philippines, but it's still the last couple of hours of July 10 in the US where Mrs. Benson was born and raised. Some posts I came across on Facebook and Instagram reminded me of the fact that July 10 is Mrs. Benson's birthday, so I thought it fitting to dedicate this post to her before getting lost again in the pages of a mystery. 

Just as Mildred Wirt Benson desired and experienced adventure during her life, tonight I will be having my own adventure -- albeit vicariously -- through the gutsy amateur sleuth brought to life by the feisty Carolyn Keene.