Carolyn Keene
Encyclopedia
Carolyn Keene is the pseudonym
of the authors of the Nancy Drew
mystery stories and The Dana Girls
mystery stories, both produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate
. In addition, Keene is credited with the Nancy Drew spin-off
, River Heights
.
, the founder of the Syndicate, hired writers, beginning with Mildred Wirt, later Mildred Wirt Benson, to write the manuscripts for the Nancy Drew books. The writers initially were paid $125 for each book and were required by their contract to give up all rights to the work and to maintain confidentiality.
Benson and Harriet Adams
(Stratemeyer's daughter) are often credited as the primary writers of Nancy Drew books under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene; other ghostwriters who used this name to write Nancy Drew mysteries included James Duncan Lawrence, Walter Karig
, Nancy Axelrad, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., Margaret Scherf, and Susan Wittig Albert
. Also involved in the Nancy Drew writing process were Harriet Stratemeyer Adams's daughters, who gave input on the series and sometimes helped to choose book titles; the Syndicate's secretary, Harriet Otis Smith, who invented the characters of Nancy's friends Bess and George; and the editors at publishers Grosset and Dunlap. The editors at Grosset and Dunlap were so heavily involved in writing the Drew books that they won the lawsuit.
In 1986, the Syndicate was bought by publishers Simon & Schuster
; the Drew books are now handled by Mega-Books, a New York book packager. She also wrote the Dana Boys Series.
wrote the first four dana Girls stories in 1934 and 1936. This series is a feminized version of The Hardy Boys
. These volumest were advertised as being written by the author of Nancy Drew, and were promoted heavily on dust jackets for this series. The Dana Girls were later ghostwritten by others, including Mildred Benson and Harriet Adams. The series went out of print for about four years, from 1945 to 1949, and was reintroduced with revised dust jacket art and illustrations at that time. The series stopped production in 1968, was modernized, and reintroduced in 1974.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of the authors of the Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew is a fictional young amateur detective in various mystery series for all ages. She was created by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate book packaging firm. The character first appeared in 1930. The books have been ghostwritten by a number of authors and are published...
mystery stories and The Dana Girls
The Dana Girls
The Dana Girls was a series of young adult mystery novels produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. The title heroines, Jean and Louise Dana, are teenage sisters and amateur detectives who solve mysteries while at boarding school...
mystery stories, both produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate
Stratemeyer Syndicate
The Stratemeyer Syndicate was the producer of a number of mystery series for children, including Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, the various Tom Swift series, the Bobbsey Twins, the Rover Boys, and others.- History :...
. In addition, Keene is credited with the Nancy Drew spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
, River Heights
River Heights (Nancy Drew)
River Heights was a spin off from the Nancy Drew mystery. This series involved Nancy's neighbor, Nicki Masters and revolved around Nicki's friends and rivals at River Heights High School. These books were mostly romance books. The series only lasted for a short time and consisted of 16 volumes and...
.
Carolyn Keene
Edward StratemeyerEdward Stratemeyer
Edward Stratemeyer was an American publisher and writer of books for children.He is one of the most prolific writers in the world, producing in excess of 1300 books himself, selling in excess of 500 million copies, and created the well-known fictional book series for juveniles including The Rover...
, the founder of the Syndicate, hired writers, beginning with Mildred Wirt, later Mildred Wirt Benson, to write the manuscripts for the Nancy Drew books. The writers initially were paid $125 for each book and were required by their contract to give up all rights to the work and to maintain confidentiality.
Benson and Harriet Adams
Harriet Adams
Harriet Stratemeyer Adams was an American juvenile mystery novelist and publisher who authored some 200 books over her literary career. She wrote many books in the Nancy Drew series and a few in the Hardy Boys series...
(Stratemeyer's daughter) are often credited as the primary writers of Nancy Drew books under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene; other ghostwriters who used this name to write Nancy Drew mysteries included James Duncan Lawrence, Walter Karig
Walter Karig
Walter Karig, was a prolific author, who served as a U.S. naval captain. Karig authored a number of military history works on Allied naval operations during World War II. Karig wrote scripts for the television series Victory at Sea. Besides his works on naval history, Karig was a novelist,...
, Nancy Axelrad, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., Margaret Scherf, and Susan Wittig Albert
Susan Wittig Albert
Susan Wittig Albert is a mystery writer from Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. She currently resides in Bertram, Texas, near Austin, with her husband, Bill Albert.- Career :...
. Also involved in the Nancy Drew writing process were Harriet Stratemeyer Adams's daughters, who gave input on the series and sometimes helped to choose book titles; the Syndicate's secretary, Harriet Otis Smith, who invented the characters of Nancy's friends Bess and George; and the editors at publishers Grosset and Dunlap. The editors at Grosset and Dunlap were so heavily involved in writing the Drew books that they won the lawsuit.
In 1986, the Syndicate was bought by publishers Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
; the Drew books are now handled by Mega-Books, a New York book packager. She also wrote the Dana Boys Series.
Dana Girls authorship
Leslie McFarlaneLeslie McFarlane
Leslie McFarlane was a Canadian journalist, novelist, screenwriter and filmmaker. McFarlane is most famous for ghostwriting many of the early books in the very successful Hardy Boys series using the pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon.- Early life :The son of a school principal, McFarlane was raised in...
wrote the first four dana Girls stories in 1934 and 1936. This series is a feminized version of The Hardy Boys
The Hardy Boys
The Hardy Boys, Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional teenage brothers and amateur detectives who appear in various mystery series for children and teens....
. These volumest were advertised as being written by the author of Nancy Drew, and were promoted heavily on dust jackets for this series. The Dana Girls were later ghostwritten by others, including Mildred Benson and Harriet Adams. The series went out of print for about four years, from 1945 to 1949, and was reintroduced with revised dust jacket art and illustrations at that time. The series stopped production in 1968, was modernized, and reintroduced in 1974.
See also
- Franklin W. DixonFranklin W. DixonFranklin W. Dixon is the pen name used by a variety of different authors who wrote The Hardy Boys novels for the Stratemeyer Syndicate...
- Nancy Drew Mystery StoriesNancy Drew Mystery StoriesThe Nancy Drew Mystery Stories was the long-running "main" Nancy Drew series, published between 1930 and 2003. Initially, titles were published by Grosset & Dunlap, but with #57 publication switched to Simon & Schuster. Most people consider these first 56 to be the original series and consider the...