Since there isn't really a person named Carolyn Keene that wrote the Nancy Drew books, trying to find the true author can be as baffling as solving a Nancy Drew mystery. Because of early confidentiality agreements, ghost writer names were not allowed to be revealed, so for fifty years the public was under the impression that the books really were written by a mysterious person named Carolyn Keene.
The year was 1929. Edward Stratemeyer was the founder of Stratemeyer Syndicate and was enjoying the success of his popular series, The Hardy Boys, but he had a new idea. He thought it high time to create a spunky female teen detective with blond hair, blue eyes, and a spiffy blue roadster. He wrote a one page plot outline with the pen name of Carolyn Keene and hired a talented writer named Mildred A. Wirt to see if she could write a book based on his ideas. The manuscript was a hit and he hired her to write two more books, with Grossett and Dunlap being awarded printing rights. It is more than sad to note that Edward Stratemeyer died of pneumonia only twelve days after the three books were released on April 28, 1930.
After the overnight success of The Secret of the Old Clock, The Hidden Staircase, and The Bungalow Mystery, Mildred went on to write the next four books in the series. Because of The Great Depression and a proposed cut in her salary, Mildred refused to write more of the books. Walter Karig was then hired to write the next three books #8-11. However, things changed and Mildred did return to write the next 19 books in the series. Out of the first 25 books, she authored 22 of them. She came back for one final book, #30 The Clue of the Velvet Mask, with her married name of Mildred Benson, thus writing 23 books in all.
Other writers of the books were George Waller, Jr., Margaret Scherf, Iris Vinton, Wilhelmina Rankin, Alma Sasse, Charles Strong, Priscilla Doll, and finally ending with Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, daughter of the founder of Stratemeyer Syndicate, who took over writing the series beginning with volume #35 and continuing until the series ended. It is also noteworthy that while Edward Stratemeyer wrote the plot outline for the first three books in the series, after his death, his daughters Harriet Adams and Edna Squier kept a very close eye on the series and wrote all but one of the plot outlines for the books. For more information about "Carolyn Keene", you might enjoy reading, Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak.
Please feel free to post your answers if you figure it out.
