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Mildred A. Wirt Benson (1905 - 2002)

Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson (July 10, 1905 – May 28, 2002) was an American journalist and author of children's books, in particular the earliest Nancy Drew mysteries. Writing under Stratemeyer Syndicate pen name Carolyn Keene from 1929 to 1947, she contributed to 23 of the first 30 originally published Nancy Drew mysteries.

Behind the Green Door

Mildred A. Wirt BENSON (1905 - 2002)
Penny Parker is a teen-aged sleuth and amateur reporter with an uncanny knack for uncovering and solving unusual, sometimes bizarre mysteries. The only daughter of widower Anthony Parker, publisher of the "Riverview Star," Penny has been raised to be self-sufficient, outspoken, innovative, and extraordinarily tenacious. Her cheerful, chatty manner belies a shrewd and keenly observant mind. Penny was the creation of Mildred A. Wirt, who was also the author of the original Nancy Drew series (under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene). Wirt became frustrated when she was pushed to "tone down" Nancy Drew and make her less independent and daring. With Penny Parker, Wirt had a freer hand and received full credit. Wirt once said, " 'I always thought Penny Parker was a better Nancy Drew than Nancy is." In BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR, the Parkers' long-planned trip to the Pine Top ski resort for the Christmas holiday is upset when the "Riverview Star" is sued for libel. Publisher Anthony Parker remains behind to deal with the crisis while Penny is sent to Pine Top. There, she encounters multiple mysteries, including an elderly recluse who keeps his granddaughter a prisoner in his remote cabin and the unexplained presence of a reporter from a rival newspaper. Worse, the man suing the "Star" also shows up in Pine Top. Penny's nose for news combined with her penchant for dare-devil skiing soon land her in the middle of a dangerous tangle she must unravel to save both the "Star" and the ski resort. - Summary by Cheryl Adam

Genre(s): Action & Adventure Fiction, Crime & Mystery Fiction

The Clock Strikes Thirteen

Mildred A. Wirt BENSON (1905 - 2002)
Penny Parker is a teen-aged sleuth and amateur reporter who has an uncanny knack for uncovering and solving unusual, sometimes bizarre mysteries. The only daughter of widower Anthony Parker, publisher of the "Riverview Star," Penny has been raised to be self-sufficient, outspoken, innovative, and extraordinarily tenacious. Her cheerful, chatty manner belies a shrewd and keenly observant mind. Penny was the creation of Mildred A. Wirt, who was also the author of the original Nancy Drew series (under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene). Wirt became frustrated when she was pushed to "tone down" Nancy Drew and make her less independent and daring. With Penny Parker, Wirt had a freer hand and received full credit. Wirt once said, " 'I always thought Penny Parker was a better Nancy Drew than Nancy is." In "The Clock Strikes Thirteen," Penny is confronted by two mysteries that ultimately converge. First there is the odd extra chime from the Hubell Clock Tower at midnight and the inexplicable replacement of the dedicated old clock tower caretaker by a shiftless friend of a real estate developer. Then there is a series of terrorizing attacks of local farmers, including a barn burning. The attacks appear to be the work of a band of thugs known as the "Night Riders." With the help of her friend Louise, Penny works to solve the dual mystery before an another attack and to save an innocent man from jail. - Summary by Cheryl Adam

Genre(s): Children's Fiction, Crime & Mystery Fiction

The Clue of the Silken Ladder

Mildred A. Wirt BENSON (1905 - 2002)
In THE CLUE OF THE SILKEN LADDER, Penny investigates multiple mysteries. What is the purpose of the singular silken ladder made by the secretive and somewhat sinister old Japanese curio shop owner? How can the "Riverview Star" obtain evidence that a popular troup of spiritualists really are heartless con artists? Last, who is perpetrating the gravity-defying burglaries that have rocked the town ? Meanwhile, the Parker housekeeper, Mrs. Weems, has come into an inheritance and plans to leave Riverview, much to the Parkers' dismay. Can Penny change her mind? PENNY PARKER is a teen-aged sleuth and amateur reporter with an uncanny knack for uncovering and solving unusual, sometimes bizarre mysteries. The only daughter of widower Anthony Parker, publisher of the "Riverview Star," Penny has been raised to be self-sufficient, outspoken, innovative, and extraordinarily tenacious. Her cheerful, chatty manner belies a shrewd and keenly observant mind. Penny was the creation of Mildred A. Wirt, who was also the author of the original Nancy Drew series (under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene). Wirt became frustrated when she was pushed to "tone down" Nancy Drew and make her less independent and daring. With Penny Parker, Wirt had a freer hand and received full credit. Wirt once said, " 'I always thought Penny Parker was a better Nancy Drew than Nancy is." - Summary by Cheryl Adam

Hoofbeats on the Turnpike

Mildred A. Wirt BENSON (1905 - 2002)
Penny Parker is a teen-aged sleuth and amateur reporter with an uncanny knack for uncovering and solving unusual, sometimes bizarre mysteries. The only daughter of widower Anthony Parker, publisher of the "Riverview Star," Penny has been raised to be self-sufficient, outspoken, innovative, and extraordinarily tenacious. Her cheerful, chatty manner belies a shrewd and keenly observant mind. Penny was the creation of Mildred A. Wirt, who was also the author of the original Nancy Drew series (under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene). Wirt became frustrated when she was pushed to "tone down" Nancy Drew and make her less independent and daring. With Penny Parker, Wirt had a freer hand and received full credit. Wirt once said, " 'I always thought Penny Parker was a better Nancy Drew than Nancy is." In HOOFBEATS ON THE TURNPIKE, Penny is drawn to a remote hill community by a tantalizing tale of a headless horseman who ranges the countryside at night. While investigating the bizarre tale, Penny and her best friend Louise Siddell encounter a quirky array of hill folk, including a feisty "granny woman" who is at war with a wealthy landowner. The headless horseman seems to be targeting the landowner, who has ignored repeated warnings that the dam he owns is unsafe. The tale takes an unusually serious turn when the dam breaks, flooding the community. Trapped by the flood, Penny heroically does what she can to help the community and to get the story out to the world. - Summary by Cheryl Adam

Genre(s): Children's Fiction, Action & Adventure Fiction, Crime & Mystery Fiction

The Secret Pact

Mildred A. Wirt BENSON (1905 - 2002)
PENNY PARKER is a teen-aged sleuth and amateur reporter with an uncanny knack for uncovering and solving unusual, sometimes bizarre mysteries. The only daughter of widower Anthony Parker, publisher of the "Riverview Star," Penny has been raised to be self-sufficient, outspoken, innovative, and extraordinarily tenacious. Her cheerful, chatty manner belies a shrewd and keenly observant mind. Penny was the creation of Mildred A. Wirt, who was also the author of the original Nancy Drew series (under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene). Wirt became frustrated when she was pushed to "tone down" Nancy Drew and make her less independent and daring. With Penny Parker, Wirt had a freer hand and received full credit. Wirt once said, " 'I always thought Penny Parker was a better Nancy Drew than Nancy is." In THE SECRET PACT, Penny sees a man savagely pushed off a bridge into the river one foggy night. The man is rescued, but his stubborm denial of the attack, combined with the grotesque octopus tattoo he bears on his back, alerts Penny to the possibility of a deeper mystery. When her editor father, reporter friends, and even the highschool newspaper all reject her story about the incident, she takes matters into her own hands. With her friend Louise's help, Penny starts her own local paper, operating out of a formerly abandoned newspaper plant. As new clues emerge to the "Octopus tattoo" mystery, she enlists the help of anyone willing, even persuading Mrs. Weems to go "under cover." Nothing, not even threats and an unexpected tornado, can deter the determined Miss. Parker. - Summary by Cheryl Adam

Genre(s): Action & Adventure Fiction, Crime & Mystery Fiction, General Fiction

Swamp Island

Mildred A. Wirt BENSON (1905 - 2002)
Late entry in the Penny Parker teen girl mystery series (1939-47) by one of the early ghostwriters (as Carolyn Keene) of Nancy Drew concerns an escaped embezzler, his revenge on the reporter whose articles helped convict him, and a long missing $50 grand. - Summary by BellonaTimes

Genre(s): Action & Adventure Fiction, Detective Fiction

Language: English

The Wishing Well

Mildred A. Wirt BENSON (1905 - 2002)
PENNY PARKER is a teen-aged sleuth and amateur reporter with an uncanny knack for uncovering and solving unusual, sometimes bizarre mysteries. The only daughter of widower Anthony Parker, publisher of the "Riverview Star," Penny has been raised to be self-sufficient, outspoken, innovative, and extraordinarily tenacious. Her cheerful, chatty manner belies a shrewd and keenly observant mind. Penny was the creation of Mildred A. Wirt, who was also the author of the original Nancy Drew series (under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene). Wirt became frustrated when she was pushed to "tone down" Nancy Drew and make her less independent and daring. With Penny Parker, Wirt had a freer hand and received full credit. Wirt once said, " 'I always thought Penny Parker was a better Nancy Drew than Nancy is." In THE WISHING WELL, the once-grand, now abandoned Marborough Estate and its legendary stone wishing well have become the center of odd happenings. The reclusive owner unexpectedly returns, only to lock herself secretively away in the mansion. Soon after, an ancient stone is unearthed on the estate, upon which is carved a 400-year-old message. Or is it a hoax? Who are the two strangers who repeatedly visit the wishing well in the dead of night? Penny boldly investigates, certain that danger threatens her new friend Rhoda, a gifted, but poverty-stricken artist. - Summary by Cheryl Adam


Flash Evans, Camera News Hawk

Mildred A. Wirt BENSON (1905 - 2002)
Jimmy 'Flash' Evans, 17, ace photographer for The Brandale Ledger, tries his hand at the newsreel game in this upbeat, pre-war adventure. The listed author, Frank Bell, was actually the prolific Mildred Wirt Benson, most famous for writing the early Nancy Drew novels under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. - Summary by Matt Pierard

Genre(s): Action & Adventure Fiction


The Missing Formula

Mildred A. Wirt BENSON (1905 - 2002)
Orphan Anne Fairaday faces a life of poverty upon the death of her father. The only thing that can prevent it is finding his latest experiment. She enlisted her new found friend, Madge Sterling, an outdoors girl who has a knack for finding missing things. But they must race against time as there are also several people who will stop at nothing to get it first. (Summary by Mary Escano)

Genre(s): Action & Adventure Fiction, Action & Adventure