Creator of Nancy Drew Dead at 96

Mildred Wirt Benson, who created the popular children's mystery series Nancy Drew, died on May 28 in Toledo, OH. She was 96. Benson, who wrote a column about daily life for a local newspaper, The Blade , became ill at work and was taken to the Toledo Hospital.

Although Benson wrote more than 130 books, including the Penny Parker mystery series, she was best known for creating Nancy Drew, which is still in print and has sold more than 200 million books in 17 languages.

Known as Millie to friends and fans, Benson wrote 23 of the 30 original Nancy Drew stories using the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. She was paid $125 per book and never collected royalties generated from the series.