Ms. Benson's claims ignore the facts. The character of Nancy Drew, her literary family and companions, and the early mystery story plots were entirely conceived by Edward Stratemeyer. Before his death, he had written detailed story outlines and character profiles for the first three books for this new series. For the initial fleshed-out text, he gave his outlines to ghost writer Mildred Augustine (later Benson), whom he hired in 1926 to work on the Ruth Fielding series. Like other ghost writers for Syndicate book series, in the second stage of the books' production Benson was required to put narrative "flesh" onto Stratemeyer's story "skeletons", adding dialogue. As with other ghost writers, she was paid for her work. Benson legally, from the records of correspondence between them, sold her contributions to the Syndicate. Ms. Benson had nothing to do with the manuscripts after this stage and admitted in her evidence during the court case that she was never, or had only vaguely been, apprised of further editing and changes to her "texting."
Nancy Drew had its debut only two weeks after Stratemeyer's death in 1930. Shortly after, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams and her sister became Syndicate heads. Final editorial control of these first Nancy stories, therefore, was Edward Stratemeyer's. Detailed story outlines for subsequent Nancy stories were all written by Harriet and Edna and given to Benson for similar additions of padded text, final content now under control of the sisters. These early books were then revised and modernized, beginning in 1959, by Harriet with the help of other syndicate writers and editors such as Patricia Doll, Grace Grote, Lynn Ealer, Priscilla Baker-Carr, Ann Shultes, Mary Fisher, or June Dunn.
Benson was only one of eight ghost writers to add second stage, grammatical 'texting' onto Stratemeyer family produced Nancy Drew story outlines. After her takeover, Harriet refashioned the character slant Ms. Benson's text had given her father's initial Nancy, as both she and her father had found her dialogue too arrogant and haughty. Hannah Gruen became a loveable housekeeper, instead of a servant, and Harriet eventually had to age her father's Nancy from 16 to 18, so that she could drive about in her sleuthing in her blue roadster, incorporating changes in some states' driving laws.
The actual Nancy Drew mystery stories, in detailed plot-outlined form, were written by the Stratemeyer family. The outlines consisted of Edward's two to three pages for the first three, followed by Edna and Harriet's more detailed ones, and eventually, Harriet's comprehensive, chapter by chapter, virtual rough drafts. The writing was always under Edward's direction, and later, under Harriet's, and at all times, composed in his style. All Syndicate stories, including Harriet's, were written to his formula. Ghost writers were hired for their ability to mimic Stratemeyer's style. Ms. Benson admits in her evidence in the 1980 court case that she had been an avid reader of this type of story, and had been strongly influenced in her writing by his style.
The records are clear. Stories 1 through 3 were written by Edward Stratemeyer. Edna Stratemeyer Squier, with Harriet Stratemeyer Adams' assistance, wrote stories 6 through 14 and 16, and with the exception of number 30, written by the talented Syndicate writer, and later partner, Andy Svenson, the remaining 43, out of 57 prior to her death, were written solely by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. The characters, mystery plots, with all their complexities, initial story editing of ghost writer's padding of outlines, and final text of the Nancy Drew stories, with the stated exception of the outline for book 30, were all created, conceived, written, and performed by Edward, Edna and, primarily, Harriet Stratemeyer. At the time of Nancy's publishing, final book content was always under Syndicate control and by book 35, all outlines, texts and final editing's for Nancy Drew's were being done, solely, by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams.
Ms. Benson, herself, admits in various quotations and in her testimony in the 1980 court case to working from plot outlines. She acknowledges in her evidence that outlining plots is the most arduous component of story writing, as in her own published work, "the most trying part for me was the making of a detailed outline."
It is not surprising, therefore, that Benson states that she enjoyed her work with the Syndicate because the plots were "ready made," as revealed in a letter discovered by Timothy P. O'Herin for his 1999 article for Yellowback Library. Ms. Benson's claims, cited in an obituary article from The Boston Globe, May 30, 2002, on Ms. Benson, that Edward Stratemeyer's outlines consisted of "the character name and brief plot suggestions," and from The New York Times, May 30, 2002, obituary stating that "the plots provided me were brief" are, therefore, inaccurate and a clear misrepresentation. How could Ms. Benson possibly justify the connotative paradox between "brief plot suggestions" and "ready made" ones?
Mildred Benson states, under oath, that Nancy Drew story outlines, subsequent to Edward's, were even more complex. Edna's outlines were highly detailed and Harriet's were "voluminous" with chapter by chapter instructions. She further admits that she was usually ignorant of the content of finished texts of the Nancy Drew's on which she worked. In The New York Times obituary of May 30, the article's writer is confident in his surmise, from Ms. Benson's own words, that she sometimes discovered that final books bore so little resemblance to the fleshing-out she had done that "[Harriet Adams] had outlined the plot ideas, and then edited Mrs. Benson's manuscripts with a thoroughness that sometimes angered the author." In fact, in some of her letters to the Syndicate it can be deduced that she, herself, questions the value of her contributions.
