author
Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
1905–2002
Best known for helping shape the bold, independent spirit of Nancy Drew, this prolific writer and journalist built a remarkable career in children's fiction. She published from a young age and went on to write dozens of books under her own name and several pseudonyms.
31 Audiobooks
Whispering Walls
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
Saboteurs on the River
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
The Missing Formula Madge Sterling Series, #1
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
The Secret of the Sundial Madge Sterling Series, #3
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
The Deserted Yacht Madge Sterling Series, #2
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
The Girl Scouts at Singing Sands
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
The Cry at Midnight
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
Dan Carter and the Money Box
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
The Secret Pact
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
Behind the Green Door
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
The Brownie Scouts in the Circus
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
Guilt of the Brass Thieves
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
Dan Carter and the Haunted Castle
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
Dan Carter-- Cub Scout
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
Dan Carter and the Cub Honor
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
The Brownie Scouts at Silver Beach
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
The Brownie Scouts at Snow Valley
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
The Clock Strikes Thirteen
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
Swamp Island
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
Dan Carter and the Great Carved Face
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
Dan Carter, Cub Scout, and the River Camp
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
The Brownie Scouts at Windmill Farm
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
Hoofbeats on the Turnpike
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
Ghost Beyond the Gate
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
Clue of the Silken Ladder
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
Voice from the Cave
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
The Brownie Scouts in the Cherry Festival
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
Danger at the Drawbridge
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
The Wishing Well
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
The Brownie Scouts and Their Tree House
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
Signal in the Dark
by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
About the author
Born in Ladora, Iowa, in 1905, Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson knew early that she wanted to write. She published her first story as a teenager, studied at the University of Iowa, and worked as a reporter before building a long career as both a journalist and an author.
She is most closely associated with the early Nancy Drew mysteries, writing many of the first books for the Stratemeyer Syndicate under the house name Carolyn Keene. Readers and scholars often credit her with giving Nancy much of her brisk, adventurous personality, and she also wrote many other children's books under her own name and additional pen names.
Benson later lived in Ohio and continued her newspaper work for many years. She died in 2002, but her influence on popular children's mystery fiction remains strong, especially through the lively, capable heroines she helped bring to life.