Mildred wrote 23 of the original 30 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories®, including the first three. Wirt), who breathed such a feisty spirit into Nancy's character. Edna contributed 10 plot outlines before passing the reins to her sister Harriet. For Nancy Drew, the writers used the pseudonym Carolyn Keene to assure anonymity of the creator.Įdna and Harriet Stratemeyer inherited the company from their father Edward Stratemeyer. The company that was the creator of the Nancy Drew series, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, hired a variety of writers. Who dropped the diary near the burning house? Was it the gaunt stranger Nancy glimpsed running away from the flaming structure? What was he doing there? And does he know the whereabouts of Felix Raybolt, an unscrupulous dealer in patents, who has not been seen since his home burned? Or did Raybolt die in the fire? When evidence mounts against Joe Swenson, who was swindled by 'Foxy Felix', our young detective makes the desperate effort to exonerate the inventor of the suspicion of arson because of his dear five-year-old daughter.Ĭarolyn Keene is a writer pen name that was used by many different people- both men and women- over the years. The first clue, an anonymous diary, includes not only indecipherable handwriting, but puzzling technical drawings and chemical formulas as well. Fearing its occupants may be trapped in the blazing building, they rush to the rescue - and unexpectedly fund themselves confronted with a mystery that seems to be insoluble. Nancy and her friends, George and Bess, are returning from a country carnival when they witness the explosion and burning of a beautiful country mansion.

The clue in the diary by carolyn keene