Carolyn Keene, the supposed author of the Nancy Drew Series, was not real!
Carolyn Keene was not a real person. Carolyn Keene wasn’t even a pseudonym for a real person. Carolyn Keene was a pseudonym for many real people. Several authors worked on the Nancy Drew Series; for example, Mildred Wirt, Benson Adams, Harriet Adams, etc. The writers were paid $125 for each book and contractually obligated to maintain confidentiality.
“Carolyn Keene” is also credited with writing Nancy Drew spin-offs such as River Heights and The Nancy Drew Notebooks. The use of the pseudonym was probably a marketing ploy to ensure that the identification of the series remained simple. Nancy Drew was, after all, for children.