Harriet Adams
Harriet Adams | |
---|---|
Young adult mystery fiction | |
Notable works | Nancy Drew series |
Spouse |
Russell Vroom Adams (m. 1915) |
Children | Russell V. jr and Edward(sons) Patricia and Camilla (daughters) |
Parents | Edward Stratemeyer Magdalena Van Camp |
Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (December 12, 1892 – March 27, 1982) was an American juvenile
Stratemeyer Syndicate
With her sister, Edna, Adams took over control of the Stratemeyer Syndicate after her father Edward Stratemeyer's death in 1930.[1] Edna ran the daily business operations, while Adams dealt with publishers and wrote; Edna became inactive when she married in 1942, and Adams took over the business.[1] Adams is credited with keeping the Syndicate afloat through the Great Depression, and with revising the two most popular series, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, in the 1950s and 1960s, removing stereotypes and streamlining plots and characters. She ran the Syndicate for 52 years.[1]
Role in Nancy Drew series
The extremely popular
Personal life
Harriet Stratemeyer was born in Newark, New Jersey, on December 12, 1892, the daughter of Edward Stratemeyer and Magdalena Van Camp.[4] At a young age, Adams wanted to break free from being a "proper, young lady who should stay at home". She climbed trees, made friends with local boys, and loved books from an early age. Adams graduated from Wellesley College in 1914. Her father forbade her to work outside the estate, so she edited manuscripts at home.[1] In 1915, she married Russell Vroom Adams, and raised four children, becoming involved in the family business only after her father's death.[1] She resided in Maplewood, New Jersey, and in Pottersville, New Jersey, an area within Tewksbury Township.[5]
She lived in Pottersville at her estate, Bird Haven New Jersey and died of a heart attack while watching
Adams was
References
- ^ ISBN 0787640808.
- ^ Martin, Douglas (30 May 2002). "Mildred Benson Is Dead at 96; Wrote 23 Nancy Drew Books". The New York Times.
- ^ Benfer, Amy. "Who was Carolyn Keene?". Salon. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
- ^ Melanie Rehack, Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her (Harvest-Harcourt, 2006), p. 12.
- ^ Chira, Susan. "Harriet Adams Dies. Nancy Drew Author Wrote Over 200 Novels", The New York Times, March 29, 1982. Accessed October 7, 2007. "Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, who wrote nearly 200 children's books including many of the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series, died Saturday evening. She was 89 years old, and lived in Pottersville and Maplewood, N.J."
- ^ "Bird Haven Farm 2006". Garden Club of America Collection. Smithsonian Gardens, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ Resting Places: The Burial Sites of 14000 Famous Persons, by Scott Wilson
- ^ Fairmount Cemetery
Further reading
- Billman, Carol. The Secret of the Stratemeyer Syndicate. New York: Ungar, 1986.
External links
- Biography by Stratemeyer's granddaughter
- Harriet Stratemeyer Adams at Library of Congress (no catalog records, but 746 under the linked name Carolyn Keene)
- Harriet Adams at the Internet Book List
- Harriet Adams at the Internet Book Database of Fiction
- Mildred Wirt Benson's obituary
- BBC.co.uk - Franklin W. Dixon
- Harriet Adams at Find a Grave