Linda's Scenic Tour through the United States

I have owned a copy of Linda by Mildred Wirt Benson for many years.  I used to own one without a jacket and later upgraded to this one with a faded and chipped dust jacket.  The jacket has a name written near the top of the front panel.

I have owned the above book and dust jacket since 2008.

In late May, I saw an online listing for Linda with a dust jacket that appeared to be better than mine.  The price was not cheap but it was also within what I considered to be a fair price without being too high.  This meant that should the book and dust jacket have failed to meet my quality expectations for any reason, I knew that I could probably at least get my money back by selling it.  I prefer just to resell disappointments when possible rather than have to mess with returning them to the seller.

Let me assure you that I do return books to sellers when the books are significantly not as described, like the time that I received books that had undisclosed severe water damage and that were actually wet when I removed them from that package.  Those situations are the ones where I hold the seller responsible.

It's a different situation when I think a book is an upgrade but don't know for sure how I will regard the book once it is in my hands.  If I am not quite satisfied, then I consider it to be my problem.  That's when I resell the book.  What often happens is that I make a slight profit, so it works out for me.

I did purchase the offered copy of Linda on May 26.  The tracking indicated that the seller printed the label on May 26 and dropped the package off on May 28.  Linda should have arrived here by June 4, but she decided to go on a scenic tour.

The book went from Illinois to Iowa and then to Dallas, Texas.  Most of my packages come through Dallas.  The book came here to Oklahoma City, a couple of days later than expected, but no problem.

Linda then detoured to Utah.  I was mildly concerned, but not overly so.  The seller is a professional bookseller whose listings state that books are mailed in boxes.  So long as the book was in a box, it was probably okay.  It was just a bit concerning for such an extremely scarce book to go on a scenic tour.

After Utah, Linda went to Colorado and then arrived in Oklahoma City for the second time.  Finally, Linda arrived today, a week later than expected but safely nonetheless.

The image below shows the tracking information for the package.  Always click or tap on an image to see a larger version.

Linda did indeed arrive in a box.

Thankfully, the box was not damaged.

And as for Linda, both the book and dust jacket made it through the journey just fine.

The dust jacket does have chipping as well as fading to the spine, but I do consider it better than the one I already had.  As almost always seems to happen these days, the upgrade cost a bit less than my old one did.

Some collectors hold out for perfect copies.  With scarce books like this one, I just get what I can and feel happy to have it.  I was satisfied with my previous copy.

To some of you, the new copy probably doesn't look much better.  The new copy is seen on the left in the below photo.

In person, the difference in condition between the two copies is more obvious.  The jacket on my new acquisition still has a shiny surface.  The color is more striking because it is less soiled.  In person, the new one looks a lot better even though the actual condition is just marginally better.

I will sell my old copy at some point.  It will probably be priced somewhere between what I paid for the old copy and the new copy, so for less than what I paid for the old copy and for more than what I paid for the new copy.  Sometimes I will just average the prices and go with that amount.

The below screen capture shows current online listings for Linda as seen on Bookfinder.com.

These books have not sold, which means that most of them are likely priced too high.  There are actually only three different books available, since two of the sellers have their books listed on multiple sites.  The first listing at $216 has an original jacket and is within the price range of what I paid for my two books.  I feel that the $216 book is probably priced fairly.

The other two books have reproduction dust jackets, so I feel that both books are grossly overpriced.  Since the jackets are not original, those books are worth no more than a bare book without a dust jacket.  For Linda, even a bare book is quite scarce, but most people probably would not pay more than $100 for a bare book, if even that.

Connie Carl at Rainbow Ranch

Connie Carl at Rainbow Ranch was written by Mildred Wirt Benson under the pseudonym of Joan Clark.

In Connie Carl at Rainbow Ranch, Connie has recently graduated from an Eastern finishing school.  She returns to Rainbow Ranch to make her home.  When Connie arrives, she finds that the ranch has changed.  The foreman, Forest Blakeman, is surly and secretive.  Connie learns that her money is gone and that the ranch must be sold.  Connie is determined to find a way to save the ranch, but Blakeman thwarts her at every turn.

Connie wins $750 in a rodeo.  She is warned to put the money in the bank before she returns home. Connie refuses, planning to take it home with her.  Predictably, Connie is robbed and has no idea who took the money.  I hate this kind of stupidity.  All Connie had to do was get the money in the bank.  Ugh!

This book is a bit simplistic.  The descriptions are sparse, and the text is not detailed.  I would have liked for the book to have been fleshed out more.  That said, the book is still an enjoyable book by Mildred Wirt Benson.

Courageous Wings by Mildred A. Wirt

Courageous Wings was written by Mildred A. Wirt and published by Penn in 1937.  It was later reprinted by Books, Inc.  The Books, Inc. edition is not too difficult to find and can be found fairly inexpensively.   Books, Inc. published the book in a hardcover edition with dust jacket and a glossy picture cover edition.

The story begins from the perspectives of Jim Sherman, a young pilot, and Shorty Dawes, his mechanic. The two men are approached by another man, Marcus Reman, who asks the men to fly him to Martin Bowman's estate at Pinetop. The weather conditions are poor, and the men refuse, despite Reman's offer of five hundred dollars. Consider how much money $500 was in 1937. Reman must be up to something!

Reman obtains the services of another pilot. In the meantime, a young woman, Cleo Bowman, approaches Sherman and Dawes and wonders whether there is a way that she can get to Pinetop that night. She refuses to state why, but explains that her father has a great deal to lose if she fails to make the trip.

Jim Sherman offers to take Cleo to Pinetop (for free, of course), even though he just refused to fly due to the weather. After a very harrowing flight in which the plane nearly crashes, the young people arrive at Pinetop. They find Reman and his pilot already there. Reman produces a letter written by Mr. Bowman that summoned Reman to Pinetop immediately. Cleo notes that the signature does not look like her father's, but Reman insists that the signature is genuine.

Cleo confesses in private to Jim and Shorty that her father's company is in danger of failing due to much bad luck in recent months. An incident occurs which makes it apparent that Reman is up to no good. Around this time, the perspective switches to Cleo, and the rest of the story is told from Cleo's point of view. The remainder of the book centers around Cleo's attempts to help Mr. Bowman get out of financial debt. Jim and Shorty lend their assistance.

It is a bit odd that the story begins from the young men's point of view and later switches to Cleo. At the beginning, I thought that Jim Sherman was the main character and did not realize until a few chapters later that it was Cleo Bowman.

This is a typical good story by Mildred Wirt Benson and is worth reading.

Carolina Castle by Mildred A. Wirt

Carolina Castle was written by Mildred A. Wirt and was published by the Penn Publishing Company in 1936. It is a stand-alone novel and is quite scarce.

In Carolina Castle, Joan Carling spends the summer with her school friend, Evelyn Brandleton, near Charleston, South Carolina. The girls' ages are not given, but since Evelyn's brother Benny drives, I assume that the young people are not very young. Perhaps the young people are supposed to be around 17 or 18, but somehow, they seem a little younger to me, so I place their ages at around 14 to 15.

As the story opens, Evelyn frets because her brother, Benny, has gone off in his car, forgetting that he was to take the girls to Charleston that day. The situation is made worse because of the rain, since the girls cannot go outside.

After the rain clears, Evelyn decides to take Joan to Castle Hill where the girls explore the ruins of an old plantation that was burned down during the Revolutionary War. The girls discover an old passageway hidden in the ruins. They have no candles, so they are unable to explore the ruins that day. They cover the opening and decide to tell Benny nothing about their discovery.

Of course Benny immediately suspects that the girls are hiding something from him. Unknown to them, Benny explores the ruins. Soon, the three young people exchange stories and explore the passageway together. They discover an old buried chest that contains a diary.

The diary was written by a young woman during the Revolutionary War. It tells the story of her family's harrowing experiences during that time. The young people decide to try to discover the fate of the young woman who wrote the diary.

This book is an excellent read. Unfortunately, Carolina Castle is very hard to find. It has been reprinted in recent years, but those copies seldom come up for sale and tend to be expensive.

Linda by Mildred A. Wirt

Linda was published in 1940 by Cupples and Leon. It was written by Mildred A. Wirt and is one of her most obscure books. It seldom comes up for sale with an original dust jacket. Most examples that surface are offered by collectors and have reproduction dust jackets. I recall seeing examples with original dust jackets selling for possibly $500 to $600 years ago.

I advise against reading the dust jacket's synopsis unless you are fine with the entire plot of the book being spoiled before you read it. I have found the dust jacket synopsis online in a listing for a book that is up for sale, so also be cautious about any synopsis that appears in a seller's listing. My objection is to one specific piece of information that is mentioned in the synopsis. While I still greatly enjoyed the book, I would have preferred not to have had that part of the plot spoiled before reading the book. I cannot understand why the Cupples and Leon company did this with some of its books.

I will now give a setup of the basic premise, and needless to say, I will not mention how the book ends.

Linda Calvert is a spoiled 18-year-old girl who lives with her 57-year-old father, Jim Calvert. Linda's mother has been dead for three years. Mr. Calvert runs a successful golf course that he built on an old farm. The Calverts live in the renovated farmhouse.

Mr. Calvert worries that Linda has developed bad habits, including laziness, during the last few years. He does not approve of Barney Durbin, who is Linda's favorite golfing companion. Linda does not understand why Mr. Calvert disapproves of Barney, who is lazy and self-centered.

As an aside, the caddy who figures prominently into the subplot of the book is a boy named Sammy. The caddy in the Nancy Drew book, The Haunted Bridge, is also named Sammy. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I kind of doubt it. Mildred Wirt Benson wrote both books, and why not put in a sly nod to Nancy Drew?

To go back to this book, Mr. Calvert has decided to send Linda away for the summer to Iowa to live with Aunt Rachel, Doctor Cameron, and their teenage children, Faye and Clyde. Linda temporarily postpones her banishment to Iowa when she manipulates her father into letting her stay by cleaning the house properly, staying away from Barney, and cooking dinner correctly.

Soon, Linda makes her father a promise she fails to keep, and Linda is sent to Iowa. Linda thinks that all she needs to do is impress the other young people, and they will flock after her. Linda little understands that the others see her as a hopeless snob and has no idea why they avoid her. During Linda's time in Iowa, she is put through a number of hardships that begin to shape her character.

I did not like Linda during the first few chapters, but that is to be expected since she is portrayed as shallow and selfish. As the book progresses, the reader begins to care about Linda.

This book is comparable to Mildred Wirt Benson's other standalone titles, which are all good. The difference with this book is that it is not a mystery, but that does not take away from the excellent story presented.

A Mystery Is Solved... or Maybe Not

Most series books have a few typos in them. Since the books were made and sold inexpensively, the books did not have much quality control. Usually the mistakes are not too bothersome. One exception is the glaring error—really, a discontinuity—that occurs in the final two volumes of the Brownie Scouts series.

When I first read the Brownie Scouts series, I was utterly flabbergasted that Veve McGuire's name changed to Vevi McGuire in volumes five and six. If the mistake had been in a few stray places, I would have been forgiving. However, the name is consistently Vevi every single time it is mentioned throughout all of volumes five and six. The name is Veve in all instances from volumes one through four.

It is truly bizarre. In the documents that I purchased, a letter from Cupples and Leon mentions the problem.

We have been proof-reading the Brownie Scout Series for errors in the text which we intend to correct in the next edition. We are distressed to find that in volumes five and six the name of one of the characters had been changed from Veve to Vevi McGuire.

Actually this should be corrected - however, if we tried to do so the last two volumes in the series would need to be reset. This would be a great expense and we wish to avoid doing so if we possibly can. Do you think you could write an explanation - a story about a little girl - perhaps a friend of yours - whose name was Vevi and spelled in this manner - and to please her you had made the change starting in volume five - if so this could be inserted just before page 1, it might serve sufficiently so that we will not need to reset those volumes.

The books were not reset nor was a message about the name inserted into either of the books, at least not in the copies which I own. When I first read this letter, I concluded that the publisher had made the mistake. Even so, I was still puzzled. Exactly how would the name Veve be changed to Vevi in every single instance throughout two books? I know little about the specific details of the publishing process, but I assume that the author's manuscript is used at the beginning of the process. If the name was spelled correctly in the manuscript, how would it accidentally get changed in every occurrence throughout the final published work? The name would get changed if whoever set the type decided to change it, but that would be odd.

Although the name change still bothered me, I did not think much more about it for around a week after reading the letter. When I began looking through my documents again, I happened upon the outline for The Brownie Scouts and Their Tulip Show, which was published as the sixth volume in the series, The Brownie Scouts at Windmill Farm. Prepare yourselves for this . . . it is really shocking . . . the name is Vevi in the outline! Mildred Wirt Benson was the person who inexplicably changed her character's name from Veve to Vevi. It was never the publisher's mistake.

I now know where the mistake was made, but I still do not understand why. Surely Benson had not forgotten how to spell her own character's name? Maybe she decided she liked Vevi better, but for the sake of consistency, one would think she would have left the name alone. Perhaps she was writing so many books at that time that she forgot how she had spelled the name. This is a mystery that will never be completely solved.

The Brownie Scouts in the Circus Part 3

The outline for The Brownie Scouts in the Circus is titled The Brownies and the Golden Chariot. The characters are described as follows:

Connie Williams, "Master Mind" Jane Tuttle, Veve McGuire, Rosemary Fritche, etc., members of the Brownie troop.

Miss Gordon, leader of the troop.

Jim Cardale, animal trainer

Eve Leitsall, girl bareback circus rider.

In the book, Eve becomes Eva and Mr. Cardale becomes Mr. Carsdale. The description of Jane Tuttle as "Master Mind" intrigues me. This is never mentioned in the books, and Jane Tuttle is not a very important character. It could be that Wirt meant Connie Williams, but Connie is never described as a "Master Mind," either. It is interesting that Veve's name is mentioned third, since Veve is the star of the Brownie Scouts series.

Another difference between the book and the outline is that in the outline, Connie drops her hat during the circus performance, and she and Veve go to retrieve it. In the book, Veve is the one who drops her hat and is scolded for being careless. Veve and Connie go to retrieve the hat. There are a few other minor differences between the book and the outline, but for the most part, the book follows the outline rather closely.

The Brownie Scouts in the Circus Part 2

The second Patsy and Pudge outline is very similar to the first outline, but it has been fleshed out a bit more. What makes the second outline special is that upside down on the back of one of the pages is a very rough draft of a letter Wirt was composing. The letter has some typos. I have decided to correct the typos for clarity of reading and have noted where I made corrections.

Dear Sirs:

I am enclosing a plot for a proposed tiny-tot book to be called "Patsy and Pudge at the Circus," which follows the general formula of the well known Bobbsey Twins [typo corrected] for this type of story and which I believe would go well either in the twenty-five [typo corrected] cent market or the fifty cent field.

For my past work included from ninety to a hundred published works. I write the Nancy Drew stories, the Kay Tracey, the Dana Girls, Penny Parker and have a long list of individual mystery stories under my own name and pen. I've also done considerable work for Goldsmith Pub Co in the twenty-five cent field. In the tiny-tot line, my work includes Honey Bunch (Grosset and Dunlap) and Dot and Dash (Cupples).

If you are interested in the type of story I offer, I can assure you of a well written, entertaining book suited to which I can offer either on a royalty basis or a flat price.

This letter helps date the Patsy and Pudge outline. The Dot and Dash series was published from 1938 to 1940, and the Brownie Scouts series was published beginning in 1949. This places the Patsy and Pudge outline somewhere between 1940 and 1949.

The Brownie Scouts in the Circus Part 1

As reported in previous posts, I purchased some of Mildred Wirt Benson's documents, including several outlines. Among these documents are two drafts of the outline for Patsy and Pudge at the Circus and an outline for The Brownies and the Golden Chariot. All three of these outlines are early versions of what later became the second volume in the Brownie Scouts series, The Brownie Scouts in the Circus.

One of the Patsy and Pudge outlines has some scribbled notes in pencil which are very hard to read. Patsy and Pudge's names are marked out and the scribbled notes mention "Brownies" and "Veve." For those who have not read the Brownie Scouts series, the primary characters are Veve McGuire, Connie Williams, their troop leader, Miss Gordon, and the other girls in the troop.

In the Patsy and Pudge story, Patsy Gordon lives next door to Pudge Willmore. An animal trainer, Jim Cardale, and a boy bareback rider, Elwin Leitsall, are two secondary characters who appear in the story.

Patsy and Pudge dig dandelions in the Gordons' front yard to make money for the children to buy kites. While flying their kites, the children spot a sign advertising a circus. The children plan a circus of their own. Pudge tries walking across a clothesline stretched across a pond and falls into the water. All of these events occur in the Brownie Scouts book, except that Veve is the one who falls in the pond.

The Patsy and Pudge story has an event that does not occur in the Brownie Scouts book. Pudge has to watch the baby, but he wants to leave. He tacks the baby's dress to the floor so he and Patsy can go ask a boy if they might borrow his clown suit.

Other events are also very similar to the events of the Brownie Scouts book. The children have their circus. Neighborhood boys cause a disturbance and leave when a policeman arrives at the circus. The children go to watch the circus as it unloads at the train station. A lion escapes, and the trainer Jim Cardale gets the lion back in its cage.

The children go to the circus with Mr. Gordon. While at the circus, Mr. Gordon's wallet is stolen. The circus detective thinks that the thief is likely "Pickpocket Joe." The children meet the circus rider, Elwin, who acts like living with the circus is the greatest. The next day, Patsy and Pudge get into an open box car and are accidentally carried away when the circus leaves on the train. The children are discovered later, and a telegram is sent to their parents.

The children become better acquainted with Elwin and realize that his life is very hard. Patsy and Pudge know that they are fortunate not to be part of the circus. Mr. Gordon sends a telegram stating that he will arrive later that evening to pick up the children.

Patsy and Pudge learn that Elwin has to perform a new trick that night, and he is afraid. In the margin is the note "a Brownie is not afraid," which is a quote that appears in the Brownie Scouts book.

During that night's show, the children spot the pickpocket, and the man is captured. Mr. Gordon arrives, and the children leave with him.

The Patsy and Pudge outline follows the overall same plot as The Brownie Scouts in the Circus. In the Brownie Scouts book, Mr. Gordon becomes the troop leader, Miss Gordon. Veve is something of a composite of Patsy and Pudge, and Connie takes up part of the role of Patsy. Elwin becomes a girl bareback rider, Eva, in the book.

—to be continued

A Little about Patsy and Pudge

I have skimmed through the outline for Patsy and Pudge at the Circus, and it reminds me a lot of The Brownie Scouts in the Circus. I will have to re-read The Brownie Scouts in the Circus to verify the similarities. I also have several of the Brownie Scouts outlines, so it looks like I may have to re-read all of the Brownie Scouts books in order to fully appreciate these outlines.

It is very good that the outlines are for the Brownie Scouts series rather than Wirt's Dan Carter series. I do not particularly care for the Dan Carter series. In the Dan Carter series, the boys are continually forced to prove themselves innocent of wrongdoing and are overly concerned about doing the right thing. It was a bit repetitious for me, and I do not care ever to read the Dan Carter books again.

On the other hand, the Brownie Scouts series is surprisingly good for a series that centers around scouting activities and is aimed at young children. I tend not to like series that are aimed at young children, like the Bobbsey Twins series, so it is unusual that I like the Brownie Scouts series as much as I do.

A rough draft of a letter to the publisher is also included with the Patsy and Pudge summary. It was on the back of another page, and I was surprised to find it. The letter indicates to me that the Patsy and Pudge summary must be from the 1940s and must be from before the Brownie Scouts series was published. In the rough draft of the letter, Benson actually mentions that she writes (she stated "I write" - present tense) "the Nancy Drew stories." This is a gem. I will place excerpts of the letter in a future post. This is so exciting. Gosh I wish I could have purchased all of those documents...

The Indian Mound Mystery

One of the sets of original Mildred Wirt Benson documents that I purchased was the outline for a book called The Indian Mound Mystery. While I have not read every single one of Mildred Wirt Benson's published works, I feel like I can safely rule out the very few that I have not read. For the record, the only ones I have not read are Sky Racers, Carolina Castle, Courageous Wings, Linda, Connie Carl at Rainbow Ranch, and the Honey Bunch books.

Here are the characters, as described in the outline:

Rance and 'Rene Caldwell, children who are visiting their uncle,

John Spranger, a bachelor....a writer of historical novels.

Jean Romanes, an orphan who runs a quick lunch room. She is a direct descendant of Eugene Romanes.

Jack Hardley, Jean's cousin.

Robert Quittance, a lawyer, who has a fine collection of antiques. He is interested in adding to his collection by fair means or foul.

Judge Van Wenter, a kindly man who assists John Spranger in his research work.

--------------
The Eagle or Jewel of the Cincinnati. ....The order was formed by the officers, French, Polish and American, who fought together during the Revolution. George Washington was its first president. The eldest son of a dead officer could step into his father's place in the organization.

I like the description of the Jean's cafe as a "quick lunch room."

I'm going to give a short rundown of the plot. The outline has no dialogue. This would have been fleshed out as the book was written. I have tried to rephrase everything so as to use only my own words, and I have left out some of the plot.

...................................

The children's names are Ranceford and Irene Caldwell, and their nicknames are Rance and Rene. Their parents have gone away on a trip, and the two children must stay with their uncle, John Spranger, who is reluctant to take care of them. He is afraid they will distract him from his writing. Additionally, Uncle John's housekeeper, Truda Hausfenger, is displeased about the extra guests. Hmm...a housekeeper with a foreign-sounding name. It sounds like one of the famous ethnic stereotypes of old series fiction!

The children are asked to help remove some old wallpaper in Uncle John's house. As they finish the job, the children find a hidden door to a closet which contains an old chest. In the chest, the children find two diaries, one belonging to Robert Spranger. The diary contains a letter written by Eugene des Romanes.

The children visit the nearby Indian mounds. While there, Rance looks around while Rene reads the diary. She finds mention of some missing object and a partial clue to its whereabouts. The children return home to find that Uncle John is going on a trip to do research for a new book. The children go with him to an Ohio river town.

Soon after arriving in the town, the children meet Robert Quittance and Jean Romanes. From Jean, the children learn of a missing pay chest. Jean tells them that she has some papers in a trunk which may be of interest to their uncle. Jean is not able to get to the papers at the present moment.

The children meet Jack Hardley, Jean's cousin, and find him to be very unpleasant. Rene had brought the old diaries with her on the trip and left them in a briefcase. During the night, an intruder, who is later found to be Jack Hardley, tries to steal the diaries. He does not succeed.

Jean goes to retrieve her papers from the trunk and learns that some of them are missing. The Eagle of the Cincinnati, which is kind of like a locket, is on display at the library and Jean, Rene, and Rance go to look at it. They find a clue inside, and the words seem to fit with the words in the diary.

Rene learns that Judge Van Wenter had given Mr. Quittance a map of the Indian mounds. The judge draws a map from memory for Rene. Meanwhile, Jean learns that her cousin and Quittance are in collusion to find the pay chest. The two were seen driving in the direction of the Indian mounds.

The children arrive at the mounds in time to see Jack and Quittance discover the chest. They leave to get help, but the police will not believe them. Fortunately, Uncle John arrives in time to lend assistance. The chest is opened in court, and the judge determines that the money belongs to the government. Quittance is discredited in the eyes of the townspeople, and Jean returns east with Rene and Rance.

...................................

The outline was good, and I feel like this story could have made a good book. The outline is five pages long in single-spaced type. In its present form, it makes for a good short story, though lacking in dialogue.

Revisiting Quarry Ghost Part 2

I have a carbon copy of a letter Mildred Benson wrote to her editor at Dodd Mead concerning the rewriting of Quarry Ghost. The letter is dated October 3, 1958.

I have the first chapter rewritten on GHOST and am awaiting the complete manuscript. It will be possible, I think, in the early chapters to make use of the old pages, or some of them, which will greatly reduce re-copying time. The second half of the manuscript will be the trying part.

The scientific material will give the story more substance and I believe, is an improvement on the tin soldier idea. Anyway, the story is starting out with promise--and hard work!

I wish we could see the original manuscript to get an idea of how the tin soldier idea would have played out. I find it interesting that Quarry Ghost was rewritten after the original manuscript was finished. This is from a letter written by Benson's editor, Dorothy M. Bryan, on October 28, 1958:

I hope that, now it is all over, you feel the change was a wise one. I would not want you to be unhappy about it. I do feel that it is better to try for a more permanent value and an underlieing [sic] substance, in addition to the entertainment aspect in our young books, particularly since over eight per cent of our sales are to institutions, such as libraries, state reading circles, school libraries, etc. I certainly do not want any author to feel "pushed around" by me, though!

It sounds like Dorothy Bryan was a nice editor.

This is from Bryan's letter to Benson from December 2, 1958:

Your manuscript for QUARRY GHOST has gone to the printer and now I can take time to congratulate you on your good rewriting. All the ends seem safely tied together. I checked on the long hair for the Ghost and the turkey egg for Cookie. Also, I straightened out any other minor inconsistencies. The only thing that I could not explain was how a group of boys could stay away from school on a weekday and huddle around the police while they were searching the quarry and not be questioned or even sent packing off to school for playing hookey!

The most important fact is that your story seems to have more substance now - your heroine more character. I think that the touch of the dinosaur egg will intrigue more readers. I know how much interest the fact that the young hero of another of our books wants to become an archaeologist has aroused, particularly in the libraries and schools.

[snip]

I think that you are going to be delighted with the jacket for your book. The artist works for the Ford Company and Coca Cola and he has made an intriguing watery scene with a flash of excitement.

The main reason I decided to read Quarry Ghost again is that I could not remember the exact details about the turkey egg or the long hair on the Ghost. As I suspected, the editor must have been checking up on whether dinosaur eggs are at all similar to turkey eggs in appearance.

Long hair is mentioned at one point in the book, but I do not know of more than one occurrence. It may be that an inconsistency was removed. For instance, it is possible that the hair could have been short in one scene and long in another.

I really enjoyed revisiting Quarry Ghost. This book is well worth purchasing, if you can find one. It was published in both hardcover and softcover editions. The softcover version, while quite scarce, is normally less expensive than the hardcover edition. The UK edition, Kristie at College, is also a relatively inexpensive way to acquire a copy.

Revisiting Quarry Ghost

Some of the Mildred Wirt Benson documents that I purchased concern Quarry Ghost, which was published in 1959 by Dodd, Mead & Company. It is one of the hardest to find of all of Mildred Wirt Benson's books. It is somewhat easier to find Quarry Ghost in the UK edition titled Kristie at College.

Quarry Ghost is my favorite book by Mildred Wirt Benson. It is also one of the last couple of books that she wrote, so the book is the product of Benson's decades of writing experience. It shows; the book is outstanding.

After looking at the Quarry Ghost documents, I was inspired to re-read Quarry Ghost. The book opens like this:

KRISTIE ROLLED a sheet of copy paper from the typewriter and, with a quick intake of breath, raised startled eyes to the shadowy doorway. Across the street from the deserted college journalism office, the chimes of Old Trinity carillonned the hour of seven.

Not the clear cadence of the striking chapel bells, but another sound had caught the girl's attention. Footfalls, soft and steady, whispered along the freshly-scrubbed hallway, padded closer and now hung suspended at the entranceway to the student newspaper workroom.

Aware that she sat alone in a slowly darkening room, Kristie snapped on the overhead, swinging electric bulb.

Framed in the doorway stood a tall man with angular features. His well-cut tweeds and gold-rimmed spectacles suggested that he might be a faculty member. Kristie, however, was quite certain she had never seen him on the campus.

The glare of the unshaded light accentuated a gray-fringed, bald head as the visitor politely removed his hat in approaching the desk.

"Good evening." His voice was low-pitched, friendly. "May I see your journalism school director, please?"

"Mr. Munn? Oh, I'm sorry, sir, he left an hour ago." Kristie smiled to cover her nervousness. The caller's easy manner had quieted her initial alarm. Nevertheless, she was fully conscious that she sat alone in a deserted office. It would be nearly an hour before the Daily Collegian night staff would straggle in to get out the early morning edition.

Long before that time, Kristie expected to be at the women's gymnasium swimming pool, preparing to compete in an important meet at 7:30 p.m. She had remained at the journalism office only to finish an assigned story on the student council election.

"You are in charge here?"

"Not exactly." Kristie squirmed impatiently, wishing the caller would state his business promptly. Any delay now might make her late for the swimming competition.

Notice how suspenseful the book is from the very first page. The narrative flows from paragraph to paragraph, chapter to chapter, and the reader hardly wants to put the book down. The entire book is as suspenseful as the first page.

The documents that I purchased give some insight into the creation of this excellent story.

Revisiting Quarry Ghost Part 2

Mildred Wirt Benson Document Auctions

A collector recently sold quite a few documents that were purchased from Mildred Wirt Benson in the 1990s. I found it quite interesting how high some of the auctions went while others closed at lower prices. Some of the documents that I personally thought were the most interesting and had the most valuable historic information closed for lower prices than some of the ones that I found less interesting historically. Apparently I think differently than the average eBay buyer. For this I am rather glad since I was able to purchase the documents that were most important to me. Some of the documents that went for the highest prices were ones that were not as important to me. I let others fight over them. I also knew that I did not wish to buy all of the documents since they were going to be very expensive.

Some of the documents that went for the highest prices were ones that had Mildred Wirt Benson's autograph. Other documents that were valued had to do with books that are more popular with collectors or are hard to find, like the last Penny Parker book and the Trailer Stories for Girls series. It's like the documents were viewed with the same sense of awe as the books that are so hard to find.

I'm going to run through some of the highlights.

Mildred Wirt Trailer series contract signed Item #270383078042

This document closed at $155.30.

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Mildred Wirt Laughing Mask Plot Summary Item #270383099881

This auction closed at $115.30.

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Plot summary for Penny Parker Cry at Midnight Item #270383025332

This auction closed at $114.30, and I think that the scarcity of the book is a factor into how high the summary closed for.

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Mildred Wirt Patsy & Pudge Plot Summary #1 Item #270383062835

This auction closed at $70.69. To me, this is more interesting than the plot summary for Cry at Midnight because Patsy and Pudge is a series that was never published. These papers contain a summary of a book by Mildred Wirt Benson that is much more scarce than Cry at Midnight because it does not exist in print. I feel that this lot should have closed for a much higher price because of what it contained. I bought this lot.

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Mildred Wirt - Lot of 3 Cupples & Leon letters Item #270383057493

This lot closed at $67.10. It was an absolute must-have for me, since it contains some important information about the Brownie Scouts series. Information is what I seek, so of course I bought this one, too.

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Mildred Wirt Pirate Cove Plot Summary Item #270383095408

This lot closed at $62.01. I am not sure whether the book is one that was published under another name or whether it is unpublished. I bought this one, too. I should be able to quickly figure out whether this is a published work as soon as I take the time to read the summary.

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Mildred Wirt Nancy Drew Quarry Ghost Letters signed Item #270383092194

Quarry Ghost is my favorite book by Mildred Wirt Benson, so I had to have this one, too. It closed at $51.01.

There were other documents as well, but this gives an idea of what was sold.

Perry Pierce and Books by Mildred Wirt Benson

Here are two more posts from the Vintage Series Books group.

From July 30, 2006:

I have recently read the Girl Scouts Series by Virginia Fairfax (an awesome series right in line in feel to the original text Nancy Drew books but very hard to find!), and several books by Mildred Wirt Benson such as Pirate Brig, Dangerous Deadline, and Quarry Ghost (also known as Kristie at College).

The three Benson books that I mentioned above are a bit difficult to find and most people have probably not read them. I feel like they are among her strongest works, and it is a shame that they are so difficult to find. I have now read the vast majority of the more than 100 books by Mildred Wirt Benson, and of the ones that I have read, I feel that Quarry Ghost is her best book. How is that for a strong personal recommendation?

Quarry Ghost is extremely rare [bad word alert!—I should have used scarce instead of RARE—shame on me!] in the original U.S. edition, but it is quite a bit easier to acquire in the U.K. edition, titled Kristie at College. I do highly recommend it. It has suspense, mystery, and a little romance. Kristie and her friends have several very harrowing experiences while diving in an old quarry, and well, you just have to read it to appreciate it fully. Just imagine diving at a depth of 25 feet with poor visibility. . . and something goes wrong with your air . . . or a mysterious diver attacks you! It is aimed at a somewhat older audience, as in young adult, than most of Benson's other books.

I should also mention that Kristie at College is the exact same text as Quarry Ghost except that the spellings of certain words are changed to the British spelling.

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From June 19, 2005:

I recently read the Perry Pierce series; in fact, I just finished the last book a few days ago.

I was recently reminded of the series a few months ago when David Farah sold a set on eBay and had it showing in a Nancy Drew search. Leslie McFarlane, Hardy Boys author, wrote the first book, and Walter Karig, Nancy Drew author, wrote the remaining three books in the series.

The Walter Karig texts are among my very favorite Nancy Drew books, so I want to read all of the books that he wrote. He wrote two of the Doris Force books, and I greatly enjoyed those.

I thoroughly enjoyed all four Perry Pierce books, and this is coming from someone who does not tend to like the boys' series as much as the girls' series.

The first book was easily recognizable as being by McFarlane. It has been about ten years since I read any Hardy Boys books, but I remember the style quite well.

The Karig texts are quite good, and I noticed how often food was mentioned, just like in the Nancy Drew books, down to every single dish.

I do recommend this series to anyone who likes either the Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys books.