Nancy Drew’s Appeal

As a male I quibble once with Myrna Oliver’s otherwise fitting tribute to Nancy Drew creator Mildred Benson (obituary, May 30). That is when she writes, “The Nancy Drew books, as most women who read can tell you. ... “ Part of the strength of the books is that they reach out to all readers.

I learned how to read with the series and so did many of my school chums. Attendance at the 1993 Nancy Drew Conference at the University of Iowa (where I met Benson) was split between men and women, and since the 1970s, nearly half of the scholarly essays and books that the series has generated have been written by men.

Dale Salwak

Professor of English

Citrus College, Glendora