Harriet Stratemeyer Adams
| Harriet Adams | |
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| Born | Harriet Stratemeyer Adams December 11, 1892 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | March 27, 1982 (aged 89) Tewksbury Township, New Jersey |
| Pen name | Carolyn Keene |
| Occupation | Novelist, publisher |
| Genre | Young adult mystery fiction |
| Notable works | Nancy Drew series |
Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (December 11, 1892 – March 27, 1982) was an American juvenile mystery novelist and publisher who authored some 200 books over her literary career. She wrote many books in the Nancy Drew series (under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene) and a few in the Hardy Boys series (under the pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon). She also oversaw other ghostwriters who wrote for these and many other series as a part of the Stratemeyer Syndicate.
With her sister, Edna, Adams took over control of the Stratemeyer Syndicate after her father Edward Stratemeyer's death in 1930. Edna ran the daily business operations, while Adams dealt with publishers and wrote; after Edna was married in 1942, she became inactive and Adams took over the entire business. Adams is primarily 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revising the two most popular series, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, in the 1950s and 1960s, removing stereotypes and outdated ideas and language. She ran the syndicate for 52 years.
She was born in Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of Edward Stratemeyer and Magdalena Van Camp 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 home, so she edited manuscripts at home. In 1915, she married Russell Vroom Adams, and raised four children, becoming involved in the family business only after her father's death. She resided in Maplewood, New Jersey, and in Pottersville, New Jersey, an area within Tewksbury Township, where she died of a heart attack. She lived in Pottersville at her estate, Bird Haven, until her death in 1982.
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