Carolyn Keene, author of the Nancy Drew books, has never been an actual person! It was just a name invented for the series, and several different ghostwriters actually wrote the books. I knew the later books and spinoffs weren't the "real" Carolyn Keene, but I never knew there was no one real author to begin with. articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/28/entertainment/la-et-story28a-2010mar28