was nancy drew a real person or is she just made up?

Answer 1

She's a fictional creation, but one that was authored by many diifferent writers:

"A plucky "titian-haired" sleuth solved her first mystery in 1930. Eighty million books later, Nancy Drew has survived the Depression, World War II, and the sixties (when she was taken up with a vengeance by women's libbers) to enter the pantheon of American girlhood. As beloved by girls today as she was by their grandmothers, Nancy Drew has both inspired and reflected the changes in her readers' lives. Now, in a narrative with all the vivid energy and page-turning pace of Nancy's adventures, Melanie Rehak solves an enduring literary mystery: Who created Nancy Drew? And how did she go from pulp heroine to icon?

The brainchild of children's book mogul Edward Stratemeyer, Nancy was brought to life by two women: Mildred Wirt Benson, a pioneering journalist from Iowa, and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, a well-bred wife and mother who took over as CEO after her father died. In a century-spanning story Rehak traces their roles—and Nancy's—in forging the modern American woman. With ebullience, wit, and a wealth of little-known source material, Rehak celebrates our unstoppable girl detective.
Carolyn Keene is a pseudonym for the many wonderful authors who have contributed to the Nancy Drew series over many years. While the stories have evolved into more modern themes and settings, each author has faithfully maintained the integrity of the characters and the spirit of the original series that your mothers and grandmothers grew to love."

Answer 2

Fictional character and the book is not written by Carolyn Keene like the cover says.

Carolyn Keene is the pseudonym of the authors of the Nancy Drew mystery series, and also The Dana Girls mystery series, both published by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Stratemeyer hired writers, including Mildred Benson, to write the novels in this series, who initially were paid only $125 for each book and were required by their contract to give up all rights to the work and to maintain confidentiality. Edward Stratemeyer's daughter, Harriet Adams, also wrote books in the Nancy Drew series under the pseudonym.

Answer 3

Fictional character.