Stewart, Trenton Lee (1970-…), is an American children’s author known for his trilogy (series of three books) called “The Mysterious Benedict Society.” The novels follow the adventures of four gifted children—Reynie, Kate, Constance, and Sticky (George). The books are filled with clever wordplay, literary references, and puzzles. Readers are challenged to join the characters in solving the puzzles.
Stewart began his trilogy with The Mysterious Benedict Society (2007). In the novel, the four children respond to a newspaper advertisement that asks “Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?” After passing a difficult problem-solving examination, the four are selected by the mysterious Nicholas Benedict, who assigns them the task of getting inside the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened. Their mission is to defeat an evil plot organized by Ledroptha Curtain, the criminal leader of the Institute. Curtain uses a machine called “the Whisperer” to control the thoughts of average people through messages hidden in advertisements and the media.
Stewart continued the trilogy with The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (2008) and The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma (2009). Stewart wrote a companion volume called The Mysterious Benedict Society: Mr. Benedict’s Book of Perplexing Puzzles, Elusive Enigmas, and Curious Conundrums (2011). He also wrote The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (2012), which deals with events that occurred before those described in the trilogy, and the mystery adventure The Secret Keepers (2016). In The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of the Ages (2019), the original members of the society, all but the youngest now teenagers, reunite to face a new threat.
Stewart was born on May 27, 1970, in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He graduated from Hendrix College in 1992 with a B.A. in English and from the University of Iowa in 1995 with an M.F.A. in creative writing. He wrote an adult novel called Flood Summer (2005) before beginning his “Benedict Society” series.
