Mittie Frances Clarke Point


Mittie Frances Clarke Point was an American novelist. She wrote 80 dime novels during a 50-year career. In 1978, her home, "The Cedars", was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Her first novel was Rosamond, but her success began with her 1883 romance, The Bride of the Tomb.

Early years and education

Novelist Mittie Frances Clarke Point was born in Doswell, Virginia, April 30, 1850. She graduated from Richmond Female Institute on June 30, 1868.

Career

She first married Thomas Jefferson Davis and they had a daughter, but both husband and daughter died within two years. Returning to her home in Richmond, Virginia, she wrote short stories for Old Dominion and Temperance Advocate. She then married a teacher named Alexander McVeigh Miller in 1878 and they lived in Fayette County, West Virginia. Her 1883 romance, The Bride of the Tomb, was successful, and others followed. The Millers built "The Cedars" in Alderson, West Virginia, and this also helped him with a political career, having been elected to the West Virginia Senate during the period of 1901 to 1909. She divorced him in 1908 because of infidelity, moving with her daughter Irene to Boston. She died in Florida, December 26, 1937.

Selected works