Thu 13 Sep 2007
The Compleat GRACE MILLER WHITE.
Posted by Steve under Authors , Crime Fiction IV , Mystery plays[25] Comments
This is the second in a series of checklists compiled by Victor Berch of turn-of-last-century authors whose careers consisted largely of novelizing plays having varying degrees of criminous content. The first was Helen Burrell Gibson D’Apery, 1842-1915, who wrote as Olive Harper.
The author of interest this time around is Grace Miller White, 1868-1957, who wrote an even longer list of such novelizations, as you’ll see in a moment, all within the very narrow time frame of 1901 to 1907.
After 1907 either the market for such novelizations began to dry up or (equally possible) a severe case of fatigue on Ms. White’s part had set in. According to Al Hubin, she wrote four additional novels worthy of inclusion in his bibliography, Crime Fiction IV, as follows. (The dashes indicate marginal crime content.)
-From the Valley of the Missing (n.) Watt 1911
-When Tragedy Grins (n.) Watt 1912 [Paris]
-The Ghost of Glen George (n.) Macaulay 1925
The Square Mark [with H. L. Deakin] (n.) Dutton 1930 [Academia]
At the moment, I know nothing more about Grace Miller White’s life. For a short account of the practice of novelizing plays, the introduction to Olive Harper’s entry will have to do for now. (Follow the link above.)
In the checklist that follows, no dashes are included. By the time this information is incorporated into the online Addenda to the Revised Crime Fiction IV, such indications of lesser crime content will have been determined and included.
by Victor A. Berch
Alone in the World (Ogilvie,1905, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Owen Davis
Another Man’s Wife; or, The Life That Kills (Ogilvie,1905, pb) Novelization of 4 act play The Life That Kills, by Walter [W.] Fessler
Because She Loved (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by John Reinhart
Broadway After Dark (Ogilvie,1907, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by John Oliver, pseud. of Owen Davis. Silent film: Warner Bros., 1924 (adapt.: Douglas Doty; dir.: Monte Bell)
A Child of the Slums (Ogilvie,1904. pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by W Howell Poole and Henry Belmar
The Child Wife (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Charles A[lonzo] Taylor or Hal Reid
The Confessions of a Wife (Ogilvie,1905, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Owen Davis
Convict 999 (Ogilvie,1907, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by John Oliver, pseud. of Owen Davis
Custer’s Last Fight (Ogilvie,1905, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by [James] Hal[leck] Reid. Also contains two Sherlock Holmes stories by A. Conan Doyle.
Dangers of a Working Girl (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Martin Hurley, pseud of Owen Davis. Originally titled Dealers in White Women.
Deadwood Dick’s Last Shot (Ogilvie,1907, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Owen Davis
Deserted at the Altar (Ogilvie,1905, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Pierce Kingsley
Driven from Home (Ogilvie,1903, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Arnold Wolford (?) and Owen Davis
Edna, the Pretty Typewriter (Ogilvie,1907, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by John Oliver, pseud of Owen Davis
Fallen by the Wayside; or, A Chorus Girl’s Luck (Ogilvie,1907, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by John Oliver, pseud. of Owen Davis. Originally titled A Chorus Girl’s Luck in New York
Fast Life in New York (Ogilvie,1905, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Theodore Kremer
From Rags to Riches (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Charles A[lonzo] Taylor
From Tramp to Millionaire (Ogilvie,1906, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Owen Davis. Originally titled The Power of Money; or, In the Clutches of the Trust
The Great Express Robbery (Ogilvie,1907, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Owen Davis
Her Mad Marriage (Ogilvie,1905, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Frank [Charles] Allen
The Holy City (Ogilvie,1905, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Clarence Bennett
The House of Mystery (Ogilvie,1905, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by [Arthur] Langdon McCormick. Originally titled The House of Mystery and the Black Five
How Hearts Are Broken (Ogilvie,1905, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by [Arthur] Langdon McCormick
Human Hearts (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by [James] Hal[leck] Reid. Originally titled Human Hearts; or, Logan’s Luck
Lights of Home (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Lottie Blair Parker
Lured from Home (Ogilvie,1906, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by [James] Hal[leck] Reid
A Marked Woman (Ogilvie,1907, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Owen Davis. Silent film: World Film Corp., 1914; (scw: Owen Davis; dir.: O. A. C. Lund) [China]
A Midnight Marriage (Ogilvie,1903, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Walter [W.] Fessler
Nellie, the Beautiful Cloak Model (Ogilvie,1906, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Owen Davis. Silent film: Goldwyn Pictures, 1924 (adapt. H. H. Van Loan; dir.: Emmett Flynn)
No Wedding Bells for Her (Ogilvie,1903, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Theodore Kremer
The Peddler (Ogilvie,1903, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by [James] Hal[leck] Reid
A Prisoner of War (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Theodore Kremer.
The Queen of the Cowboys (Ogilvie,1907, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Joseph B[yron] Totten
Queen of the White Slaves (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 5 acts by Arthur J[ohn] Lamb
A Race Across the Continent (Ogilvie,1907, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by John Oliver, pseud. of Owen Davis
Rachel Goldstein (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Theodore Kremer
A Ragged Hero (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Maurice J. Fielding
A Royal Slave (Ogilvie,1905, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Clarence Bennett
Ruled Off the Turf (Ogilvie,1906, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by John Oliver, pseud. of Owen Davis
Secrets of the Police (Ogilvie,1906, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Owen Davis and Arthur J[ohn] Lamb [Paris, London, New York City]
Shadows of a Great City (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Livingston Robert Shewell
Since Nellie Went Away (Ogilvie,1907, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Owen Davis
Sky Farm (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Edward E. Kidder
The Street Singer (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by [James] Hal[leck] Reid
Two Little Sailor Boys (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Walter Howard
Under the North Star (Ogilvie,1906, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Clarence Bennett
The Vacant Chair (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Joseph B[yron] Totten
The Warning Bell (Ogilvie,1906, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts
Way Back in ’61(Ogilvie,1905, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Clarence Bennett
Wedded, But No Wife (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Maurice J. Fielding and Conninghame Price
When the World Sleeps (Ogilvie,1906, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by [Arthur] Langdon McCormick and Lawrence Marston
When Women Love (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by Abraham A. Spitz
Why Women Sin (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by William C. Murphy. Silent film: Wistaria Productions, 1920 (scw:Lloyd Lonergan; dir.: Burton King) [New Jersey]
A Wife’s Secret (Ogilvie,1904, pb) Novelization of play in 4 acts by [James] Hal[leck] Reid
September 15th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Grace Miller White was born in Ithaca, NY in 1868.
September 15th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Elaine, thanks for the input. The year you say she was born agrees with the one we already had for her. Dates as to when authors were born, even official ones, are often in conflict with each other, especially in the 1800s on through the first third of the 1900s. Even census records cannot be relied upon with 100% accuracy, as Victor’s pointed out to me as he’s come across them.
I don’t know if he previously knew where she was born, so a special thanks for that!
October 26th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
Steve – I am interested in knowing where you found the death date of 1957 for Grace Miller White? She was my husband’s gr-grandmother, and we have not been able to find documentation of a death date on her.
Thanks!
October 30th, 2007 at 10:22 am
Thanks to the combined research efforts of Christy, Elaine and Victor, here’s a short version of the biographical statement for Grace Miller White, as it appears in the Addenda to the Revised Crime Fiction IV, by Allen J. Hubin:
WHITE, GRACE MILLER. 1868-1957. Name at birth: Mary Esther Miller. She adopted the name Grace around 1897 in honor of her younger sister Grace, who died within a year of birth in 1873. Her first husband was Homer White; she later married Friend H. Miller, an attorney in her home town of Ithaca NY. Early in her writing career, the author specialized in novelizing plays, many of them crime-related.
Grace Miller White later became well known as the author of such romance novels as Tess of the Storm Country (1909) and From the Valley of the Missing (1911). The links lead to an online etexts for each book.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Hi, Grace Miller White is my Great Great Aunt. She was my mother’s father’s father’s sister if that’s not too confusing. If Christy is interested I have a complete family tree on my computer. My Uncle Art was the family genealogist and did extensive research.
April 26th, 2008 at 4:26 am
How extraordinary! In my extensive knowledge of thousands of literary and show business people, Grace Miller White is the only person I know of who married someone with the same birth surname as herself. And in her home town too! Maybe there were a lot of Millers in Ithaca. Maybe he was a distant relative.
July 7th, 2009 at 10:48 am
My question is – Where is Grace Miller White buried and what happened to her after she was finished writing? AND…another question, of course, from what I know, two three silent films were made from her novels – “Tess of the Storm Country”, “The Secret of the Storm Country” and “Judy of Rogues Harbor” Does anyone know if these films still exist? Thanks, any information would be appreciated because I have always been curious.
August 5th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Budd Schulberg died today. I spoke with him a few years ago about Grace Miller White and
“Tess of the Storm Country”. I essentially asked him whether his father had ever talked about Grace with him? Although he was quite familiar with her name and his father’s work on the movie, he had no specific recollections about his father mentioning her.
August 6th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Thanks, Craig.
For the benefit of everyone reading this, and with an assist from IMDB for helping me be sure I have the facts straight, Craig is referring to the 1914 silent film TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY, starring Mary Pickford. B.P. Schulberg, Budd’s father and later head of Paramount Pictures in the 1930s, was the screenwriter for the film.
November 17th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
I found this fascinating, I had always been told that Grace Miller White was a professional ghost writer, at least that is the family history, she is the Godmother of one of my aunts, as a Great Aunt married into the Miller family. Oddly enough the family member who told me this about her ghostwriting, was not aware of her history other than she was always nice when she came to visit, and brought a crumb cake, which the kids impatiently waited for when the adults were ready to serve this.
Sasha Gardner wrote that she has a family history of the Miller family, I am trying to trace some information on that branch of the family, and would be interested.
November 17th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
For those interested, the movies from her writings were
Tess of the Storm Country 1914, with 3 remakes 1922, 1932, 1960
From the Valley of the Missing 1915
the Secret of Storm Country 1917
Rosie O’Paradise 1918
Judy of Rogue’s Harbor 1920
Polly of Storm Country 1920
Rags to Riches 1922
Deserted at the Alter 1922
April 15th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
I think I may have found an earlier “career” for Grace Miller White, as well as a more complicated family story, but I need to put my pieces into a more detailed (read “dated”) version of the bio here. I think that in 1900 she was in NYC with the children, working for the Republican party as writer and editor and speaking at campaign events aimed at Republican women. In that capacity she invited Elizabeth Cady Stanton to join her work, and that’s how I (editing Stanton’s papers) encountered Grace White. Would someone who knows the sources underlying the bio on this site get in touch? I’m happy to share what I have, though I’m still uncertain that it all hooks up.
September 16th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
If you could share whatever information you have, I would appreciate an email back. I found a census that proves she was indeed in Manhattan early in the century. Would be interested in any further information you and anyone could provide asap.
snaylor@tcpl.org
Thanks!
September 16th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Ann,
The person you are referring to is actually Elizabeth Smith Miller, not Grace White Miller. They were both in NYC during that period, however!
November 25th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
I am the grandson of David White who was the son of Grace Miller White. She funded his medical education at Hidelburg (sp) in Germany and as I understand he did graduate with a medical degree but never practiced medicine. Rumor had it he was in the secret service of the U.S. in the second WW
December 5th, 2010 at 10:53 pm
Hello Mr. Rado:
I have done extensive research on your grandfather. I can be reached at broadwayhistory@msn.com
June 17th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
I certainly do not mean Elizabeth Smith Miller. I’m very familiar with her life, and she was never a Republican party hack. The Grace White who worked for the party in the 1900 presidential election was described by the New York Times as having a sister named Dora Miller. I’ve not yet found either of them in the 1900 census or in city directories. In a speech by Grace White reported by the Times, she refers to her time “out west.” In 1900, this could mean anything from Syracuse to Buffalo, from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, across the Midwest, and maybe, just maybe into the areas we would now call the West while standing in New York City. But you can see how that reference fits well with the Grace Miller White narrative.
July 13th, 2011 at 9:30 am
I am a film historian working on Tess of the Storm Country–novel, play, and films. I would appreciate any information or sources about Grace Miller White, especially about any political work she did.
ldebauch@uwsp.edu
July 28th, 2012 at 11:06 pm
Grace Miller White is my great grandmother.
My mothers father, was David E. White, one of her children. She died the year I was born 1957.
April 6th, 2013 at 6:57 pm
Ann Gordon is correct. Grace Miller White was indeed in NY in the early 1900’s and did write and give speeches for the Republican party, beginning with the campaign of William McKinley. I’ve got an old article from the New York Sun that describes this time in her life. (Years later she switched to the Democrat party.) Her time “out west” referenced the few years she spent in Butte, Montana in the 1890’s while married to her 1st husband Homer White.
April 30th, 2016 at 3:30 pm
Does anyone know if Grace Miller White was related to T.G Miller who owned T.G. Miller’s office supply store for many years in Ithaca. His wife was my maternal Great Aunt, Ruth Tompkins Miller.
November 19th, 2016 at 3:04 pm
Joan Apthorp, yes she was related to T.G. Miller and to the 9th mayor of Ithaca, George Miller. Grace Miller White is my second or third great aunt. And she did write speeches for McKinley. When asked if she had writing experience she lied and said she did, then took herself through school while writing and giving political speeches. Then she started writing pulp fiction in magazines and then the novels she is popular for. A very bold and unconventional woman for her time.
November 19th, 2016 at 3:06 pm
If anyone is interested in talking about genealogy of Grace Miller White or her relatives, my ancestry.com user name is sdgmilwat. Feel free to message me and we can talk family trees.
May 30th, 2018 at 5:21 pm
I am the greatgrandson of Mayor (Ithaca) George Miller. I grew up in Ithaca, still live here near the “Rhine” as do my 3 children and granddaughters. My Aunt Pauline Miller Rogers is still with us at 96. I will be asking her about any memories of Grace. I do remember her or my father saying that Grace Miller White was embarrassing. Of course! The mayor’s family would have been part of the hoity-toity class worried about being related to that “troublesome woman”. I don’t think GMW was welcome too often to the dinner table. I would have loved to meet her as would my family.
Feel free to respond.
Bruce Beem- Miller
October 21st, 2018 at 2:04 pm
Once again… Tess of the Storm Country has been revived as an Audible Book just this past month (Sept. 2018) read by an incredible actress/educator Holly Adams. Time for Grace Miller White to be brought back to prominence. Hope you check out this opportunity to hear the voices of the”Rhiners”. Bruce