Caroline Pafford Miller facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Caroline Pafford Miller
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| Born | Caroline Pafford August 26, 1903 Waycross, Georgia, US |
| Died | July 12, 1992 (aged 88) Waynesville, North Carolina, US |
| Resting place | Green Hill Cemetery |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Genre | Novel |
| Notable works | Lamb in His Bosom |
| Notable awards | Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 1934 Prix Femina Americain, 1935 |
| Spouses | William Miller Clyde Ray |
| Children | 5 |
Caroline Pafford Miller (born August 26, 1903 – died July 12, 1992) was an American writer. She became famous for her first novel, Lamb in His Bosom. This book won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1934. She also received a French award called the Prix Femina Americain in 1935.
Caroline Miller was special because she collected old stories and unique ways of speaking from people in rural Georgia. She used these real-life details to create her amazing first novel. Her success was a big deal! It even encouraged other publishers to look for more writers from the Southern United States. This led to the discovery of Margaret Mitchell, who wrote Gone with the Wind.
Years later, in 1993, Lamb in His Bosom was printed again. This meant new readers could discover her story about pioneers in the 1800s. In 2007, Caroline Miller was honored by being added to the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame.
Contents
Growing Up and Learning
Caroline Pafford was born in Waycross, Georgia, on August 26, 1903. She was the youngest of seven children. Her father was a Methodist minister and also a teacher. Sadly, he passed away when Caroline was in middle school. Her mother also died when Caroline was in high school. After that, her older sisters helped raise her.
Even in high school, Caroline loved writing and performing. She never went to college. After finishing high school, she married William D. Miller, who had been her English teacher. They moved to Baxley, Georgia. William Miller introduced Caroline to many classic books. She later said he was "her college."
Caroline and William had three sons, including a set of twins. While raising her children, Caroline continued to write short stories. She had started this hobby in high school. Her stories were popular, and the money she earned helped her family.
Her First Book and Big Award
Caroline Miller found many ideas for Lamb in His Bosom by visiting people in the countryside. She would travel to buy chickens and eggs. While she was out, she wrote down local stories, family histories, and unique sayings in a notebook. These details later filled her novel.
She would often go to a drugstore in Baxley, order a Coca-Cola, and write down the stories she had heard that day. Later, she would work on her novel at her kitchen table in the evenings. She also used inspiring stories from the pioneer women in her own family history.
After finishing her book, Caroline looked for someone to publish it. She met Julia Peterkin, who had also won a Pulitzer Prize. Julia Peterkin read Caroline's book and sent it to her own agent. Harper published Lamb in His Bosom in 1933.
Lamb in His Bosom tells the story of poor white pioneers in the Wiregrass Region of southern Georgia during the 1800s. When the book came out, critics loved it. They said it showed a real picture of history in that area. A critic from The New York Times said the book had a "wonderful freshness." He felt it made a faraway time and place feel real and lasting. Many people called it one of the best first novels of its time in the South.
Caroline Miller received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction at Columbia University on May 7, 1934. She said she felt like Cinderella and that her book's success was like a fairy tale. When she returned to Baxley, a crowd of 2,500 people and a marching band welcomed her home! Margaret Mitchell, the author of Gone with the Wind, even wrote to Miller. She said, "Your book is undoubtedly the greatest that ever came out of the South about Southern people, and it is my favorite book." In 1935, Miller also won a French literary award, the Prix Femina Americain.
After Miller's novel won the Pulitzer, a publisher named Macmillan Publishers sent an editor, Harold S. Latham, to the South. He was looking for more Southern writers. That's how he found Margaret Mitchell and later published Gone with the Wind.
Changes in Her Life
Being famous and winning the Pulitzer Prize brought a lot of attention to Caroline. This was hard for her and her husband, William, who was a school superintendent in a quiet, rural area. The new demands on Caroline's time didn't fit with the simple life they had before. They divorced in 1936.
One year later, Caroline married Clyde H. Ray Jr. He was an antique dealer and florist. She moved with him to Waynesville, North Carolina. Caroline worked in their family business. She also kept writing short stories and articles for newspapers and magazines like Pictorial Review and Ladies' Home Journal. They had one daughter and one son together.
Later Years
In 1944, Miller finished her second novel, called Lebanon. This book received mixed reviews from critics. It was also set in rural Georgia, like her first book. However, some critics felt the romantic part of the story was not very realistic.
After her second husband passed away, Miller moved to a quiet home in the mountains. It was so remote that visitors had to drive through a cow pasture to reach it! For many years, Miller continued to write. She finished several new books, but she never tried to publish them. She mostly lived a quiet, private life in her North Carolina home.
Death and What She Left Behind
Caroline Miller passed away on July 12, 1992, in Waynesville, North Carolina. She was 88 years old. She is buried in Green Hill Cemetery. She was survived by her daughter and three of her four sons.
Her first novel, Lamb in His Bosom, became popular again a year after her death. A publisher in Atlanta reprinted it with new notes from a historian. Caroline Miller once said that the greatest award for a writer is "the knowledge that after he dies he will leave the best part of himself behind."
Caroline Miller was honored by being named into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame. In 1991, the city of Baxley even had a "Caroline Miller Day" to celebrate her.
Her Books
- Lamb in His Bosom (Harper & Brothers, 1933)
- Lebanon (Doubleday, Doran and Company, 1944)
