Mildred Keith

Mildred Keith is a children's novel series written by Martha Finley (1828-1909) between 1876 and 1894. Mrs. Finley was also the author of the Elsie Dinsmore series.

List of Books

The books, in order of publication, are:

  1. Mildred Keith (1876)
  2. Mildred at Roselands (1880)
  3. Mildred and Elsie (1881)
  4. Mildred's Married life, and a winter with Elsie Dinsmore (1882)
  5. Mildred at Home: with something about her relatives and friends (1884)
  6. Mildred's Boys and Girls (1886)
  7. Mildred's New Daughter (1894)

A Life of Faith

The series was reissued as Millie Keith: A Life of Faith.[1]

  1. Millie's Unsettled Season
  2. Millie's Courageous Days
  3. Millie's Remarkable Journey
  4. Millie's Faithful Heart
  5. Millie's Steadfast Love
  6. Millie's Grand Adventure
  7. Millie's Reluctant Sacrifice
  8. Millie's Fiery Trial

Plot

Mildred Keith is the oldest child in the Keith family, who move to Pleasant Plains from Landsdale. She has many brothers and sisters: Rupert, Zillah, Ada, Zillah, Eva (who died at age five, before the first book begins) Don, Cyril, Fan, and Annis. Mildred and her family are strong abolitionists, so in book one when Mildred's cousin Horace visits Pleasant Plains, Mildred tries to persuade him that slavery is wrong, but he just laughs. However, Horace does have some heart. He tells Marcia (Mildred's mother) and Mildred about his daughter and dead wife. Later, after recuperating from an illness, Mildred visits Roselands. She is appalled at some of the conditions that the slaves living at Meadshead, a nearby plantation, live and die in. Although her aunt Isabelle is shocked at her appearance, her Uncle Horace is hospitable. When Elsie's guardian dies, her uncle is forced to take her in, and Mildred befriends little Elsie, Cousin Horace's daughter. Mildred also falls in love with Charlie Landreth, despite the fact that he is not a Christian. The book Mildred's New Daughter has been criticized for having nothing to do with Mildred.

References

  1. ↑ A Life of Faith Books, discussion material, dolls and other premiums.