Arthur F. H. Mills
Arthur F. H. Mills | |
|---|---|
 The author pictured on the dust jacket of his 1916 memoir, Hospital Days | |
| Born | Arthur Frederick Hobart Mills 12 July 1887 |
| Died | 18 February 1955 (aged 67) Milford on Sea, Hampshire, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Spouse | |
| Relatives |
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| Writing career | |
| Genres |
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| Notable works |
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Arthur Frederick Hobart Mills (12 July 1887 – 18 February 1955) was a British writer and military Captain.
Early life and education
Mills was born on 12 July 1887 in Bude, Cornwall to The Rev Barton Reginald Vaughan Mills and Lady Catherine Mary Hobart Hampden (died 1889).[1][2][3][4][5] Mills' was the maternal nephew of the politician Sidney Hobart-Hampden-Mercer-Henderson, 7th Earl of Buckinghamshire[3][4] and the paternal grandson of politician Arthur Mills.[6] Mills' had three younger half-siblings from his father's second marriage to Elizabeth Edith Ramsay, including the schoolmaster and writer George Mills.[4][7]
Mills was educated at Wellington College[4] and Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Career
Captain Mills was gazetted into the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in 1908 and served in China, India and Palestine.[8] He was wounded in World War I at La Bassée and wrote a pair of books, his first, about that experience: With My Regiment: From the Aisne to La Bassée (William Heinemann: London, 1915) and Hospital Days (T. Fisher Unwin: London, 1916) under the pseudonym "Platoon Commander". At his wedding to Lady Dorothy Walpole, daughter of the fifth Earl of Orford,[9] in 1916, her wedding ring was made from a bullet that had been surgically removed from his ankle.[10]
Despite favourable reviews, frequent impressions, and global translations of many of his earlier books (The Broadway Madonna, The Gold Cat), Mills eventually became known as a genre author of cheap crime and adventure novels.[11] His work has been largely forgotten.[12]
Personal life
In 1916, Mills married the explorer, travel writer and memoirist Lady Dorothy Mills.[3][4] Lady Dorothy Mills filed a divorce decree in 1932, on the grounds of her husband's infidelity.[3][4][13] The divorce was granted the following year, and Mills married Monica Cecil Grant Mills (née Wilks) in the October.[3][4][14]
On 18 February 1955, Mills died in Milford on Sea, Hampshire aged 67.[15]
Bibliography
| Title | Publisher | Date | Pseudonym |
|---|---|---|---|
| With My Regiment: From the Aisne to La Bassée | Lippincott | 1916 | "Platoon Commander" |
| Hospital Days | Unwin | 1916 | "Platoon Commander" |
| Ursula Vanet | Bale | 1921 | |
| Pillars of Salt | Duckworth | 1922 | |
| The Primrose Path | Duckworth | 1923 | |
| The Yellow Dragon | Hutchinson | 1924 | |
| The Broadway Madonna | Unknown | 1924 | |
| The Gold Cat | Hutchinson | 1925 | |
| The Danger Game | Hutchinson | 1926 | |
| Live Bait | Hutchinson | 1927 | |
| Modern Cameos | Hutchinson | 1928 | |
| White Snake | Hutchinson | 1928 | |
| The Blue Spider | Collins | 1929 | |
| Pursued | Collins | 1929 | |
| The Apaché Girl | Collins | 1930 | |
| Intrigue Island | Collins | 1930 | |
| Escapade | Collins | 1931 | |
| Stowaway | Collins | 1931 | |
| One Man's Secret | Collins | 1932 | |
| Judgment of Death | Collins | 1932 | |
| Gentleman of Rio | Collins | 1933 | |
| Black Royalty | Collins | 1933 | |
| The Ant Heap | Hutchinson | 1934 | |
| Paris Agent | Collins | 1935 | |
| Brighton Alibi | Collins | 1936 | |
| Café in Montparnasse | Collins | 1936 | |
| French Girl | Collins | 1937 | |
| The Broken Sword | Collins | 1938 | |
| Jewel Thief | Collins | 1939 | |
| White Negro | Collins | 1940 | |
| Don't Touch the Body | Collins | 1947 | |
| Shroud of Snow | Evans | 1950 | |
| Last Seen Alive | Evans | 1951 | |
| Your Number Is Up | Evans | 1952 | |
| The Jockey Died First | Staples | 1953 | |
| The Maliday Mystery | Staples | 1954 |
References
- ↑ "Arthur Frederic H Mills". England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. 5c (Q3): 3. 1887.
- ↑ "Arthur Frederick Hobart Mills". War Office: Records of Officers' Services. Kew, Richmond: The National Archives.
- 1 2 3 4 5 McConnell, Anita (23 September 2004). "Mills [née Walpole], Lady Dorothy Rachel Melissa (1889–1959), traveller and novelist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/71441. Retrieved 13 July 2026. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dismore, Jane (2025). No Country For a Woman: The Adventurous Life of Lady Dorothy Mills, Explorer and Writer. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire: The History Press. ISBN 9781803996158. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
- ↑ "Catherine Mary V Mills [death index]". England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. 2a (Q3). London: General Register Office: 349. 1889.
- ↑ "No.89 Barton Reginald Vaughan Mills [baptism]". London Church of England Parish Registers; Westminster; St James, Paddington: Sussex Gardens; 1826–1863. London: The London Archives: 12. 18 November 1857.
- ↑ "Barton Reginald Vaughan Hills and Elizabeth Edith Ramsay". London Church of England Parish Registers; Kensington and Chelsea; St Peter, Cranley Gardens: Cranley Gardens; 1869–1906. London: The London Archives: 30. 11 January 1894.
- ↑ "Arthur Mills Bibliography". Classic Crime Fiction. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ↑ "The Rev. Barton Mills". Who Is George Mills?. 7 April 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ↑ "1914: George's Brother Goes to War". Who Is George Mills?. 7 April 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ↑ "Arthur Mills Bibliography". Classic Crime Fiction. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ↑ "Great War Dust Jackets". greatwardustjackets.co.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ↑ "J 77/3091/5200 Divorce Court File: 5200. Appellant: Lady Dorothy Rachel Melissa Mills. Respondent: Arthur Frederick Hobart Mills". The National Archives Discovery. Kew, Richmond: The National Archives. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
- ↑ "Mills and Monica C G Wilks". England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. 2b (Q4). London: General Register Office: 421. 1933.
- ↑ "Arthur Frederick Hobart Mills". Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England. London: Principal Probate Registry: 844.