Dorothy Clarke Wilson
| Dorothy Clarke Wilson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
May 9, 1904 Gardiner, Maine |
| Died | March 26, 2003 (aged 98) Orono, Maine |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Spouse | Elwin L. Wilson (1925-1992, his death) |
Dorothy Clarke Wilson (May 9, 1904 – March 26, 2003) was an American writer, perhaps best known for her novel Prince of Egypt (1949), which was a primary source for the Cecil B. DeMille film, The Ten Commandments (1956).
Dorothy Wright Clarke was born on May 9, 1904, in Gardiner, Maine, to the Reverend Lewis Herbert Clarke, a Baptist minister, and his wife Flora Eva (Cross) Clarke. She attended Cony High School in Augusta, graduating at seventeen as valedictorian of her class. In 1925 she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Bates College in Lewiston, and on August 31 of that year married fellow Bates student Elwin Leander Wilson (c. 1899-1992). Elwin went on to study at Princeton Theological Seminary and the Boston University School of Theology. Upon completion of his studies, he and Dorothy returned to Maine, settling in Westbrook.
Clarke's first play that she sold was written for a church. Her best known book was Prince of Egypt, which won the Westminster prize for the best religious book the year it was published and was also one of the sources for the film The Ten Commandments (1956 film). Clarke was not a fan of the movie and used the term 'flimflammery' to describe the scene in which Moses parted the Red Sea. Wilson is also well known for her biographies about women such as Dorothea Dix and Elizabeth Blackwell as well as Dolley Madison and Martha Washington.
The Wilson Center at the University of Maine was named in Dorothy and Elwin's honor. Dorothy Wilson received numerous awards through her lifetime before she died in 2003.
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