Isabel Miller (author of the novel, Patience & Sarah) died at her home in upstate New York in the fall of 1996 after a long illness. She had been an enthusiastic supporter of Kimper and Persons' opera based on her most popular novel: "So nice to have my dear girls in good hands." Her other books include The Love of Good Women, Side by Side, Laurel, and the story collection, A Dooryard Full of Flowers.