author
Allan Monkhouse
1858–1936
A sharp-eyed playwright and critic, he brought everyday English life onto the stage with wit, realism, and a quietly modern touch. His work helped shape Manchester’s literary scene in the early 20th century.
2 Audiobooks
The Grand Cham's Diamond: A Play in One Act
by Allan Monkhouse
Mary Broome: A Comedy, in Four Acts
by Allan Monkhouse
About the author
Allan Noble Monkhouse was an English playwright, critic, essayist, and novelist, born in Barnard Castle in 1858. Before turning fully to literature, he worked in the cotton trade in Manchester, an experience that kept him close to the rhythms of ordinary working and middle-class life that later appeared in his writing.
He became especially known as a drama critic for The Manchester Guardian and also wrote for the New Statesman. Alongside his journalism, he built a reputation as a dramatist associated with the Manchester school, writing plays that favored natural speech, believable characters, and social observation over grand theatrical effects.
Monkhouse died in 1936. He is remembered as one of those writers who quietly influenced both criticism and modern British drama, combining practical experience, literary skill, and a strong feel for how people really talk and behave.