C. Z. (Charles Zachary) Barnett

Charles Zachary Barnett, often published as C. Z. Barnett, was an English playwright and librettist active in the first half of the nineteenth century. Sources describe him as being of Jewish descent, and they place his life around 1813 to 1849.

He is chiefly remembered for writing libretti for two operas by his brother, the composer John Barnett, and for turning popular fiction into stage works. Among those adaptations, his version of A Christmas Carol became especially notable because it appeared very soon after Charles Dickens published the original story, showing how quickly Barnett responded to the literary culture of his day.

Because relatively little biographical detail is consistently documented in easily available sources, modern accounts focus more on his work than on his private life. Even so, his career offers a vivid glimpse of the bustling Victorian theater world, where new novels, music, and melodrama were rapidly reshaped for live audiences.