author
Ernest Lacy
1863–1916
A Philadelphia playwright and poet, he was known for ambitious verse dramas steeped in literary and historical themes. His work moved through the theater world of the 1890s and early 1900s, including the well-known play The Ragged Earl.
1 Audiobook
Chatterton
by Ernest Lacy
About the author
Born in Warren, Pennsylvania, in 1863, Ernest Lacy built a literary life in Philadelphia after an early period of financial hardship in his family. He became known as a playwright, poet, and educator, and several reference sources describe him as especially associated with blank-verse drama.
His best-known works include Chatterton (1894), Rinaldo (1895), and The Ragged Earl (1899). The Ragged Earl later reached the screen in a 1914 film adaptation, and his collected Plays and Sonnets was published in book form.
Lacy died in Philadelphia in 1916. Although he is not widely read today, he remains a curious figure from American theater history: a writer drawn to poetic drama at a time when the stage was rapidly changing.