author
Franklin Fyles
1847–1911
A longtime New York drama critic who also wrote for the stage, he moved easily between reviewing theater and creating it. He is best remembered for plays including The Girl I Left Behind Me and for his book The Theatre and Its People.
1 Audiobook
Eleven Possible Cases
by Frank R. Stockton, Edgar Fawcett, Franklin Fyles, Anna Katharine Green, Henry Harland, Ingersoll Lockwood, Joaquin Miller, Kirk Munroe, Brainard Gardner Smith, Maurice Thompson, A. C. (Andrew Carpenter) Wheeler
About the author
Born in Troy, New York, in 1847, Franklin Fyles built his career in journalism before becoming a familiar name in American theater. Reference sources identify him as a playwright, author, and dramatic critic, and note that he spent many years writing about the stage for the New York Sun.
He also wrote plays of his own, including The Girl I Left Behind Me, created with David Belasco, as well as works such as Cumberland '61 and Kit Carson. His writing shows a clear interest in popular theater and American historical subjects, the same world he explored in his 1900 book The Theatre and Its People.
Fyles died in 1911. Even in a short career sketch, what stands out is how completely he lived inside the theater: as observer, commentator, and maker.