author
Herman Charles Merivale
1839–1906
A Victorian man of letters who moved between the law courts and the stage, he wrote plays, poems, fiction, and translations, sometimes under the playful pen name Felix Dale.
1 Audiobook
My Experiences in a Lunatic Asylum By a Sane Patient
by Herman Charles Merivale
About the author
Born in London in 1839, Herman Charles Merivale was educated at Harrow, Balliol College, Oxford, and the Inner Temple. He spent about fifteen years as a barrister before turning more fully toward literature and the theater, building a career as a dramatist, poet, novelist, and translator.
Merivale became especially known for stage work and adaptations, and his writing life ranged widely across genres. He was the son of Herman Merivale, a prominent civil servant, and he sometimes published under the pseudonym Felix Dale, a small sign of the wit that appears in accounts of his career.
He died in 1906. Though he is not as widely read now as some of his Victorian contemporaries, he remains an interesting figure for listeners who enjoy rediscovering versatile writers who worked across fiction, poetry, and the dramatic arts.