author
John Oxenford
1812–1877
A lively man of letters from Victorian London, he moved easily between the stage, the newspaper office, and the translator’s desk. His work helped bring German literature to English readers while he built a long career as a dramatist and critic.
3 Audiobooks
Retained for the Defence: A Farce, in One Act
by John Oxenford
A Day Well Spent: A Farce, in One Act
by John Oxenford
Twice Killed: A Farce in One Act
by John Oxenford
About the author
Born in Camberwell, London, on August 12, 1812, John Oxenford was an English dramatist, critic, and translator. He was largely self-educated, though he also studied for a time under the scholar S. T. Friend, and he was originally intended for the legal profession.
Oxenford began writing on financial subjects, but he became better known for the theatre and for literary criticism. He wrote many plays and adaptations, worked as a critic for The Times, and earned particular respect for his translations from German, including Goethe’s Dichtung und Wahrheit and Eckermann’s Conversations with Goethe.
He died in London on February 21, 1877. Remembered as a versatile Victorian writer with wide learning and a gift for clear, engaging prose, he helped connect English readers and audiences with both contemporary theatre and major works of European literature.