author
Langdon Elwyn Mitchell
1862–1935
A polished Broadway playwright from a distinguished Philadelphia literary family, he built his reputation on smart comedies and stage adaptations that found wide audiences in the early twentieth century. His work helped shape American theater at a moment when social wit and drawing-room drama were especially popular.
1 Audiobook
Representative Plays by American Dramatists: 1856-1911: The New York Idea
by Langdon Elwyn Mitchell
About the author
Born in Philadelphia in 1862, he was the son of the noted physician and writer S. Weir Mitchell. He studied in Europe, attended both Harvard and Columbia law schools, and was admitted to the New York bar in 1886, but writing for the stage became the work he was best known for.
He went on to become a successful American playwright, especially on Broadway, where his comedies and adaptations were well received in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His career reflects a mix of literary polish, theatrical instinct, and an interest in social themes that suited the tastes of his era.
He died in 1935, leaving behind a body of work that still marks him as part of the lively theatrical world of turn-of-the-century America.