author
Tom Taylor
1817–1880
A busy and versatile figure in Victorian literary life, this English dramatist wrote hugely popular stage works while also building a career as a critic, biographer, and editor. He is especially remembered for Our American Cousin and for his later role at Punch magazine.
2 Audiobooks
Our American Cousin
by Tom Taylor
Masks and Faces; or, Before and Behind the Curtain: A Comedy in Two Acts
by Tom Taylor, Charles Reade
About the author
Born in Bishopwearmouth, near Sunderland, on October 19, 1817, he studied at Glasgow and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he became a fellow. He briefly taught English literature at University College London, trained in law, and also worked in the civil service, all while making his way in journalism and literature.
He became one of the most successful playwrights of his day, writing or adapting around a hundred plays. Among the best known is Our American Cousin, a comedy that had a long afterlife in theater history. Alongside his stage work, he wrote biography and criticism, showing a range that went well beyond drama alone.
Taylor was also closely associated with Punch, first as a contributor and later as its editor after Shirley Brooks's death. His career brought together theater, journalism, criticism, and public service in a way that feels very characteristic of Victorian England. He died on July 12, 1880, at Wandsworth, leaving behind a large and varied body of work.