Charles Haddon Spurgeon Chambers (22 April 1860 – 28 March 1921) was an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

-born

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, active in England.

Early life

Chambers was born in Petersham,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, the son of John Ritchie Chambers, who had a good position in the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

civil service, came from

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

, his mother, Frances, daughter of William Kellett, from

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

. Charles was educated at the Petersham, Marrickville, and Fort Street High schools, but found routine study tedious and showed no special promise. He entered the lands department at 15 but did not stay long. After two years in the outback working as a boundary rider, in 1880 he was invited by cousins to return with them to

, from there he visited England. On Chambers' return he was in the managerial department of the Montague-Turner opera company.

Career

In 1882 Chambers moved to England; he had no friends there and had to try various occupations in order to make a living. Chambers wrote letters from London for The Bulletin. In 1884 his first story was accepted, and other work appeared in popular magazines of the time like ''Society'' and ''Truth''. In 1886 a one-act play, ''One of Them'', was acted in London and another curtain-raiser, ''The Open Gate'', was played at the

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

in 1887. His first real success was ''Captain Swift'', which was produced by

Beerbohm Tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and theatre manager. Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End, winning praise for adventurous program ...

at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

in the autumn of 1888. In the United States

Maurice Barrymore Herbert Arthur Chamberlayne Blythe (21 September 1849 – 25 March 1905), known professionally by his stage name Maurice Barrymore, was an Indian-born British stage actor. He is the patriarch of the Barrymore acting family, father of John, Li ...

played ''Captain Swift'' on Broadway. This play had a good run and was played all over England, in America, and in Australia. He had another success with ''The Idler'' (1890). His next three plays ''The Honourable Herbert, The Old Lady'', and ''The Pipes of Peace'' did not achieve success, but ''John-O-Dreams'', first played in 1894, was successful. Also in 1894, he had some success with ''The Fatal Card''. In 1899 possibly his best play, ''The Tyranny of Tears'', was produced by Charles Wyndham and was frequently revived. Among his later plays ''Passers By'' (1911) and ''The Saving Grace'' (1917) are possibly the best. The famous London-based Australian

operatic Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

, Dame

Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic dramatic coloratura soprano (three octaves). She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early 20th century, ...

, was his mistress for a number of years. The relationship ended in 1904 for reasons which remain unclear.

Late life

Chambers retained his interest in Australia and spoke of returning there but never did so. He died at the

Bath Club The Bath Club was a sports-themed London gentlemen's club in the 20th century. It was established in 1894 at 34 Dover Street. Its swimming pool was a noted feature, and it is thought that the swimming pool of the fictional Drones Club (also on D ...

, London of cerebro-vascular disease on 28 March 1921 and was buried at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...

. He was twice married, and was survived by his second wife, originally Nelly Louise Burton but known professionally as 'Pepita Bobadilla', and a daughter of the first marriage to Mary, ''née'' Dewer. His widow married

Sidney Reilly Sidney George Reilly (; – 5 November 1925)—known as "Ace of Spies"—was a Russian-born adventurer and secret agent employed by Scotland Yard's Special Branch and later by the Foreign Section of the British Secret Service Bureau, the pre ...

, "Ace of Spies", in 1923.

Works

Captain Swift (play) 1919
filmed in 1920, directed by

Tom Terriss Thomas Herbert F. Lewin (28 September 1872 – 8 February 1964), known professionally as Tom Terriss, was a British actor, screenwriter, and film director. After trying various occupations, he became an actor playing a variety of roles, beginni ...

and

Chester Bennett Chester Bennett (1892 - 1943) was an American silent film director. He was executed by the Japanese during the Occupation of Hong Kong in 1943. Filmography * ''When a Man Loves'' (1919) * ''Captain Swift'' (1920) * ''The Purple Cipher'' (1920) ...

* ''The Impossible Woman'' (play) 1916 * ''Passers By'' (film) 1915 (play) 1920 * ''The Fatal Card'' (play) 1915 * '' A Modern Magdalen'' (play) 1914
''The Idler'' 1914

''Tyranny of tears: A comedy in four acts'' (1902) ''The Awakening''

References

*B. G. Andrews,

, ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Volume 7, MUP, 1979, p. 603. *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, C. Haddon 1860 births 1921 deaths Australian dramatists and playwrights Australian people of Irish descent