Edward Childs Carpenter (1872–1950) was an American writer of novels and plays and a

stage director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

in the early through mid-20th century.Oxford Reference: ''OVERVIEW Edward Childs Carpenter (1872—1950)'', http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095551917, accessed 2 Mar 2018.James Fisher: "Carpenter, Edward Childs (1872–1950)" in ''The Historical Dictionary of the American Theater'', http://american_theatre.enacademic.com/225/Carpenter%2C_Edward_Childs, accessed 2 Mar 2018.

Biography

Carpenter was born December 13, 1872 (1874 per his

gravestone A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, da ...

Jan Franco: ''Find A Grave Memorial 109641'', https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10964441/edward-childs-carpenter, added 15 May 2005.) at

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

,Internet Broadway Database: ''Edward Childs Carpenter, Director, Writer'', https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/edward-childs-carpenter-5263, accessed 2 Mar 2018.Internet Movie Database: ''Biography, Edward Childs Carpenter'', https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0139321/bio, accessed 2 Mar 2018. a son of Edward Payson and Frances Bradley "Fanny" (née Childs) Carpenter, of the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

Rehoboth Carpenter family The Rehoboth Carpenter family is an American family that helped settle the town of Rehoboth, Massachusetts in 1644. Note: This book has been reprinted and duplicated by many organizations in print, CD, DVD, & digital formats. This 900-plus page tom ...

.Amos B. Carpenter: ''Genealogical History of the Rehoboth Branch of the Carpenter Family in America'', Carpenter & Morehouse, Amherst, Mass., 1898, p. 676, erroneously listed as Edward Payson Carpenter (Jr.).''Who's Who Among North American Authors'', The Golden Syndicate Publishing Company, Los Angeles, Calif., 1921, Vol. 1, p. 38, https://books.google.com/books?id=HKFJAAAAYAAJ, accessed 4 Mar 2018. After leaving school, Carpenter became a newspaperman and quickly rose to the position of financial

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

at ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

''.Albert Nelson Marquis: ''Who's Who in America'', Volume VII, 1912-1913, A. N. Marquis & Company, Chicago, Ill., 1912, p. 335, https://books.google.com/books?id=v4MGW6mbi0QC, accessed 3 Mar 2018. In 1903 he published his first

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

, ''The Chasm'', co-authored with Reginald Wright Kauffman,The Online Books Page: ''Online Books by Edward Childs Carpenter'', http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Carpenter%2C%20Edward%20Childs%2C%201872-1950, accessed 2 Mar 2018. which received favorable reviews.Author information and review of ''The Chasm'' in ''The Reader Magazine'', Vol. III, No. 1, December, 1903, p. 4, https://books.google.com/books?id=_b9NAQAAMAAJ, accessed 3 Mar 2018. On June 1, 1907, Carpenter married the illustrator

Helen Alden Knipe Helen Knipe Carpenter (December 6, 1881 – February 15, 1959) was an illustrator and writer active in the early 20th century noted for her Art Nouveau illustrations and her adaptations of stage plays to novels. Born Helen Alden Knipe on Decem ...

; later they collaborated as writers. Carpenter began writing

plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

while working at the ''Inquirer'' from 1905 to 1916, beginning with ''The Dragon Fly'' in 1905 (with Luther Long), followed by a dramatization of his own 1906 novel ''Captain Courtesy'', which was later made into a

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

of the same title, ''

Captain Courtesy ''Captain Courtesy'' is a lost film, lost 1915 American silent film, silent drama film directed by Phillips Smalley and Lois Weber based upon a novel by Edward Childs Carpenter. The film stars Dustin Farnum, Courtenay Foote, Winifred Kingston, H ...

''. His longest-running plays were ''The Cinderella Man'' in 1916, with 192 performances, ''The Bachelor Father'' in 1928, with 264 performances (later made into a film, ''

The Bachelor Father ''The Bachelor Father '' is a 1931 American pre-Code MGM comedy drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Marion Davies and featuring Ralph Forbes, C. Aubrey Smith, Ray Milland and Guinn Williams (actor), Guinn "Big Boy" Williams. ...

''), and ''Whistling in the Dark'', co-authored with Laurence Gross, in 1932, with 144 performances (also later made into a film, ''

Whistling in the Dark Whistling without the use of an artificial whistle is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. The a ...

''). From 1924 to 1927, Carpenter was president of the Dramatists' Theatre, Inc. In 1922, he became the second elected president of the

Dramatists Guild of America The Dramatists Guild of America is a professional organization for playwrights, composers, and lyricists working in the U.S. theatre market. Membership as an Associate Member is open to any person having written at least one stage play. Active Mem ...

. He was re-elected in 1929 continuing on as the Guild's fifth president until 1935. He was a member of the Franklin Inn Club in Philadelphia,"Just Gossip" column in ''

'', Sunday, June 2, 1907, Vol. 156, Issue no. 153, p. 8. and The Players and

The Lambs The Lambs, Inc. (also known as The Lambs Club) is a social club in New York City for actors, songwriters, and others involved in the theatre. It is America's oldest theatrical organization. "The Lambs" is a registered trademark of The Lambs, Inc ...

clubs in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Carpenter died in

Torrington, Connecticut Torrington is the most populated municipality and only city in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut and the Northwest Hills (Connecticut), Northwest Hills region. It is also the core city of Greater Torrington, one of the ...

Connecticut Death Index: ''Edward Childs Carpenter'', accessed 2 Mar 2018. on October 7, 1950. He and his wife, writer and illustrator Helen Alden (née Knipe) Carpenter, are interred in Town Hill Cemetery in

New Hartford, Connecticut New Hartford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 6,658 at the 2020 census. The town center is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the New Hartford Center census-designated place (CDP). The town is mainl ...

.Jan Franco: ''Find A Grave Memorial 10964433'', https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10964433/helen-carpenter, added 15 May 2005.

Works

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Edward Childs 1872 births 1950 deaths American male novelists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists Writers from Philadelphia Novelists from Pennsylvania