George Robert Sims (2 September 1847 – 4 September 1922) was an English journalist, poet, dramatist, novelist and ''

bon vivant ''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initially developed in t ...

''. Sims began writing lively humour and satiric pieces for ''

Fun Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "Light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment". Etymology and usage The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining medi ...

'' magazine and ''The Referee'', but he was soon concentrating on social reform, particularly the plight of the poor in London's slums. A prolific journalist and writer he also produced a number of novels. Sims was also a very successful dramatist, writing numerous plays, often in collaboration, several of which had long runs and international success. He also bred bulldogs, was an avid sportsman and lived richly among a large circle of literary and artistic friends. Sims earned a fortune from his productive endeavours but had gambled most of it away by the time of his death.

Biography

Sims was born in

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the ...

, London, England. His parents were George Sims, a prosperous merchant, and Louisa Amelia Ann Stevenson, president of the Women's Provident League. Sims was the oldest of six children, who were exposed to their parents' cosmopolitan artistic and progressive friends, including suffragists. He grew up in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, London, and his mother often took him to the theatre. He was educated in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

and then Hanwell Military College and the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

. He had begun to write poetry at the age of ten, and at Bonn he wrote some plays, including an adaptation of ''Dr. Wespe'' by Benedix. He completed his studies in Germany and France, where he also became interested in gambling. In Europe, he translated Balzac's ''Contes drôlatiques'', which was published in 1874 by Chatto and Windus; but it was considered too racy and was withdrawn, only to be reissued in 1903.Waller, Philip (2004).
"Sims, George Robert (1847–1922)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 9 October 2008 Sims was married three times and was twice a widower. In 1876, he married Sarah Elizabeth Collis (b. 1850). In 1888, he married Annie Maria Harriss (b. 1859). Finally, in 1901, he married Elizabeth Florence Wykes (b. 1873) who survived him. None of these marriages produced any children. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' wrote in Sims's obituary that :"so attractive and original was the personality revealed in his abundant output—for he was a wonderfully hard worker—that no other journalist has ever occupied quite the same place in the affections not only of the great public but also of people of more discriminating taste.... Sims was indeed a born journalist, with the essential ''flair'' added to shrewd common sense, imagination, wide sympathies, a vivid interest in every side of life, and the most ardent patriotism.... He was lsoa highly successful playwright... a zealous social reformer, an expert criminologist, a connoisseur in good eating and drinking, in racing, in dogs, in boxing, and in all sorts of curious and out-of-the-way people and things.""G. R. Sims. Journalist, dramatist, and Bohemian", ''

'', 6 September 1922, p. 12, col. D

Journalism, satire and social writings

He returned to England and briefly worked in his father's business, but his interests lay in writing, and he began to write stories and poetry. He began to publish pieces in ''

'' in 1874, succeeding editor

Tom Hood Tom Hood (19 January 183520 November 1874) was an English humorist and playwright, and a prolific author. He was the son of the poet and author Thomas Hood. ''Pen and Pencil Pictures'' (1857) was the first of his illustrated books. His most s ...

and making friendships with fellow contributors

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most f ...

and

Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book ''The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by t ...

. He also contributed early to the ''Weekly Dispatch''. In 1876, Sims penned a satiric

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

"To a Fashionable Tragedian", humorously accusing actor-producer

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

of inciting

mass murder Mass murder is the act of murdering a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. The United States Congress defines mass killings as the killings of three or more pe ...

by emphasising the gore in his Shakespeare plays and of paying bribes to critics. Irving sued Sims and his editor

Harry Sampson Henry William Sampson, OBE (12 May 1872 – 6 August 1938), often known as "Sammy", was an English-born South African trade unionist and politician. Born in Islington London, Sampson completed an apprenticeship as a compositor and joined the ...

for libel, but after an apology he withdrew the legal action. In 1877, he began contributing to a new Sunday sports and entertainments paper, edited by Sampson, '' The Referee'', writing a weekly column of miscellany, "Mustard and Cress," under the pseudonym Dagonet, until his death.Chambers, Robert (1904)
"George Robert Sims"
''Chambers' Cyclopædia of English Literature'', pp. 696–97, W. & R. Chambers, Limited This was so successful that compilations of his verses from the paper, published as ''The Dagonet Ballads'' (1879) and ''Ballads of Babylon'' (1880), sold in hundreds of thousands of copies and were constantly in print during the next thirty years. He also wrote amusing and popular travelogues, also as Dagonet. He became editor of ''One and All'' in 1879 and for various papers wrote about horse racing, showing dogs, boxing, and leisure. Although Sims published his "Mustard and Cress" column every week for 45 years without fail, according to ''The Times'', :"week after week... the page read freshly and seemed always to have something new in it. It was sprinkled with neat little epigrams in verse, patriotic songs or parodies, with jokes, puns, conundrums, catch-words. He talked of politics... philanthropy, amusement, reminiscence, food and drink, and such travel as so confirmed a Cockney could enjoy. ...he would champion the cause of the unfortunate middle classes.... He took his readers into his confidence, and told them all about... his friends... his pets.... And he contrived to do this without ever becoming egotistical or a bore." Sims is best remembered for his dramatic

monologue In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...

from ''The Dagonet Ballads'' that opens " It is Christmas Day in the workhouse". Its zealous social concern aroused public sentiment and made Sims a strong voice for reform, dramatising the plight of suffering Londoners. He also contributed numerous articles from 1879 to 1883 about the bad condition of the poor in London's slums in the ''Sunday Dispatch'', ''Daily News'' and other papers. Many of these were later published in book form, such as ''The Theatre of Life'' (1881, Fuller), ''Horrible London'' (1889, Billing and Sons), ''The Social Kaleidoscope'', and ''The Three Brass Balls''. In particular, in 1881, Sims and Frederick Barnard wrote a series of illustrated articles entitled ''How the Poor Live'' for a new journal, ''The Pictorial World''. This was published in book form in 1883. He also wrote many popular ballads attempting to draw attention to the predicament of the poor.George Robert Sims biography
''Dictionary of Literary Biography'' These efforts were important in raising public opinion on the subject and led to reform legislation in the Act of 1885.Addison, Henry Robert et al. (1907
"Sims, George Robert"
''Who's Who'', A. & C. Black, vol. 59, p. 1611 Sims was appointed as part of an 1882 study of social conditions in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

in 1882 and as a witness before the 1884 royal commission on working-class housing. Sims also raised public awareness of other issues, including white slave traffic in a series articles published in the ''Daily Telegraph'', later in book form as ''London by Night'' (1906) and ''Watches of the Night'' (1907); and the maltreatment of children, writing ''The Black Stain'' (1907). Together with Mrs E. W. Burgwin, he founded the Referee Children's Free Breakfast and Dinner Fund (1880), which became London's largest charity of this kind. He also worked to promote the boys' clubs movement and campaigned to open museums and galleries and permit concerts on Sundays as part of the National Sunday League. He also published a number of novels, including: *''Rogues and Vagabonds'' *''Memoirs of Mary Jane'' *''Mary Jane Married'' *''Memoirs of a Landlady'' *''The Ten Commandments'' *''Li Ting of London'' His autobiography, ''My Life: Sixty Years' Recollections of Bohemian London'' (1917) became very popular. It consisted of reminiscences originally contributed to ''The Evening News''. Its profiles of Sims London contemporaries are written kindly but with zest. His other books include: *''The Coachman's Club, Or, Tales Told Out of School'' (1897, F. V. White and Co.) *''Living London'' (3 vols. 1901–1903, Cassell, chronicling the variety in London life) *''Among My Autographs'' (1904, Chatto & Windus) Sims was intrigued by the psychology of crime, and he penned some ingenious detective stories. His story collection, ''Dorcas Dene, Detective'' (1897) featured an early example of a female detective in crime fiction. One of the Dorcas Dene stories, 'The Haverstock Hill Murder', was dramatised for BBC Radio in 2008. At Arthur Lambton's Crimes Club, Sims took pleasure in discussing cases with

Max Pemberton Sir Max Pemberton (19 June 1863 – 22 February 1950) was a popular English novelist, working mainly in the adventure and mystery genres.LeRoy Lad Panek, ''After Sherlock Holmes: The Evolution of British and American Detective Stories, 1891– ...

Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

and

Churton Collins John Churton Collins (26 March 1848 – 25 September 1908) was a British literary critic. Biography Churton Collins was born at Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, England. From King Edward's School, Birmingham, he went to Balliol College, ...

. He was consumed with the murders of

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...

and even became a suspect. A modern edition of his poetry, ''Prepare to Shed Them Now: The Ballads of George R Sims'', was published in 1968. Sims's sympathy and wit were not enough to spare him some criticism. To make fun of Sims the ''National Observer'', in 1892, nominated him to succeed

Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

poet laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ...

. The members of the

aesthetic movement Aestheticism (also the Aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century which privileged the aesthetic value of literature, music and the arts over their socio-political functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be prod ...

were sometimes contemptuous of Sims, and in 1894 he was the butt of a spoof in ''

The Green Carnation ''The Green Carnation'' is a novel by Robert Hichens that was first published anonymously in 1894. A satire on contemporary champions of the Aesthetic Movement, it was withdrawn briefly after the scandal of the Oscar Wilde trial in the follo ...

'' by Robert Hichens. In 1899,

Charles Whibley Charles Whibley (9 December 1859 – 4 March 1930) was an English literary journalist and author. In literature and the arts, his views were progressive. He supported James Abbott McNeill Whistler (they had married sisters). He also recommended ...

wrote an acid profile of Sims. Sims later sacrificed some of his standing among progressives with his 1906 campaign in ''The Tribune'', titled "Bitter cry of the middle classes", in which he criticised organised labour and argued that lower middle-class tradesmen and workers were over-taxed in the name of

statism In political science, statism is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree. This may include economic and social policy, especially in regard to taxation and the means of production. While in use sinc ...

Plays

Sims wrote over thirty plays, but most of them were adapted from European pieces. His first hit play, ''Crutch and Toothpick'', based on a French farce by Labiche, was produced at the

Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.

in 1879 and enjoyed a run for 240 nights. In 1881, he wrote the even more successful melodrama, ''

The Lights o' London ''The Lights o' London'' is a melodramatic play, by George R. Sims, first produced in London on 10 September 1881 at the Princess's Theatre, produced by and starring Wilson Barrett. The play was a hit, running for 226 nights, and was frequentl ...

'', produced by

Wilson Barrett Wilson Barrett (born William Henry Barrett; 18 February 1846 – 22 July 1904) was an English manager, actor, and playwright. With his company, Barrett is credited with attracting the largest crowds of English theatregoers ever because of his suc ...

at the

Princess's Theatre, London The Princess's Theatre or Princess Theatre was a theatre in Oxford Street, London. The building opened in 1828 as the "Queen's Bazaar" and housed a diorama by Clarkson Stanfield and David Roberts. It was converted into a theatre and opened in 18 ...

. This ran for 286 nights and toured in the British provinces, as well as earning record ticket sales in America. It went on to tour continuously in Europe and elsewhere through

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Next, at the Princess's, in 1882, was ''Romany Rye'', another hit. In the early 1880s, Sims became the first playwright to have four plays running simultaneously in West End theatres. He also had a dozen touring companies playing his works by that time. He collaborated on many of his plays, and his co-authors included Barrett,

Sydney Grundy Sydney Grundy (23 March 1848 – 4 July 1914) was an English dramatist. Most of his works were adaptations of European plays, and many became successful enough to tour throughout the English-speaking world. He is, however, perhaps best remembe ...

and

Clement Scott Clement William Scott (6 October 1841 – 25 June 1904) was an influential English theatre critic for ''The Daily Telegraph'' and other journals, and a playwright, lyricist, translator and travel writer, in the final decades of the 19th century ...

. His most successful collaboration was with

Henry Pettitt Henry Alfred Pettitt (7 April 1848 – 24 December 1893), was a British actor and dramatist. With Augustus Harris, he wrote the play ''Burmah'', produced on Broadway in 1896. With G. R. Sims, he created a substantial body of very successf ...

, with whom he created a substantial body of hits, including ''In the Ranks'' (1883, 457 performances at the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

) and ''The Harbour Lights'' (1885, 513 performances at the Adelphi). Their Gaiety Theatre musical burlesques included ''

Faust up to Date ''Faust up to Date'' is a musical burlesque with a score written by Meyer Lutz (a few songs by others were interpolated into the show). The libretto was written by G. R. Sims and Henry Pettitt. It is a spoof of Gounod's opera, ''Faust'', which ...

'' (1888), which remained a hit for several years and coined a new meaning for the phrase "up-to-date", meaning "abreast" of the latest styles and facts. Their next hit was ''

Carmen up to Data ''Carmen up to Data'' is a musical burlesque with a score written by Meyer Lutz. The piece was a spoof of Bizet's 1875 opera ''Carmen''. The libretto was written by G. R. Sims and Henry Pettitt. After a tryout in Liverpool in September 1890, the ...

'' (1890). Both of these were composed by the Gaiety's music director,

Meyer Lutz Wilhelm Meyer Lutz (19 May 1829 – 31 January 1903) was a German-born British composer and conductor who is best known for light music, musical theatre and burlesques of well-known works. Emigrating to the UK at the age of 19, Lutz started as ...

. With Cecil Raleigh, he wrote the hit burlesque opera, ''

Little Christopher Columbus ''Little Christopher Columbus'' is a burlesque opera in two acts, with music by Ivan Caryll and Gustave Kerker and a libretto by George R. Sims and Cecil Raleigh. It opened on 10 October 1893 at the Lyric Theatre in London and then transferred ...

'' (1893), and among his other musical plays were ''Blue-eyed Susan'' at the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

(1892, starring Arthur Roberts) and ''The Dandy Fifth'' (Birmingham, 1898) and ''

Dandy Dick Whittington ''Dandy Dick Whittington'' was an opéra bouffe in two acts, written by George Robert Sims and composed by Ivan Caryll, based on the folktale Dick Whittington and His Cat. In this version, Dandy Dick performs in a circus and loves the owners' da ...

'' (1895), at the

Avenue Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt i ...

, with a score by

Ivan Caryll Félix Marie Henri Tilkin (12 May 1861 – 29 November 1921), better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian-born composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language, who made his career in London and later N ...

. Robert Buchanan and Sims co-authored five melodramas at the Adelphi between 1890 and 1893, including ''The Trumpet Call'' (1891), starring

Mrs Patrick Campbell Beatrice Rose Stella Tanner (9 February 1865 – 9 April 1940), better known by her stage name Mrs Patrick Campbell or Mrs Pat, was an English stage actress, best known for appearing in plays by Shakespeare, Shaw and Barrie. She also toured th ...

early in her career. On stage, one night, Mrs. Campbell's costume collapsed which, her biographer suggests, extended the run of that play. Sims and Mrs Campbell had an affair, but she tired of it before he did. In 1896, Sims wrote the melodrama ''Two Little Vagabonds'' with Arthur Shirley (an adaptation of ''Les deux gosses'') which was a hit at Princess's Theatre and enjoyed many revivals. He also co-wrote some

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

s, including ''Puss in Boots'' produced at the

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drur ...

. Sims's other famous melodramas included: * ''The Golden Ladder'' * ''Master and the Man'' * ''The Star of India'' * ''The Gypsy Earl'' * ''Scarlet Sin'' * ''The Silver Falls'' (1888) * ''The English Rose'' (1890) * ''The Trumpet Call'' (1891) * ''The White Rose'' (1892), starring Mrs. Patrick Campbell * ''The Lights of Home'' (1892), starring Mrs. Patrick Campbell * ''The Black Domino'' (1893) His other notable comedies included: * *''Memoirs of a Mother-in-Law'' (1881) * ''The Member for Slocum'' (1881) * ''The Gay City'' (1881)

Later years

Sims enjoyed his position as a successful author and playwright and belonged to the Devonshire club, the

Eccentric Club Eccentricity or eccentric may refer to: * Eccentricity (behavior), odd behavior on the part of a person, as opposed to being "normal" Mathematics, science and technology Mathematics * Off-center, in geometry * Eccentricity (graph theory) of a v ...

and others. He reported earnings of nearly £150,000 in 1898, but he gambled most of his wealth away, or gave it to charities, by the time of his death. He was passionate about sports, especially horse racing and boxing, and he played badminton and bred bulldogs. Sims invented a tonic, Tatcho, that was marketed to cure baldness, but his friends found this a source of mirth when it did not stop his own hairline from receding. Sims used the ''Daily Mail'' to wage a campaign to secure the pardon and release of a Norwegian, Adolph Beck, who had twice been imprisoned because of mistaken identity. This effort led to the establishment, in 1907, of the court of criminal appeal. For his assistance, in 1905, the king of Sweden and Norway made him a knight of the order of St Olaf, first class, awarded by in 1905. He died at his home in

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

, London, just after his 75th birthday in 1922, from liver cancer."Death of Mr. G. R. Sims", ''The Times'', 6 September 1922, p. 10

Bibliography

* * *George Robert Sims (1889)
''Horrible London''
* *Sims, G. R. (1917)
''My life: sixty years' recollections of bohemian London''
*Sims, G. R. (1900)
''Without the limelight: theatrical life as it is''

References

External links

* * *
Human Wales by George R. Sims (1907)

George R.Sims papers
at

, Manchester. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sims, George Robert 1847 births 1922 deaths English male journalists English male poets English dramatists and playwrights People from Kensington British male dramatists and playwrights English male novelists