Percival Wilde (New York City, March 1, 1887 – September 19, 1953) was an American author and playwright who wrote novels and numerous short stories and

one-act play A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. The 20-40 minute play has emerged as a popular subgenre of the one-act play, especially in wri ...

s. He also authored a textbook on the

theater arts Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

. Native to New York City, Wilde graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1906, and worked for a time as a banker. He began writing plays in 1912, and joined The Lambs Club in 1947. Wilde's plays were especially popular in the

Little Theatre Movement As the new medium of cinema was beginning to replace theater as a source of large-scale spectacle, the Little Theatre Movement developed in the United States around 1912. The Little Theatre Movement served to provide experimental centers for the dr ...

List of works

The Finger of God Percival Wilde Shimer College 1952

Novels

*''The Devil's Booth'' (1930) * Mystery Week-End (1938) * Inquest (1938) * Design for Murder (1941)

Collections of short stories

* ''Rogues in Clover'' (1929) * ''P. Moran, Operative'' (1947)

Plays

* ''Dawn and One Act Plays Of Life Today'' (1915) **''Dawn'' **''The Hour of Truth'' **''The Noble Lord'' **''The Traitor'' **''A House of Cards'' **''Playing With Fire'' **''The Finger of God'' *''Confessional, and Other American Plays'' (1916) ** ''Confessional'' ** ''The Beautiful Story'' ** ''The Villain in the Piece'' ** ''A Question of Morality'' ** ''According to Darwin'' * ''The Unseen Host, and Other War Plays'' (1917) * ''The Reckoning'' (1930) * ''Eight Comedies For Little Theaters''

Films (Story)

* ''Moonlight Follies'' (1921) * ''The Guttersnipe'' (1922) * ''The Rise of Duton Lang'' (1955)

Nonfiction

* ''The Craftmanship of One-Act Plays'' (1923)

References

External links

* * * *
Wilde, Percival (Open Library)
*
Finding aid to Percival Wilde letters at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilde, Percival 1887 births 1953 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists American male dramatists and playwrights American male novelists Columbia University alumni