Roy Horniman (1874–1930) was a British writer, best known for his novel '' Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal'', which inspired several adaptations. Horniman was born in

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's s ...

. His father, William Horniman, was Paymaster-in-Chief of the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, and his mother was Greek. He was the owner of '' The Ladies' Review'' for some years and was a member of the British Committee of The

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

. As well as acting he became tenant and manager of the

Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began development ...

and wrote many plays as well as adaptations of his own and others’ novels. In his later years he wrote and adapted for the screen. Amongst his notable works were ''Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal'' (1907), which was republished by Faber Finds in 2008 and again by Cavalier Classics in 2014, and by Dean Street Press in 2020. The 1949 film ''

Kind Hearts and Coronets ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' is a 1949 British crime black comedy film. It features Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness; Guinness plays nine characters. The plot is loosely based on the novel ''Israel Rank: The Auto ...

'' was based on ''Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal'' and the novel also inspired the 2013 Broadway musical '' A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder''. Horniman also wrote '' The Sin of Atlantis'' in 1900 and '' Lord Cammarleigh’s Secret: A Fairy Story of To-Day'' in 1907. Roy Horniman served in the Artists Rifles during the

First World War 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 ...

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* * * 1874 births 1930 deaths British theatre managers and producers 20th-century British novelists British male screenwriters Artists' Rifles soldiers British Army personnel of World War I British male novelists English people of Greek descent 20th-century British male writers 20th-century British screenwriters {{UK-novelist-stub