Augustus Thomas - Selected works

Playwright, born in St Louis, Missouri, USA. Praised for his use of distinctly American material, his first popular success was Alabama (1891), based on a family conflict in the wake of the Civil War. He wrote or adapted over 65 plays, mostly conventional in technique and narrow in appeal and all forgotten, but he led the way in establishing a true American drama.

Thomas had been writing since his teens when he wrote plays and even organized a small theatrical touring company.

Thomas was hired to work as an assistant at Pope's Theatre in St. Louis. During this time, he wrote a one-act play based on a short story by Frances Hodgson Burnett called The Burgler. After touring in the play, he expanded the show to four acts and was able to get Maurice Barrymore to play the title role.

His first original play, Alabama was produced in 1891 and its success allowed Thomas to write full time. Perhaps his most successful play was The Copperhead (1918) which made Lionel Barrymore a star.

Thomas reached a high artistic level in Arizona and The Witching Hour. A novelization of the latter appeared in 1908. He was elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters, was awarded the National Institute's gold medal in 1913, and in 1914 received an honorary A. According to the Oxford Companion to the Theatre, his plays are "on the whole, not profound, and provided entertainment of a kind acceptable to his audiences."

Selected works

The Man Upstairs Oliver Goldsmith (1899) The Earl of Pawtucket (1903) The Other Girl Mrs. Leffingwell's Boots (1905) The Education of Mr. Pipp Jim Delancey The Embassy Ball The Witching Hour (1907) The Harvest Moon (1909) As a Man Thinks (published 1911) Indian Summer

Thomas reaches a high artistic level in Arizona and The Witching Hour. A novelization of the latter appeared in 1908. According to the Oxford Companion to the Theatre, his plays are "on the whole, not profound, and provided entertainment of a kind acceptable to his audiences."