Charles Haddon Spurgeon Chambers (22 April 1860 – 28 March 1921) was an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

-born

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

, active in England.

Early life

Chambers was born in Petersham,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, the son of John Ritchie Chambers, who had a good position in the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

civil service, came from

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

, his mother, Frances, daughter of William Kellett, from

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

. Charles was educated at the Petersham, Marrickville, and Fort Street High schools, but found routine study tedious and showed no special promise. He entered the lands department at 15 but did not stay long. After two years in the outback working as a boundary rider, in 1880 he was invited by cousins to return with them to

, from there he visited England. On Chambers' return he was in the managerial department of the Montague-Turner opera company.

Career

In 1882 Chambers moved to England; he had no friends there and had to try various occupations in order to make a living. Chambers wrote letters from London for The Bulletin. In 1884 his first story was accepted, and other work appeared in popular magazines of the time like ''Society'' and ''Truth''. In 1886 a one-act play, ''One of Them'', was acted in London and another curtain-raiser, ''The Open Gate'', was played at the

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

in 1887. His first real success was ''

Captain Swift ''Captain Swift'' is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Tom Terriss and Chester Bennett and starring Earle Williams, Florence Dixon and Edward Martindel. It is based on the 1888 play of the same title by C. Haddon Chambers.Goble p. ...

'', which was produced by

Beerbohm Tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and theatre manager. Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End, winning praise for adventurous programm ...

at the

Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in ...

in the autumn of 1888. In the United States

Maurice Barrymore Herbert Arthur Chamberlayne Blyth (21 September 1849 – 25 March 1905), known professionally by his stage name Maurice Barrymore, was an Indian-born British stage actor. He is the patriarch of the Barrymore acting family, and the father of Jo ...

played ''Captain Swift'' on Broadway. This play had a good run and was played all over England, in America, and in Australia. He had another success with ''The Idler'' (1890). His next three plays ''The Honourable Herbert, The Old Lady'', and ''The Pipes of Peace'' did not achieve success, but ''John-O-Dreams'', first played in 1894, was successful. Also in 1894, he had some success with ''The Fatal Card''. In 1899 possibly his best play, ''The Tyranny of Tears'', was produced by Charles Wyndham and was frequently revived. Among his later plays ''Passers By'' (1911) and ''The Saving Grace'' (1917) are possibly the best. The famous London-based Australian

operatic Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

, Dame

Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic lyric coloratura soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early twentieth century, and was the f ...

, was his mistress for a number of years. The relationship ended in 1904 for reasons which remain unclear.

Late life

Chambers retained his interest in Australia and spoke of returning there but never did so. He died at the

Bath Club The Bath Club was a sports-themed London gentlemen's club in the 20th century. It was established in 1894 at 34 Dover Street. Its swimming pool was a noted feature, and it is thought that the swimming pool of the fictional Drones Club (also on D ...

, London of cerebro-vascular disease on 28 March 1921 and was buried at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of North Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in P ...

. He was twice married, and was survived by his second wife, originally Nelly Louise Burton but known professionally as 'Pepita Bobadilla', and a daughter of the first marriage to Mary, ''née'' Dewer. His widow married

Sidney Reilly Sidney George Reilly (; – 5 November 1925), known as the "Ace of Spies", was a Russian-born adventurer and secret agent employed by Scotland Yard's Special Branch and later by the Foreign Section of the British Secret Service Bureau, the p ...

, "Ace of Spies", in 1923.

Works

* ''Captain Swift'' 1888, filmed in 1920, directed by

Tom Terriss Thomas Herbert F. Lewin (28 September 1872 – 8 February 1964), known professionally as Tom Terriss, was a British actor, screenwriter, and film director. After trying various occupations, he became an actor playing a variety of roles, beginni ...

and

Chester Bennett Chester Bennett (1892 - 1943) was an American silent film director. He was executed by the Japanese during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, Occupation of Hong Kong in 1943. Filmography * ''When a Man Loves (1919 film), When a Man Loves'' ( ...

''The Idler''
1890 (play) * ''Thumb-Nail Sketches of Australian Life'' 1891 (short story collection) * ''The Fatal Card'' 1895 (play)
''The Tyranny of Tears: A Comedy in Four Acts''
1900 (play) * ''

A Modern Magdalen ''A Modern Magdalen'' is a 1915 American drama, 5-reel silent black and white film directed by Will S. Davis and based on the 1902 play by C. Haddon Chambers. The film was produced and released by the Life Photo Film Corporation in their stu ...

'' 1902 (play) * ''The Open Gate: An Original Domestic Drama in One Act'' 1902 (play) * ''The Awakening: A play in Four Acts'' 1902 (play) * ''Sir Anthony: A Comedy of the Outskirts in Three Acts'' 1909 (play) * ''Passers-By: A Play in Four Acts'' 1913 (play) * ''The Impossible Woman'' 1914 (play) (aka ''Tante'') * ''The Saving Grace: A Comedy in Three Acts'' 1918 (play)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, C. Haddon 1860 births 1921 deaths Australian dramatists and playwrights Australian people of Irish descent Colony of New South Wales people Emigrants from colonial Australia to the United Kingdom