Edward Rose (7 August 1849 – 31 December 1904) was an English playwright, best known for his adaptations of novels for the stage, mainly '' The Prisoner of Zenda''. He was also the theatre critic for ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

''.

Biography

Edward Rose was born in Swaffham, Norfolk, on 7 August 1849, son of Caleb Rose, a physician, and his first wife, Isabella Morse. He attended Islington Proprietary School and Ipswich Grammar School. He worked in the solicitors firm Cobbold and Yarrington (in Ipswich) for four years, from 1868 to 1872. In 1872 he moved to London. He began writing plays in 1869, and first had a play – ''Our Farm'' – produced in London in 1872. He was a regular contributor to the

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...

, specifically, the English Homes series, and was the theatre critic for the Sunday Times starting in 1894 and continuing until at least 1897. His greatest success as a playwright came in 1896 with the premiere of his adaption of ''The Prisoner of Zenda''. He later adapted other works of Anthony Hope, but none reached the same level of success. He married Elizabeth Ann Gould, and had two daughters, Lucy and Dorothy. His elder daughter, Lucy, died when she was ten, and in her memory Rose endowed a research post at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

and paid for the education of a

board school School boards were ''ad hoc'' public bodies in England and Wales that existed between 1870 and 1902, and established and administered Elementary school (England and Wales), elementary schools. Creation The Elementary Education Act 1870 (33 & ...

girl. He served for a while as the Vice-President of the Playgoer's Club, and was a member of the Fabian Society. He "took an active interest in the founding of

Letchworth Garden City Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first Garden city movement, garden city. The population at the time of the 2021 United Kin ...

." In 1902, Rose published ''The Rose Reader'' "a new way of teaching to read," that used only words that were spelled the way they sounded, in order to develop the love of reading before complicating the process. Edward Rose died on 31 December 1904 at the age of 55.

Confusion with Edward Everett Rose

He is sometimes confused or conflated with Edward Everett Rose (1862–1939), a Canadian-born American dramatist also known for dramatizing novels, notably '' Richard Carvel'' and the Penrod stories of

Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and ''Alice Adams (novel), Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to w ...

Partial bibliography

* ''Our Farm'' (1st perf. 29 June 1872) * ''Columbus: A Historical Play in Five Acts'' (published 1873) * ''A Congress at Paris'' (1st perf. July 1878) * ''Incognita'' (1st perf. 17 February 1879) * ''Wild Flowers: A Dramatic Sketch in One Act'' (published 1880) * ''Mad'' (1st perf. 12 June 1880) * ''The Marble Arch: a Comedietta in One Act'' (published 1882) (with A. J. Garraway) (adapted from Die Versucherin by Gustav von Moser) * '' Vice Versa; A Lesson to Fathers'' (1st perf. 9 April 1883) (Adapted from the

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

by F. Anstey) * ''Equals: a Comedy in Three Acts'' (2 July 1883) (Adapted from Le Gendre de Monsieur Poirier by

Émile Augier Guillaume Victor Émile Augier (; 17 September 182025 October 1889) was a French dramatist. He was the thirteenth member to occupy seat 1 of the on 31 March 1857. Biography Augier was born at Valence, Drôme, the grandson of Pigault Lebrun, an ...

) * ''Odd, to Say the Least of It'' (1886) * ''A Girl Graduate: a Varsity Idyll'' (1st perf. 28 June 1886) * ''Her Father'' (1st perf. 16 May 1889) (with J. Douglass) (adapted from ''Conflicto Entre dos Deberes'' by

José Echegaray José Echegaray y Eizaguirre (19 April 183214 September 1916) was a Spanish civil engineer, mathematician, wikt:statesman, statesman, and one of the leading Spaniards, Spanish dramatists of the last quarter of the 19th century. He was awarded t ...

) * ''The Adventurers'' (1st perf. 24 June 1892) (Adapted from L'Aventuriere by

) * ''Agatha Tylden, Merchant and Shipowner'' (1st perf. 17 October 1892) * ''The Babble Shop; or, Lord Wyndhamere's Fan'' (1st perf. 30 March 1893) * '' The Prisoner of Zenda: A Romantic Play in Prologue and Four Acts'' (7 January 1896) (Adapted from the novel by Anthony Hope) * ''Under the Red Robe'' (1st perf. 17 October 1896) (Adapted from the novel by Stanley J. Weyman) * ''Phroso; A Drama of Adventure in Four Acts'' (published 1898) (with H. V. Esmond) (Adapted from the novel by Anthony Hope) * ''In Days of Old'' (1st perf. 16 April 1899) * ''English Nell'' (1st perf. 21 August 1900) (Adapted from Anthony Hope's novel Simon Dale) * ''Grandmamma'' (1st perf. 22 March 1904)

References

External links

The Idler: An Illustrated Monthly Magazine
A magazine from Feb. - July 1896 that contains a section on the play adaptation of ''The Prisoner of Zenda'', including an interview with Edward Rose. The ''Zenda'' section begins on p. 359.
The Theatrical 'World'
A publication from 1897 with reviews of Edward Rose adaptation of ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' and ''Under the Red Robe''. The ''Zenda'' section begins on p. 12, and the ''Red Robe'' section on p. 283.
''The Troublesome Raigne of John, King of England''
Contains a paper by Edward Rose entitled "Shakespeare as an Adapter." Begins on p. v. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Edward 1849 births 1904 deaths People from Swaffham British theatre critics People educated at Islington Proprietary School English male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English male writers