George Robert Sims (2 September 1847 – 4 September 1922) was an English journalist, poet, dramatist, novelist and ''

bon vivant Bon or Bön (), also known as Yungdrung Bon (, ), is the indigenous Tibetan religion which shares many similarities and influences with Tibetan Buddhism.Samuel 2012, pp. 220–221. It initially developed in the tenth and eleventh centuries but ...

''. Sims began writing lively humour and satiric pieces for ''

Fun Fun is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "light-hearted pleasure, enjoyment, or amusement; boisterous joviality or merrymaking; entertainment". Etymology and usage The word ''fun'' is associated with sports, entertaining medi ...

'' magazine and '' The Referee'', but he was soon concentrating on social reform, particularly the plight of the poor in London's slums. A prolific journalist and writer he also produced a number of novels. Sims was also a very successful dramatist, writing numerous plays, often in collaboration, several of which had long runs and international success. He also bred bulldogs, was an avid sportsman and lived richly among a large circle of literary and artistic friends. Sims earned a fortune from his productive endeavours but had gambled most of it away by the time of his death.

Biography

Sims was born in

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...

, London, England. His parents were George Sims, a prosperous merchant, and Louisa Amelia Ann Stevenson, president of the Women's Provident League. Sims was the oldest of six children, who were exposed to their parents' cosmopolitan artistic and progressive friends, including suffragists. He grew up in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

, London, and his mother often took him to the theatre. He was educated in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

and then Hanwell Military College and the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

. He had begun to write poetry at the age of ten, and at Bonn he wrote some plays, including an adaptation of ''Dr. Wespe'' by

Roderich Benedix Julius Roderich Benedix (21 January 1811 – 26 September 1873) was a German dramatist and librettist, born in Leipzig, where he was educated there at Thomasschule. He joined the stage in 1831, his first engagement being with the travelling compan ...

. He completed his studies in Germany and France, where he also became interested in gambling. In Europe, he translated Balzac's ''Contes drôlatiques'', which was published in 1874 by Chatto and Windus; but it was considered too racy and was withdrawn, only to be reissued in 1903.Waller, Philip (2004)
"Sims, George Robert (1847–1922)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 9 October 2008. Sims was married three times and was twice a widower. In 1876 he married Sarah Elizabeth Collis (b. 1850), in 1888 he married Annie Maria Harriss (b. 1859) and in 1901 he married Elizabeth Florence Wykes (b. 1873), who survived him. None of these marriages produced any children. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' wrote in Sims's obituary that :"so attractive and original was the personality revealed in his abundant output—for he was a wonderfully hard worker—that no other journalist has ever occupied quite the same place in the affections not only of the great public but also of people of more discriminating taste.... Sims was indeed a born journalist, with the essential ''flair'' added to shrewd common sense, imagination, wide sympathies, a vivid interest in every side of life, and the most ardent patriotism.... He was lsoa highly successful playwright... a zealous social reformer, an expert criminologist, a connoisseur in good eating and drinking, in racing, in dogs, in boxing, and in all sorts of curious and out-of-the-way people and things.""G. R. Sims. Journalist, dramatist, and Bohemian", ''

'', 6 September 1922, p. 12, col. D.

Journalism, satire and social writings

He returned to England and briefly worked in his father's business, but his interests lay in writing, and he began to write stories and poetry. He began to publish pieces in ''

'' in 1874, succeeding editor

Tom Hood Thomas Hood (19 January 183520 November 1874) was an English humorist, playwright and author. He was the son of the poet and author Thomas Hood. ''Pen and Pencil Pictures'' (1857) was the first of his illustrated books. His most successful no ...

and making friendships with fellow contributors

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

and

Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book '' The Devil's Dictionary'' was named one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by the ...

. He also contributed early to the '' Weekly Dispatch''. In 1876, Sims penned a satiric

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

"To a Fashionable Tragedian", humorously accusing actor-producer

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

of inciting

mass murder Mass murder is the violent crime of murder, killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more ...

by emphasising the gore in his Shakespeare plays and of paying bribes to critics. Irving sued Sims and his editor Harry Sampson for libel, but after an apology he withdrew the legal action. In 1877, he began contributing to a new Sunday sports and entertainments paper, edited by Sampson, '' The Referee'', writing a weekly column of miscellany, "Mustard and Cress", under the pseudonym Dagonet, until his death.Chambers, Robert (1904)
"George Robert Sims"
''Chambers' Cyclopædia of English Literature'', pp. 696–97, W. & R. Chambers, Limited. This was so successful that compilations of his verses from the paper, published as ''The Dagonet Ballads'' (1879) and ''Ballads of Babylon'' (1880), sold in hundreds of thousands of copies and were constantly in print during the next thirty years. He also wrote amusing and popular travelogues, also as Dagonet. He became editor of ''One and All'' in 1879 and for various papers wrote about horse racing, showing dogs, boxing, and leisure. Although Sims published his "Mustard and Cress" column every week for 45 years without fail, according to ''The Times'', :"week after week... the page read freshly and seemed always to have something new in it. It was sprinkled with neat little epigrams in verse, patriotic songs or parodies, with jokes, puns, conundrums, catch-words. He talked of politics... philanthropy, amusement, reminiscence, food and drink, and such travel as so confirmed a Cockney could enjoy. ...he would champion the cause of the unfortunate middle classes.... He took his readers into his confidence, and told them all about... his friends... his pets.... And he contrived to do this without ever becoming egotistical or a bore." Sims is best remembered for his dramatic

monologue In theatre, a monologue (also known as monolog in North American English) (in , from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts ...

from ''The Dagonet Ballads'' that opens " It is Christmas Day in the workhouse". Its zealous social concern aroused public sentiment and made Sims a strong voice for reform, dramatising the plight of suffering Londoners. He also contributed numerous articles from 1879 to 1883 about the bad condition of the poor in London's slums in the ''Sunday Dispatch'', ''Daily News'' and other papers. Many of these were later published in book form, such as ''The Theatre of Life'' (1881, Fuller), ''Horrible London'' (1889, Billing and Sons), ''The Social Kaleidoscope'', and ''The Three Brass Balls''. In particular, in 1881, Sims and Frederick Barnard wrote a series of illustrated articles entitled ''How the Poor Live'' for a new journal, ''The Pictorial World''. This was published in book form in 1883. He also wrote many popular ballads attempting to draw attention to the predicament of the poor.George Robert Sims biography
''Dictionary of Literary Biography''. These efforts were important in raising public opinion on the subject and led to reform legislation in the Act of 1885.Addison, Henry Robert et al. (1907
"Sims, George Robert"
''Who's Who'', A. & C. Black, vol. 59, p. 1611. Sims was appointed as part of an 1882 study of social conditions in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

in 1882 and as a witness before the 1884 royal commission on working-class housing. Sims also raised public awareness of other issues, including white slave traffic in a series articles published in the ''Daily Telegraph'', later in book form as ''London by Night'' (1906) and ''Watches of the Night'' (1907); and the maltreatment of children, writing ''The Black Stain'' (1907). Together with

Elizabeth Burgwin Elizabeth Burgwin born Elizabeth Canham OBE (1850 – 1940) was a headteacher in London who founded the largest charity supplying free school meals in London. She took an interest in the care of children with Learning disability, learning disabili ...

, he founded the ''Referee Children's Free Breakfast and Dinner Fund'' (1880). Burgwin had already been supplying free breakfats and dinners at her school, but she persuaded him to write an annual appeal in ''The Referee''. By 1900 it was the largest charity supplying free school meals in London. He also worked to promote the boys' clubs movement and campaigned to open museums and galleries and permit concerts on Sundays as part of the National Sunday League. He also published a number of novels, including: *''Rogues and Vagabonds'' *''Memoirs of Mary Jane'' *''Mary Jane Married'' *''Memoirs of a Landlady'' *''The Ten Commandments'' *''Li Ting of London'' His autobiography, ''My Life: Sixty Years' Recollections of Bohemian London'' (1917) became very popular. It consisted of reminiscences originally contributed to ''The Evening News''. Its profiles of Sims London contemporaries are written kindly but with zest. His other books include: *''The Coachman's Club, Or, Tales Told Out of School'' (1897, F. V. White and Co.) *''Living London'' (3 vols. 1901–1903, Cassell, chronicling the variety in London life) *''Among My Autographs'' (1904, Chatto & Windus) Sims was intrigued by the psychology of crime, and he penned some ingenious detective stories. His story collection, ''Dorcas Dene, Detective'' (1897) featured an early example of a female detective in crime fiction. One of the Dorcas Dene stories, 'The Haverstock Hill Murder', was dramatised for BBC Radio in 2008. At Arthur Lambton's Crimes Club, Sims took pleasure in discussing cases with

Max Pemberton Sir Max Pemberton (19 June 1863 – 22 February 1950) was a popular English novelist and publisher working mainly in the adventure and mystery genres.LeRoy Lad Panek, ''After Sherlock Holmes: The Evolution of British and American Detective St ...

Conan Doyle Conan may refer to: People * Saint Conan (died 684), bishop of the Isle of Man * Conan of Cornwall (c. 930 – c. 950), bishop of Cornwall * Conan I of Rennes (died 992), duke of Brythonic Brittany * Conan II, Duke of Brittany (died 1066), duke ...

and Churton Collins. He was consumed with the murders of

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who was active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also ...

and even became a suspect. A modern edition of his poetry, ''Prepare to Shed Them Now: The Ballads of George R Sims'', was published in 1968. Sims's sympathy and wit were not enough to spare him some criticism. To make fun of Sims the ''National Observer'', in 1892, nominated him to succeed

Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's ...

as poet laureate. The members of the

aesthetic movement Aestheticism (also known as the aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century that valued the appearance of literature, music, fonts and the arts over their functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be produced to b ...

were sometimes contemptuous of Sims, and in 1894 he was the butt of a spoof in ''

The Green Carnation ''The Green Carnation'' is a novel by Robert Hichens that was first published anonymously in 1894. A satire on contemporary champions of the Aesthetic Movement, it was withdrawn briefly after the scandal of the Oscar Wilde trial in the follo ...

'' by Robert Hichens. In 1899,

Charles Whibley Charles Whibley (9 December 1859 – 4 March 1930) was an English literary journalist and author. In literature and the arts, his views were progressive. He supported James Abbott McNeill Whistler (they had married sisters). He also recommended ...

wrote an acid profile of Sims. Sims later sacrificed some of his standing among progressives with his 1906 campaign in ''The Tribune'', titled "Bitter cry of the middle classes", in which he criticised organised labour and argued that lower middle-class tradesmen and workers were over-taxed in the name of

statism In political science, statism or etatism (from French, ''état'' 'state') is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree. This may include economic and social policy, especially in regard to taxation ...

Plays

Sims wrote over thirty plays, but most of them were adapted from European pieces. His first hit play, ''Crutch and Toothpick'', based on a French farce by Labiche, was produced at the

Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.

in 1879 and enjoyed a run for 240 nights. In 1881, he wrote the even more successful melodrama, ''

The Lights o' London ''The Lights o' London'' is a melodramatic play, by George R. Sims, first produced in London on 10 September 1881 at the Princess's Theatre, produced by and starring Wilson Barrett. The play was a hit, running for 226 nights, and was frequentl ...

'', produced by

Wilson Barrett Wilson Barrett (born William Henry Barrett; 18 February 1846 – 22 July 1904) was an English manager, actor, and playwright. With his company, Barrett is credited with attracting the largest crowds of English theatregoers ever because of his suc ...

at the

Princess's Theatre, London The Princess's Theatre or Princess Theatre was a theatre in Oxford Street, London. The building opened in 1828 as the "Queen's Bazaar" and housed a diorama by Clarkson Stanfield and David Roberts. It was converted into a theatre and opened in 18 ...

. This ran for 286 nights and toured in the British provinces, as well as earning record ticket sales in America. It went on to tour continuously in Europe and elsewhere through

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. His next play, ''

The Romany Rye ''The Romany Rye'' is a novel by George Borrow, written in 1857 as a sequel to '' Lavengro'' (1851). The novel Largely thought to be at least partly autobiographical, ''The Romany Rye'' follows from ''Lavengro'' (1851). The title can be trans ...

'', opened in 1882 at the Princess's and was a hit. On opening night at the

Theatre Royal, Exeter The Theatre Royal, Exeter was the name of several theatres situated in the city centre of Exeter, Devon, England in the United Kingdom. Early theatres and fires The name "Theatre Royal" was first applied in Exeter by the mid-1830s to what ha ...

, during its regional tour, scenery caught fire during the performance, causing the

Exeter Theatre Royal fire On 5 September 1887, a fire broke out in the backstage area of the Theatre Royal, Exeter, Theatre Royal in Exeter, England, during the production of ''The Romany Rye (play), The Romany Rye''. The fire caused panic throughout the theatre, with 18 ...

, which remains the UK's deadliest building fire, and worst theatre disaster, killing 186 people. All of the cast and crew survived the fire, which mostly killed audience members in the pits and gallery, and the tour continued, although at the following performance, costumes and scenery had to improvised and borrowed as they had all been lost in the blaze. In the early 1880s, Sims became the first playwright to have four plays running simultaneously in West End theatres. He also had a dozen touring companies playing his works by that time. He collaborated on many of his plays, and his co-authors included Barrett,

Sydney Grundy Sydney Grundy (23 March 1848 – 4 July 1914) was an English dramatist. Most of his works were adaptations of European plays, and many became successful enough to tour throughout the English-speaking world. He is, however, perhaps best remembe ...

and

Clement Scott Clement William Scott (6 October 1841 – 25 June 1904) was an influential English theatre critic for ''The Daily Telegraph'' and other journals, and a playwright, lyricist, translator and travel writer, in the final decades of the 19th century ...

. His most successful collaboration was with

Henry Pettitt Henry Alfred Pettitt (7 April 1848 – 24 December 1893), was a British actor and dramatist. With Augustus Harris, he wrote the play ''Burmah'', produced on Broadway in 1896. With G. R. Sims, he created a substantial body of very succes ...

, with whom he created a substantial body of hits, including ''In the Ranks'' (1883, 457 performances at the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

) and ''The Harbour Lights'' (1885, 513 performances at the Adelphi). Their Gaiety Theatre musical burlesques included '' Faust up to Date'' (1888), which remained a hit for several years and coined a new meaning for the phrase "up-to-date", meaning "abreast" of the latest styles and facts. Their next hit was ''

Carmen up to Data ''Carmen up to Data'' is a musical burlesque with a score written by Meyer Lutz. Set in Seville, the piece was a spoof of Bizet's 1875 opera ''Carmen''. The libretto was written by G. R. Sims and Henry Pettitt. After a tryout in Liverpool in ...

'' (1890). Both of these were composed by the Gaiety's music director,

Meyer Lutz Wilhelm Meyer Lutz (19 May 1829 – 31 January 1903) was a German-born British composer and conductor who is best known for light music, musical theatre and Victorian burlesque, burlesques of well-known works. Emigrating to the UK at the age o ...

. With

Cecil Raleigh Cecil Raleigh was the pseudonym of Abraham Cecil Francis Fothergill Rowlands (27 January 1856 – 10 November 1914), an English actor and playwright. Personal life Abraham Cecil Francis Fothergill Rowlands was born on 27 January 1856 in Monmo ...

, he wrote the hit burlesque opera, ''

Little Christopher Columbus ''Little Christopher Columbus'' is a burlesque opera in two acts, with music by Ivan Caryll and Gustave Kerker and a libretto by George R. Sims and Cecil Raleigh. It opened on 10 October 1893 at the Lyric Theatre in London and then transferred t ...

'' (1893), and among his other musical plays were ''Blue-eyed Susan'' at the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

(1892, starring Arthur Roberts) and ''The Dandy Fifth'' (Birmingham, 1898) and ''

Dandy Dick Whittington ''Dandy Dick Whittington'' was an opéra bouffe in two acts, written by George Robert Sims and composed by Ivan Caryll, based on the folktale Dick Whittington and His Cat. In this version, Dandy Dick performs in a circus and loves the owners' da ...

'' (1895), at the

Avenue Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt in ...

, with a score by

Ivan Caryll Félix Marie Henri Tilkin (12 May 1861 – 29 November 1921), better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian-born composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language, who made his career in London and later N ...

. Robert Buchanan and Sims co-authored five melodramas at the Adelphi between 1890 and 1893, including ''The Trumpet Call'' (1891), starring

Mrs Patrick Campbell Beatrice Rose Stella Tanner (9 February 1865 – 9 April 1940), better known by her stage name Mrs Patrick Campbell or Mrs Pat, was an English stage actress, best known for appearing in plays by Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, Shaw and J. M. ...

early in her career. On stage, one night, Mrs. Campbell's costume collapsed which, her biographer suggests, extended the run of that play. Sims and Mrs Campbell had an affair, but she tired of it before he did. In 1896, Sims wrote the melodrama ''Two Little Vagabonds'' with Arthur Shirley (an adaptation of ''Les deux gosses'') which was a hit at Princess's Theatre and enjoyed many revivals. He also co-wrote some

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

s, including ''Puss in Boots'' produced at the

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dru ...

. Sims's other famous melodramas included: * ''The Golden Ladder'' * ''Master and the Man'' * ''The Star of India'' * ''The Gypsy Earl'' * ''Scarlet Sin'' * ''The Silver Falls'' (1888) * ''The English Rose'' (1890) * ''The Trumpet Call'' (1891) * ''The White Rose'' (1892), starring Mrs. Patrick Campbell * ''The Lights of Home'' (1892), starring Mrs. Patrick Campbell * ''The Black Domino'' (1893) His other notable comedies included: * *''Memoirs of a Mother-in-Law'' (1881) * ''The Member for Slocum'' (1881) * ''The Gay City'' (1881)

Later years

Sims enjoyed his position as a successful author and playwright and belonged to the Devonshire Club, the

Eccentric Club The Eccentric Club is the name of several London gentlemen's clubs, the best-known of which existed between 1890 and 1986. For much of its history it was based at 9–11 Ryder Street, St James's. The current Club was founded in 2008. First Ecc ...

and others. He reported earnings of nearly £150,000 in 1898, but he gambled most of his wealth away, or gave it to charities, by the time of his death. He was passionate about sports, especially horse racing and boxing, and he played badminton and bred bulldogs. Sims invented a tonic, Tatcho, that was marketed to cure baldness, but his friends found this a source of mirth when it did not stop his own hairline from receding. Sims used the ''Daily Mail'' to wage a campaign to secure the pardon and release of a Norwegian, Adolph Beck, who had twice been imprisoned because of mistaken identity. This effort led to the establishment, in 1907, of the court of criminal appeal. For his assistance, in 1905, the king of Sweden and Norway made him a knight of the

Order of St Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

, first class, awarded by in 1905. He died at his home in

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

, London, just after his 75th birthday in 1922, from liver cancer. After a funeral service at

St Marylebone Parish Church St Marylebone Parish Church is an Anglican church on the Marylebone Road in London. It was built to the designs of Thomas Hardwick in 1813–17. The present site is the third used by the parish for its church. The first was further south, near ...

, his body was cremated at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and is one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £136,000 in 2021), ...

, and his ashes were scattered in the crematorium's grounds.''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

'', 8 September 1922, p. 11.

Bibliography

* * *George Robert Sims (1889)
''Horrible London''
* *Sims, G. R. (1917)
''My life: sixty years' recollections of bohemian London''
*Sims, G. R. (1900)
''Without the limelight: theatrical life as it is''

References

External links

* * *
Human Wales by George R. Sims (1907)

George R.Sims papers
at

, Manchester. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sims, George Robert 1847 births 1922 deaths English male journalists English male poets People from Kennington Writers from the London Borough of Lambeth English male dramatists and playwrights English male novelists Order of Saint Olav 19th-century English novelists 20th-century English novelists 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English short story writers 20th-century English short story writers Victorian novelists Victorian short story writers Victorian poets 19th-century English poets 20th-century English poets 19th-century English journalists 20th-century English journalists 19th-century English philanthropists 20th-century English philanthropists English social reformers English magazine editors English sportswriters 19th-century English essayists 20th-century English essayists English male essayists 19th-century English translators 20th-century English translators French–English translators English satirists Satirical short story writers People from Islington (district) Writers from the London Borough of Islington University of Bonn alumni 19th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers Deaths from liver cancer English travel writers English crime fiction writers English humorists