Gustav A. "Geza" Silberer (1 December 1876 – 5? 8? April 1938) was an Austrian journalist and author of Jewish extraction born in Werschetz who wrote in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

under the pseudonym Sil-Vara.

Biography

Gustav Silberer (aka G. Sil-Vara) was a journalist for ''

Neue Freie Presse ''Neue Freie Presse'' ("New Free Press") was a Viennese newspaper founded by Adolf Werthner together with the journalists Max Friedländer and Michael Etienne on 1 September 1864 after the staff had split from the newspaper ''Die Presse''. It ...

'' and a colleague of

Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of Types of Zionism, modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organizat ...

, who was impressed by his work and provided him with encouragement early on in his career.

Literary career

In 1912, while living in London, he and Charles H. Fisher adapted ''

The Playboy of the Western World ''The Playboy of the Western World'' is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge, first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on 26 January 1907. The work is considered a centerpiece of the Irish Literary Revival mo ...

'' as ''Der Held des Westerlands'' and had it published by Georg Müller and performed at

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his radically innovative and avant-gard ...

's Kammerspiele, Berlin, at the Neue Wiener Bühne in Vienna and at the Stadttheater in

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

. A contemporary review of ''Englische Staatsmänner'' states that it was clear he had spent time in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and had close relations with the political figures he describes. The

Vossische Zeitung The (''Voss's Newspaper'') was a nationally known Berlin newspaper that represented the interests of the liberal middle class. It was also generally regarded as Germany's national newspaper of record. In the Berlin press it held a special role d ...

"Aunt Voss" observes that readers would agreeably surprised to find Asquith, Curzon, Viscount Grey and Churchill treated "not as enemies but as men". His play ''Ein Tag: Lustspiel in Drei Akten'', adapted by theatre director

Philip Moeller Philip Moeller (26 August 1880 – 26 April 1958) was an American stage producer and director, playwright and screenwriter, born in New York where he helped found the short-lived Washington Square Players and then with Lawrence Langner and Hel ...

as ''Caprice'', had a successful run in 1929 at New York's

Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of ...

, then elsewhere. His play ''Mädchenjahre einer Königin'' about the young

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

was the basis of several movies of the same name in 1936 and 1954 Several of his books are still in print: ''Ein Wiener Landsturmmann'' () and ''Ein Tag: Lustspiel in Drei Akten'' ()

Published works

*''Londoner Spaziergänge'' 1914 *''Ein Wiener Landsturmmann: Kriegstagebuchaufzeichnungen Aus Galizien'' 1915 *''Englische Staatsmänner'' (1916) biographies of Asquith, Balfour, Chamberlain, Churchill, Curzon, Bonar Law, Kitchener, Lloyd-George, Rosebery, Parnell and others. *''Die Gitana. Szenen aus dem spanischen Leben um 1830'' 1916 illustrated by Erhard Amadeus *''Briefe aus der Gefangenschaft'' 1917 *''Es geht weiter: Eine Nacht und ein Epilog'' 1919 *''Warum kommt der Friede nicht zustande'' 1932

Plays

*''Der Held der westlichen Welt'' or ''Der Held des Westerlands'' adaptation (with Charles H. Fisher) of

J. M. Synge Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909), popularly known as J. M. Synge, was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, essayist, and collector of folklores. As an important driving force behind the Irish Literary Renaissanc ...

's ''

'' 1912 *''Ein Tag: Lustspiel in drei Akten'' 1914 *''Mädchenjahre einer Königin. Komödie in acht Bildern'' 1933

Awards and commemoration

Silvaraweg, a street in

Döbling Döbling () is the 19th Districts of Vienna, district in the city of Vienna, Austria (). It is located in the north of Vienna, north of the districts Alsergrund and Währing. Döbling has some heavily populated urban areas with many residential bui ...

, Vienna was named for him in 1966.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silberer, Geza 1876 births 1938 deaths Austrian journalists Austrian biographers Austrian male biographers 19th-century Austrian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Austrian dramatists and playwrights Austrian male dramatists and playwrights Biographers from Austria-Hungary Dramatists and playwrights from Austria-Hungary