Thomas Louis Buvelot Esson (10 August 1878 – 27 November 1943) was an Australian poet, journalist, critic and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

. He was a co-founder of the Pioneer Players. His second wife, Hilda Esson (nee Bull), had a career in theatre besides working as a doctor in the field of

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

Early life and education

Esson was born on 10 August 1878 at

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland, but moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia, when he was three, along with his widowed mother. She had siblings in Melbourne, including artist

John Ford Paterson John Ford Paterson (1851, Dundee – 30 June 1912, Carlton, Victoria, Carlton), often referred to as Ford or J. Ford Paterson, was a Scottish-born Australian artist. He specialised in landscapes. Biography While still a teenager, he began his s ...

, and Esson was raised mostly by his aunts. His mother remarried twice: first to George Brown, with whom she had another son Frank Brown, and secondly to politician James Gibb. He attended the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

from 1896, but did not finish his arts degree.

Career

Esson began working as a journalist and playwright afterwards, and visited

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 ...

, Ireland, and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1904–1905. He met Irish playwrights

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 ...

(in Paris) and

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

(in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

), who suggested that he writes plays with Australian themes. He returned to Melbourne in 1906, hoping to establish the equivalent of the

Irish National Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

. His first collection of poetry was published in 1910, with three collections of plays following by 1912, including ''Dead Timber''. He and his second wife Hilda moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1916 and then to London in 1918, returning in June 1921. In 1921 he was a co-founder of the Pioneer Players with

Vance Palmer Edward Vivian "Vance" Palmer (28 August 1885 – 15 July 1959) was an Australian novelist, dramatist, essayist and critic. Early life Vance Palmer was born in Bundaberg, Queensland, on 28 August 1885 and attended the Ipswich Grammar School. Wi ...

and Stewart Macky. The company was dedicated to the performance of Australian plays and the development of a national theatre. The Pioneer Players produced 18 new Australian plays in their four years of existence. John McCallum, writing in ''

The Weekend Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of bot ...

'' in 1999, write that the Pioneer Players had been called "a mismanaged collection of fly-by-night amateurs, but somehow he has come to be called 'The Father of Australian drama'". Hilda acted in several of their productions. He moved to

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 ...

in 1930.

Personal life

He married first Madeleine Stephanie Tracy in 1906, which ended in divorce in 1911. They had one child, James Paterson Esson (died 1971). He married Hilda Wager Bull (1886–1953) in December 1913, who, as Hilda Esson, became a force in her own right. She had qualified as a medical doctor at the University of Melbourne in 1913, and was a founding member of the Melbourne University Dramatic Society. After marrying, she provided economic, intellectual and emotional support to her husband, and acted in Pioneer Players productions. She later worked as a doctor in the field of public health.

Bibliography

Collections

* ''Belles and Bees: Verses'' – poetry (1910) * ''Three Short Plays'' – drama (1911) * ''Red Gums and Other Verses'' – poetry (1912) * ''Dead Timber and Other Plays'' – drama (1920) * '' The Southern Cross and Other Plays'' – drama (1946)

Selected plays

*'' The Drovers'' *''The Woman Tamer'' (1910) *''Dead Timber'' (1911) *'' The Time is Not Yet Ripe'' (1912) *'' The Sacred Place'' (1912) *''The Drovers'' (1922) *''Mother and Son'' (1923) *''The Bride of Gospel Place'' (1926)

Selected poems

* " Brogan's Lane" (1906)

Notes

References

External links

Louis Esson
at Australian Poetry Library * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Esson, Louis 1878 births 1943 deaths Australian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights Australian literary critics Australian male poets Australian journalists Australian male journalists Writers from Edinburgh Journalists from Edinburgh Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia Writers from Melbourne 20th-century Australian poets