Arthur Stringer

Arthur John Stringer (February 26, 1874 – September 13, 1950) was a Canadian novelist, screenwriter, and poet who later moved to the United States.

He published 45 works of fiction and 15 other books, in addition to writing filmscripts and articles.

Early life Stringer was born in Chatham, Ontario. His first novel, The Silver Poppy, came out in 1903.

Stringer wrote crime fiction and wilderness adventures, mainly using conventional formulae. He wrote as well in many other genres, from social realism (his "Prairie" trilogy, 1915–1921) to psychological fiction (The Wine of Life (1921).

Much of his writing was for films. Film scripts on which he worked include The Perils Of Pauline (1914), The Hand Of Peril (1916), The House Of Intrigue (1919), Unseeing Eyes (1923), Empty Hands (1924), The Canadian (1926), The Purchase Price (1932), The Lady Fights Back (1937), Buck Benny Rides Again (1940) and The Iron Claw (1941).

Stringer remained a resident of New Jersey until his death in 1950, aged 76. However, his prairie trilogy – Prairie Wife (1915), Prairie Mother (1920), and Prairie Child (1921) – has been called "an enduring contribution to Canadian literature." However, author John Garvin said of his poetry "there is maintained a standard of beauty, depth of feeling, and technical power, which in Canada have had all too little recognition." Garvin also similarly praised Stringer's blank verse drama Sappho in Leucadia.

Legacy

Stringer was awarded an honorary D.Litt. by the University of Western Ontario in 1946.

Stringer is commemorated by Arthur Stringer Public School in London, Ontario, which opened in 1969. The Silver Poppy. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1903. Lonely O'Malley: A Story of Boy Life. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1905. Star in a Mist. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1943. The Devastator. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1944.

Non-fiction A Study of King Lear. New York, 1897. Red Wine of Youth: A Life of Rupert Brooke, 1921.

Poetry Watchers of Twilight, and Other Poems. London, ON: T.H. Warren, 1894. Pauline and Other Poems. London, ON: T.H. Warren, 1895. The Loom of Destiny. Boston: Small, Maynard, 1899. The Woman in the Rain, and Other Poems. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1907. 1949. Irish Poems. New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1911. Out of Erin (Songs in Exile). Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1930. Open Water. London: John Lane Co., 1914. A Woman at Dusk and Other Poems. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1928. The Old Woman Remembers and Other Irish Poems. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1938. New York Nocturnes. Toronto: Ryerson P, 1948.

Plays Hephaestus: Persephone At Enna And Sappho In Leucadia. 1903 The Cleverest Woman In the World and Other One-Act Dramas. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1939.

Filmography The following 22 movies were based on fiction by Arthur Stringer:

1912 The Man Who Made Good (short) (story) 1914 The Case of Cherry Purcelle (short) (story) 1916 The Secret Agent (short) (story) 1916 The Breaker (story) 1916 The Hand of Peril (novel The Hand of Peril: A Novel of Adventure) 1918 From Two to Six (story "The Button Thief") 1919 The House of Intrigue (novel) 1920 Are All Men Alike? (story "The Waffle Iron") 1923 Unseeing Eyes (story "Snowblind") 1924 Manhandled (story) 1924 The Story Without a Name (novel) 1924 Empty Hands (story) 1925 The Prairie Wife (story) 1925 Womanhandled (story) 1926 The Canadian (story and scenario) 1926 The Wilderness Woman (scenario / story) 1926 Out of the Storm (story "The Travis Coup") 1928 Half a Bride (story "White Hands") 1932 The Purchase Price (story "The Mud Lark") 1937 The Lady Fights Back (novel "Heather of the High Hand") 1940 Buck Benny Rides Again (story) 1941 The Iron Claw (story)