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 remembered today as the librettist of several comic operas, notably Haddon Hall.

Life and career Grundy was born in Manchester, England, the son of Alderman Charles Sydney Grundy. He was educated at Owens College, Manchester, and studied law at the Middle Temple. He was called to the bar in 1869 and practised law until 1876.

Early career His early one-act farce, A Little Change, was produced at the Haymarket Theatre in 1872 by the Kendals. This was followed by All at Sea in 1873, also starring the Kendals. In 1876, Grundy published The Days of His Vanity. He wrote Mammon for W. H. Vernon at the Strand Theatre in 1877 and After Long Years for the Folly Theatre in 1879. and the blank verse Clito for Wilson Barrett (1886).

Grundy became well known as an adapter of French and German plays, cleaning them up for British audiences and revisiting the source material to craft his final product. As the protagonist in his 1900 play, A Debt of Honour, explains: "It all takes place in Paris: nobody pretends that such things happen here." Among his earlier successes at adapting European works were The Snowball at the Strand Theatre (1879), based on Oscar, ou le mari qui trompe sa femme by Eugène Scribe and Duvergne; In Honour Bound (1880), based on Scribe's Une Chaine; Dust at the Royalty Theatre (1881); The Glass of Fashion (1883); and A Wife's Sacrifice (1886). He also created a farce in three acts, The Arabian Nights (1887), an adaptation of von Moser's Haroun al Raschid; Pompadour, written with W. G. Wilts; and Mamma (1888), an adaptation of Les surprises du Divorce. These Solomon and Grundy comic operas toured extensively in both Britain and the US. His Haddon Hall (1892), with Sir Arthur Sullivan, dramatised the legend of Dorothy Vernon's elopement from Haddon Hall with John Manners. The Slaves of the Ring (1894); and The Greatest of These at the Garrick with the Kendals (1895). Several of Grundy's plays were made into films, including A Bunch of Violets and A Pair of Spectacles, both in 1916; and Sowing the Wind in 1921. Many of Grundy's plays also had runs in Australia.

Grundy died in London at the age of 66. His daughter, Lily, married the publisher and philanthropist Sir Bruce Ingram.