St John Hankin

Jean Chothia (University of Cambridge)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Birmingham Newman University), Nicole Kennedy (University of Newcastle), Louise McDonald (Birmingham Newman University), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow), Sean Seeger (University of Essex)

Dates

Born 25 Sep 1869
Died 15 Jun 1909
Activity 1895-1909

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Playwright / Dramatist

Other

Journalist

Resources

St John Hankin, one of the most interesting writers of the Edwardian New Drama, was born in Southampton in 1869 and educated at Malvern School and Oxford. He married Florence Routledge and went to India as a journalist but, having contracted malaria, he returned to London in 1895. He became drama critic for The Times and also wrote for Punch, where he made his mark with a series of comic sequels of famous plays, including Robertson's Caste and Ibsen's A Doll's House. These were published in book form as Mr Punch's Dramatic Sequels (1901) and Lost Masterpieces (1904). His theatrical interests and his admiration of the work of Bernard Shaw took him onto the council of the Stage Society, and to his first play, The Two Mr Wetherbys, which was produced by the Society in...

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697 words

Citation: Chothia, Jean. "St John Hankin". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 January 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1970, accessed 07 December 2025.]