SHELDON, EDWARD

Sheldon, Edward: translation

(1886-1946)

Edward Brewster Sheldon was born in Chicago to a wealthy family. He studied withGeorge Pierce Bakerat Harvard University and with Baker's guidance presented his first Broadway offering, the popularSalvation Nell, in 1908. Prior to the emergence of Eugene O'Neill, Sheldon was one of a few American playwrights demonstrating promise at merging modernist philosophy with contemporary popular drama.Salvation Nellwas followed by the controversial, race-centeredThe Nigger(1909), after whichThe Boss(1911),The High Road(1912), andRomance(1913) seemed, in part, to fulfill his promise. However, other works, includingPrincess Zim-Zim(1911),Egypt(1912), and Sheldon's adaptations ofSong of Songs(1914),The Garden of Paradise(1914),The Jest(1919), andThe Czarina(1922), leaned more toward the expectations of the commercial stage. Struck with illness that rendered him progressively blind and paralyzed, Sheldon thereafter worked with collaborators, including Sidney Howard onBewitched(1924), Charles MacArthur* on the controversialLulu Belle(1926), andMargaret Ayer Barneson the comedyJenny(1929) and the thrillerDishonored Lady* (1930).