Edward Stirling (playwright)
Edward Stirling (April 1809 – c. September 1894) was an English stage manager, actor and dramatist. He published around 200 works for the stage, many being adaptations of works by popular authors, notably Charles Dickens, Walter Scott and Harrison Ainsworth, often within days of the novel's publication. He married Mary Anne Stirling (1815–1895), an actress who went on to a long and illustrious career as Mrs Stirling. History Stirling was born Edward Stirling Lambert in Thame, Oxfordshire, and started working life as a banker's clerk. Around age 20 he began his stage career first as an actor in the provinces, then as actor/stage manager at the Adelphi, London for Frederick Henry Yates, later took on production at other theatres, finally at Drury Lane. Writing His first successful work for the stage was Sadak and Kalasrade, a spectacular drama. Apart from his original plays he "adapted" the latest novels of Dickens and other authors for the stage. His adaptation of The Cricket on the Hearth played at the Adelphi for over 90 performances. Among his numerous titles were: The Thirst for Gold, or the Sea of Ice T. W. Robertson produced another version. The Ragpicker of Paris and the Dressmaker of