Frederick Lonsdale

Frederick Lonsdale was an English playwright and librettist. He was born in St. Helier, Jersey, and produced his first work, the musical King of Cadonia in 1908. His substantive dialogue earned the musical wide acclaim, and he followed it up with equally successful musicals The Balkan Princess and Betty. His 1917 musical The Maid of the Mountains was a massive hit.

He began writing plays in 1923, with comedies Aren’t We All?, Spring Cleaning, and On Approval. In addition to his original screenplays, several of his plays have served as the basis for films, including Spring Cleaning, The Fake, and On Approval. Lonsdale’s final play, The Way Things Go, was published in 1949. He died of a heart attack in 1954.