Francis Philips

Education

Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

Career

He wrote over forty novels and over a dozen plays. After education at Sandhurst, Philips became a British army officer, gazetted to the 2nd Queen"s Royals shortly before his nineteenth birthday. He served for three years, mainly in Ireland and at Aldershot.

After resigning his military commission, he became an actor, first in Liverpool and then in London.

In 1880 he began the study of law and was called to the bar in 1884 at the Middle Temple. In 1886 for a paper called Life, Philips wrote a weekly serial entitled Le Journal d"une Mondaine.

After the completion of the serial, he endeavoured to have it published in book form. The novel was then published in two volumes under the title As in a Looking Glass.

The initial printing sold out in the first three weeks.

The novel was then printed in a single volume at a price of six shillings, selling nearly 40,000 copies. lieutenant was then published in various editions and was sold in nearly every country in Europe. Philips continued writing popular novels.

His three other most successful novels were Jack and Three Jills, The Strange Adventures of Lucy Smith, and Mistress

Bouverie. In April 1889 Sarah Bernhardt was a success in the role of "Lena Despard", the main character in a French stage adaptation of the novel As in a Looking Glass. Philips wrote many plays.

He co-authored the play The Free Pardon with Leonard Merrick. He collaborated with Seymour Hicks on the play Papa"s Wife, an adaptation of Philips"s story In the Third Capacity.

Philips was twice a widower.

Connections

Father:

George Washington Philips

Mother:

Charlotte