# George Darrell

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**George Frederick Price Darrell** (1851–1921) was an Australian playwright best known for *[The Sunny South](/source/The_Sunny_South_(play))* (1883), which was made into a film *[The Sunny South or The Whirlwind of Fate](/source/The_Sunny_South_or_The_Whirlwind_of_Fate)*.[1]

Darrell began his professional career with [Simonsen's Opera Company](/source/Simonsen's_Opera_Company) in [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand); but, on migrating to [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne), took to the regular dramatic profession, earning some distinction as a juvenile supporter of the once idolised [Walter Montgomery](/source/Walter_Montgomery_(actor)).[2] He married Mrs. Robert Heir (*née* [Fanny Cathcart](/source/Fanny_Cathcart)), the admirable tragédienne, and subsequently visited professionally America and England, where, at the [Grand Theatre, Islington](/source/Grand_Theatre,_Islington), he produced his play *The Sunny South*.[2]

His last play, *The Land of Gold* was staged by [Charles Holloway](/source/Charles_Holloway_(stage)) at the [Criterion Theatre, Sydney](/source/Criterion_Theatre,_Sydney) in 1907.[3]

In 1878 he formed the "Australian Dramatic Company",[4] which name was subsequently used by [Alfred Dampier](/source/Alfred_Dampier), but the connection between the two, if any, has not been found.

Darrell's body was washed ashore at [Dee Why](/source/Dee_Why) on 29 January 1921. He had died by drowning, found to be suicide as evidenced by the note he left for his landlady, Mrs Barnet.[5]

As a playwright his name has been confused with that of [Charles Darrell](/source/Charles_Darrell), author of *When London Sleeps*,[6] *The Power and the Glory*[7] and *Defender of the Faith*.[8]

## Select writings

- *Man and Wife* (1871)
- *Matrimonial Manoeuvres* (1872)
- *Dark Deeds* (1873)
- *Friends of the Flag ; Or, The Struggle for Freedom* (1874)
- *Her Face, Her Fortune* (1874)
- *The Trump Card* (1874)
- *The Four Fetes* (1875)
- *Transported for Life* (1876)
- *Back from the Grave* (1878)
- *The Forlorn Hope ; or, A Tale of Tomorrow* (1879)
- *Solange* (1882)
- *The Naked Truth* (1883)
- *[The Sunny South](/source/The_Sunny_South_(play))* (1883)
- *The Squatter* (1885)[9]
- *The Soggarth* (1886)
- *The New Rush* (1886)
- *Hue and Cry* (1888)
- *The Mystery of a Hansom Cab* aka *Midnight Melbourne* (1888) – stage version of the [Fergus Hume](/source/Fergus_Hume) novel *[The Mystery of a Hansom Cab](/source/The_Mystery_of_a_Hansom_Cab_(novel))*
- *The Queen of Bohemia* (1888)
- *The Pakeha* (1890)
- *Mr Potter of Texas* (1890)
- *The Lucky Lot* (1890)
- *The Double Event* (1893)
- *The Crimson Thread* (1894)
- *Convict Once* (1896)
- *The Land of Dawning* (1896)
- *The Queen of Coolgardie* (1897)
- *The Sorrows of Satan* (1897)
- *The Light That Failed* (1899)
- *The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont* (1899)
- *The Punter* (1902)
- *Sappho* (1902)
- *Justice or Murder* (1902)
- *Paris and Pleasure* (1904)
- *The Battle and the Breeze* (1905)
- *The Belle of the Bush* (1916) – novel

## References

1. ['Darrell, George Frederick Price (1851–1921)'](https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/darrell-george-frederick-price-3369) Van Der Poorten, Helen M.; Australian Dictionary of Biography; National Centre of Biography; Australian National University; accessed 6 December 2013.

1. ["Criterion — "Land of Gold""](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126256107). *[The Sunday Times (Sydney)](/source/The_Sunday_Times_(Sydney))*. No. 1140. 24 November 1907. p. 2. Retrieved 25 July 2021. – via National Library of Australia.

1. ["Important Victorian News."](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107943941). *[The Evening News (Sydney)](/source/The_Evening_News_(Sydney))*. No. 3443. 29 July 1878. p. 3. Retrieved 11 June 2021. – via National Library of Australia.

1. ["George Darrell's Death"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article121168996). *[Referee](/source/The_Referee_(newspaper))*. No. 1770. 9 February 1921. p. 15. Retrieved 25 July 2021. – via National Library of Australia.

1. ["The Stage"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21267472). *[The Queenslander](/source/The_Queenslander)*. Vol. LXI, no. 1352. 19 October 1901. p. 771 (Unknown). Retrieved 25 July 2021. – via National Library of Australia.

1. ["Evening Entertainments"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19058114). *[The Brisbane Courier](/source/The_Brisbane_Courier)*. Vol. LVI, no. 13,138. 20 February 1900. p. 6. Retrieved 25 July 2021. – via National Library of Australia.

1. ["Music and Drama."](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article183920288). *[The Week](/source/The_Week_(Brisbane))*. Vol. XLIX, no. 1,256. 19 January 1900. p. 31. Retrieved 25 July 2021. – via National Library of Australia.

1. ["Mr George Darrell"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article208404402). *[The Lorgnette](/source/The_Lorgnette)*. Vol. XXXVII. 23 June 1885. p. 2. Retrieved 13 August 2021. – via National Library of Australia.

## External links

- [George Darrell](http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/search/page?query=George+Darrell&facetSampleSize=500&facetValuesSize=10&count=50) at AusLit
- [George Darrell](http://library.sl.nsw.gov.au/search/X?George%20Darrell&searchscope=2) at State Library of New South Wales

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [George Darrell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Darrell) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Darrell?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.