Paul Kester

Paul Kester
The Bookman, 1917–1918
Born	(1870-11-02)November 2, 1870 Delaware, Ohio
Died	June 21, 1933(1933-06-21) (aged 62) Lake Mohegan, New York
Occupation	Playwright and Novelist

Paul Kester (November 2, 1870 – June 21, 1933) was an American playwright and novelist. He was the younger brother of journalist Vaughan Kester and a cousin of the literary editor and critic William Dean Howells.

Kester was born in 1870 some thirty miles north of Columbus at Delaware, Ohio, He was the younger of two sons raised by Franklin “Frank” Cooley and Harriet (née Watkins) Kester. His father was traveling salesman, and mother an art teacher who in 1882 helped found the Cleveland School of Art. Kester was educated by home tutors and at private schools where he excelled in the dramatic arts.

His first success came in January, 1892 with Countess Roudine that opened first in Philadelphia at the Chestnut Street Theatre and a week later at the Union Square Theatre in New York City. Countess Roudine was a collaborative effort written with the actress Minnie Maddern Fiske.

In 1896 his adaptation of Edward Bulwer-Lytton's Eugene Aram was produced by Walker Whiteside’s company and in 1902 with George Middleton adapted the George W. Cable Southern romance The Cavalier that was staged at the Criterion Theatre with Julia Marlowe. Actress Annie Russell produced and starred in his 1906 Quaker tale Friend Hannah, written with the help of his brother, Vaughan.

Kester worked on nearly thirty plays over his career. His most successful Broadway effort was probably The Woman of Bronze that ran for 252 performances between September, 1920 and April, 1921 at Manhattan's Frazee Theatre. He also authored a number of books, with His Own Country (1917) most likely the more popular.