The Benefit of the Doubt : A Comedy in Three Acts

Pinero (1855-1934) was an English actor and later an important dramtist and stage director. He was knighted in 1909 at the insistence of George Bernard Shaw, becoming only the second man to be knighted for services to drama alone after W S Gilbert. He began writing plays in the late 1870s while a member of Henry Irving's Lyceum Theatre company and went on to become a prolific playwright, authoring 59 plays which included serious social dramas, some portraying society's hypocritical attitude towards women in second marriages, and numerous comedies. He is recognised as one of the few dramatists of his day to write strong parts for female characters. This three-act comedy was first performed at the Comedy Theatre, London on 16 October 1895.