Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934) was an English actor and later an important dramatist and stage director. Pinero began writing plays in the late 1870s while at the Lyceum, including Daisy's Escape in 1879 and Bygones in 1880. He became a prolific and successful playwright, authoring fifty-nine plays. He is best known for his comedies, of which the most notable are: The Magistrate (1885), The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith (1895) and Trelawny of the 'Wells' (1898). Several of his plays have been made into films.