H. B. Irving

Henry Brodribb Irving (1870–1919) was an English actor, author, and lawyer. Born in London, he studied law at Oxford, but rather than pursue a life in court, he took to the stage. For most of his life, he traveled England and Australia, playing a range of roles from Hamlet to Mr. Hyde. After World War I, he retired from the theater and returned to the practice of law. It was during this time that Irving wrote the work for which he is best remembered: A Book of Remarkable Criminals (1918).