William Clyde Fitch, better known as Clyde Fitch, is an important transitional figure in American theatre history whose work serves as a bridge from nineteenth-century melodrama to the more realistic drama of the early twentieth century. In his brief career as a playwright (from 1890 to 1909), Fitch authored thirty-three original plays and twenty-three adaptations. During a period from the late 1890s until his death, he was the most popular and successful writer for the stage in this country, although his popular acceptance far outdistanced his critical reception. In his own time, Fitch was most noted for his social dramas, which featured realistic dialogue and innovative stage effects. He was most comfortable with dramatic situations involving members of high society, and his plays often inculcated a heavily moralistic message.

Fitch was born in Elmira, New York. His father William Goodwin Fitch of Hartford, Connecticut, was an officer in the Union...