Lewis Saul Benjamin, writing under the pseudonym Lewis Melville, was an English author, biographer, and actor active during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born in London to a Jewish family, he received a private education in both England and Germany. Before fully committing to his literary career, Benjamin worked as an actor from 1896 to 1901, though he continued to pursue writing during this theatrical period.\n\nMelville's literary output was diverse, but he was particularly renowned for his biographical and historical studies. He established himself as an authority on William Makepeace Thackeray, publishing a comprehensive two-volume biography of the author in 1899 and later editing a twenty-volume edition of Thackeray's works. His interest in the theater also influenced his writing, as seen in his 1902 theatrical novel, In the World of Mimes.\n\nThroughout his career, Melville produced numerous biographies of prominent British literary and historical figures, including Laurence Sterne, William Cobbett, and Philip, Duke of Wharton. He also explored regional history and social culture in works like Bath under Beau Nash and The Thackeray Country, and served as an editor for historical trial records later in his life.
