This is the story of an actor-manager. He was born in Wivenhoe and was apprenticed to his father's boat-building firm there, but decided to go into the theatre and after a fourteen-year training at the Lyceum, under Irving, founded his own company and scored a success with 'The Only Way', his own adaptation of Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities'. The Martin-Harvey Company ran for forty years. It toured extensively, including eight trips to Canada and produced thirty-one full-length plays. Martin-Harvey was gifted with great energy and enthusiasm and was recognised as a great man in his time. These achievements are now remembered by only a few. This book is an attempt to remedy this. Appendices give complete lists of his plays, tours, and important dates in his life.