James Stetson Metcalfe (June 27, 1858 – May 26, 1927) was an American drama critic who wrote for Life Magazine and The Wall Street Journal.

[1] His paternal great-grandfather was killed in the Tory army at the Battle of Bunker Hill and his grandfather, Thomas Metcalfe, was "taken by his mother to Virginia, where later he freed his Virginia-born slaves and trekked to Central New York".

[2] In 1883 and 1884, Metcalfe was the editor and publisher of The Modern Age and from 1885 to 1886, he was an editorial writer for The Buffalo Express.

He served as the magazine's drama critic for thirty-one years until 1920, writing reviews of plays.

[2] Metcalfe also authored several books including Mythology for Moderns (1900), The American Slave (1900), Another Three Weeks (1908), The Diary of a District Messenger (1909) and Jane Street (1921).

His widow, who inherited his estate and was a founder of the Bedford Hills Community House,[11][12] died at their home in 1952.