Mr. Barnes of New York

Mr. Barnes of New York is a novel published in 1887 by American author Archibald Clavering Gunter, quite popular in its day, which was also adapted into a play in 1888, and later two silent film versions.

[5] The plot revolves around the European travels and adventures of Burton H. Barnes, including a romance "with an English belle" and "involvement in a Corsican vendetta concerning his future brother-in-law.

[6] The first stage adaptation of the novel was written by Rutland Barrington, perhaps best remembered as creator of lead roles in many of the Gilbert & Sullivan operas, including Pooh-Bah in The Mikado.

Produced and directed by Barrington with Yorke Stephens, who played the title role, the piece also featured Amy McNeill as Marita (sic) Paoli.

People who read the novel fondly fancied that there could be nothing worse than that; but they had not measured the possibilities of the stage.The Times noted that the "audience was suspiciously ecstatic in its enthusiasm."