sh drama; he led
the so-called "American invasion." As a matter of fact, he _was_ the
invasion. No phase of his fascinatingly crowded and adventurous career
reflects so much of the genius of the man, or reveals so many of his
finer qualities, as his costly attempt to corner the British stage.
Here, as in no other work, he showed himself in really Napoleonic
proportions.

Behind Charles's tremendous operations in London were three definite
motives. First of all, he really loved England. He felt that the theater
there had a dignity and a distinction far removed from theatrical
production in America. There was no sneer of "commercialism" about it.
To be identified with the stage in England was something to be proud of.
He often said that he would rather make fifteen pounds in London than
fifteen thousand dollars in America. It summed up his whole attitude
toward the theater in Great Britain.

In the second place, he knew that a strong footing in England was
absolutely necessary to a mastery of the situation in America. Just as
important as any of his other reasons was the conviction in his own mind
that to produce the best English-speaking plays in the United States he
must know English playwrights and English authors on their own ground,
and to produce, if possible, their own works on their home stages.

This latter desire led him to the long and brilliant series of
productions that he made in London, and which amounted to what later
became an almost complete monopoly on British dramatic output for the
United States.

The net result was that he became a sort of Colossus of the
English-speaking theater. Figuratively, he stood astride the mighty sea
in which he was to meet his death, with one foot planted securely in
England and the other in New York.

* * *

Charles's first visits to England were made in the most unostentatious
way, largely to look over the ground and see what he could pick up for
America. His first offices in Henrietta Street were very modest rooms.
Unpretentious as they were, they represented a somewhat historic step,
because Frohman was absolutely the first American manager to set up a
business in England. Augustin Daly had taken over a company, but he
allied himself in no general way with British theatrical interests.

When Frohman first engaged W. Lestocq as his English manager, as has
already been recorded, he made a significant remark:

"You know I am coming into London to produce plays. B