Ernest Temple Thurston (1879-1933) was a British poet, playwright, and novelist. Born in Suffolk, Temple Thurston was raised in England until his mother's death in 1895, at which point he went to live with his paternal grandmother in Cork, Ireland. At sixteen, he published two poetry collections, launching his career as a prolific writer. While living with his wife Katherine Cecil Madden, Temple Thurston struggled to make ends meet and worked on the side as a merchant, brewer, and research chemist. In 1909, following their separation, he published The City of Beautiful Nonsense (1909), a bestselling novel that established his reputation as a leading writer of popular fiction. By the time of his death, Temple Thurston's literary output consisted of forty books, many of which had been adapted for cinema or staged on Broadway.