Courts and Criminals

Arthur Cheney Train (1875-1945) was an American lawyer and legal thriller writer, particularly known for his novels of courtroom intrigue and the creation of the fictional lawyer Mr. Ephraim Tutt. In January 1901, Train became assistant in the office of the New York District Attorney and in 1904 he started his literary career with the publication of the short story The Maximilian Diamond in Leslie's Monthly. He spent the next decade running the two careers in parallel. From 1915 to 1922, Train was in private practice as a lawyer with Charles Albert Perkins while continuing to write, not just novels but advertising copy, vaudeville sketch comedy, poetry and journalism. In 1919, he created the popular character of Mr. Ephraim Tutt, a wiley old lawyer who supported the common man and always had a trick up his sleeve to right the law's injustices. He also coauthored the science fiction novel The Man Who Rocked the Earth (1915) with eminent physicist Robert W. Wood. After 1922, Train devoted himself to writing. His works include: The "Goldfish"(1914), Tutt and Mr. Tutt (1919) and By Advice of Counsel (1921).