Arthur Cheney Train

Arthur Cheney Train (September 6, 1875 – December 22, 1945), also called Arthur Chesney Train, was an American lawyer and writer of legal thrillers, particularly known for his novels of courtroom intrigue and the creation of the fictional lawyer Mr. Ephraim Tutt.

Early life

Train was born in Boston, Massachusetts on September 6, 1875. His father was lawyer Charles Russell Train, who served for many years as attorney general of Massachusetts, and his mother was Sara Maria Cheney. His much older half-brother was Rear Admiral Charles Jackson Train.

After attending St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, Train graduated with a BA from Harvard University in 1896 and LLB from Harvard Law School in 1899.

Career

In January 1901, Train became assistant in the office of the New York County District Attorney. In 1904 he started his literary career with the publication of the short story "The Maximilian Diamond" in Leslie's Monthly. He ran the two careers in parallel until 1908 when he left the District Attorney's office to open a general law practice in the Mutual Life Building at 34 Nassau Street in New York City. His 1907 novel, Mortmain, was one of the earliest works in the alien hand syndrome genre and was adapted into a 1915 film of the same name that is now lost. Several other works by Train were filmed, including Illusion (1929), His Children's Children (1923), and The Blind Goddess (1926).

In 1912, Train, who as a former assistant to New York County District Attorney William Travers Jerome had dealt with Italian criminals who emigrated to the United States and the Black Hand, attended the Cuocolo Trial in Italy against the Camorra, studying that Mafia-type organisation and the functioning of Italian justice.