Arthur Reed Ropes (1859 - 1933), better known by his pen name of Adrian Ross, pictured at home at Addison Mansions in London. A scholar at Cambridge, Ropes was a musical comedy lyricist who also wrote and lectured on history, edited French and German classics and was a fine chess player. Also a contributor to Punch, The Sphere and The Tatler. His first comic opera, Faddimir, was produced in 1889 and he also collaborated on several other hugely popular musicals including Lilac Time and The Merry Widow. He used the pseudonym Adrian Ross due to concern that his career as a musical comedy lyricist would compromise his academic reputation.