Lyceum Theatre, London
Lewis was born in London in 1828, the son of Elizabeth and David Leopold Lewis, a surgeon, and was educated at the King's College School, and upon graduation became a solicitor, practising as such from 1850 to 1875. In 1868 he married Jane Williams in London, and with her had a son, Thomas E. Lewis. In 1871, he translated Erckmann-Chatrian's "Le Juif Polonais", giving it the name "The Bells", under which name it was produced by Henry Irving at the Lyceum Theatre, London, 25 November 1871 and repeatedly thereafter.