George Aiken (playwright)
Encyclopedia
George L. Aiken was a nineteenth century American
playwright
and actor
who is best known for writing the most popular of the numerous stage adaptations of Harriet Beecher Stowe
's Uncle Tom's Cabin
.
Aiken was a writer of dime novel
s before he turned to theatre. He became an actor in the troupe of his cousin, George C. Howard
. In 1852, shortly after the publication of Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, Aiken wrote his stage adaptation. It was performed by Howard's company, with Aiken playing the hero, George Harris. The play become a spectacular success. His other works include a dramatization of Ann S. Stephen's novel The Old Homestead. He retired from the stage in 1867.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who is best known for writing the most popular of the numerous stage adaptations of Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
's Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
.
Aiken was a writer of dime novel
Dime novel
Dime novel, though it has a specific meaning, has also become a catch-all term for several different forms of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S...
s before he turned to theatre. He became an actor in the troupe of his cousin, George C. Howard
George C. Howard
George C. Howard was a Nova Scotian-born American actor and showman who is credited with staging the first theatrical production of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.-Early life:...
. In 1852, shortly after the publication of Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, Aiken wrote his stage adaptation. It was performed by Howard's company, with Aiken playing the hero, George Harris. The play become a spectacular success. His other works include a dramatization of Ann S. Stephen's novel The Old Homestead. He retired from the stage in 1867.
External links
- Uncle Tom's Cabin Play Text of Uncle Tom's Cabin