George Aiken's original manuscript for his stage adaptation of Uncle Tom's Cabin

George L. Aiken (December 19, 1830April 27, 1876) was a 19th-century American playwright and actor best known for writing the most popular of the numerous stage adaptations of

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

's ''

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 two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...

''. Aiken was a writer of

dime novel The dime novel is a form of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S. popular fiction issued in series of inexpensive paperbound editions. The term ''dime novel'' has been used as a catchall term for several different but related forms, r ...

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 became a spectacular success. His other works include a dramatization of

Ann S. Stephens Ann Sophia Stephens (March 10, 1810–August 20, 1886) was an American novelist and magazine editor. She was the author of dime novels and is credited as the progenitor of that genre. Early life Ann Sophia Stephens was born on March 30, 1 ...

' novel ''The Old Homestead''. He retired from the stage in 1867. Aiken's original manuscripts for ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' were passed through the family along with other memorabilia from Howard's company. The family placed the collection at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...

in 1963.

References

*''Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896''. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1963. *

External links

* *
''Uncle Tom's Cabin''
Play Text of ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''
George C. Howard and Family Collection
at the

, University of Texas at Austin 1830 births 1876 deaths American male stage actors 19th-century American male actors 19th-century American dramatists and playwrights Dime novelists {{US-theat-actor-1830s-stub