19th Century British Novels

Jules Gabriel Verne (1828 – 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright best known for his adventure novels and his profound influence on the literary genre of science fiction.

Laura Eason is the author of twenty plays, original work and adaptation, a musical book writer, and screenwriter. Selected productions of full-length plays include SEX WITH STRANGERS (Second Stage Theatre, NYC; Signature Theatre, DC; Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago; Sydney Theatre Company, AU; published by Overlook Press); THE UNDENIABLE SOUND OF RIGHT NOW (Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre and Women's Project Theater, NYC; Rising Phoenix Rep, NYC); THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER (Hartford Stage, CT; New Victory Theater, NYC; People's Light & Theatre Company, PA; Actors Theatre of Louisville, KY; The Kansas City Repertory Theatre; The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; Denver Center; published by DPS), and AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (New Vic and Royal Exchange, UK; Lookingglass Theatre Company; Baltimore Center Stage; published by Broadway Play Publishing). Produced short plays include: MR. SMITTEN (Humana Festival), CITI MOMS (Women's Project Theater, NYC), USA-001A (American Theater Company, Chicago), JACK AND THE COLLECTION (WET, NYC), LOST BOY IN THE RUINED CITY (Theatre Seven, Chicago), IT WAS FUN WHILE IT LASTED (City Theatre, Miami), and LOST IN THE SUPERMARKET (Vital Theatre Company, NYC), among others. She wrote the book for the musicals DAYS LIKE TODAY, music and lyrics by Alan Schmuckler (Writers Theatre, Chicago) and SUMMERLAND, music by Jenny Giering, lyrics by Sean Barry (Chicago Shakespeare Theater commission). Additional plays include: THE VAST IN-BETWEEN (Denver Center commission, also developed by Vineyard Theatre, NYC), REMARKABLE INVISIBLE (Ambassador Theatre Group commission), EVERY REASON TO HOPE AND BELIEVE (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis commission), 40 DAYS (NEA grant, developed by New York Theatre Workshop), PLAINFIELD ACE (developed by Two River Theater, NJ and Atlantic Theater Company, NYC) and an adaptation of HANS BRINKER AND THE SILVER SKATES (Arden Theatre Company commission), among others. As a screenwriter, Laura wrote on season two and three of the Emmy-winning Netflix show House of Cards. She is an Ensemble Member and former Artistic Director of Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre (2011 Regional Tony Award). In New York, she is a member of Rising Phoenix Rep, New Georges, and a Women's Project Playwright's Lab alumna.

Abraham "Bram" Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. In his early years, Stoker worked as a theatre critic for an Irish newspaper and wrote stories as well as commentaries. He also enjoyed travelling, particularly to Cruden Bay where he set two of his novels. During another visit to the English coastal town of Whitby, Stoker drew inspiration for writing Dracula. He died on April 20, 1912 due to Locomotor ataxia and was cremated in north London. Since his death, his magnum opus Dracula has become one of the most well known works in English literature, and the novel has been adapted for numerous films, short stories and plays.

Neil LaBute received his Master of Fine Arts degree in dramatic writing from New York University and was the recipient of a literary fellowship to study at the Royal Court Theatre, London. He also attended the Sundance Institute's Playwrights Lab and is the Playwright-in-Residence with MCC Theatre in New York City. LaBute's plays include: BASH: LATTER-DAY PLAYS, THE SHAPE OF THINGS, THE MERCY SEAT, THE DISTANCE FROM HERE, AUTOBAHN, FAT PIG (Olivier Award nominated for Best Comedy), SOME GIRL(S), THIS IS HOW IT GOES, WRECKS, FILTHY TALK FOR TROUBLED TIMES, IN A DARK DARK HOUSE, REASONS TO BE PRETTY (Tony Award nominated for Best Play) and THE BREAK OF NOON. In 2011 his play IN A FOREST, DARK AND DEEP premiered in London's West End. LaBute is also the author of Seconds of Pleasure, a collection of short fiction which was published by Grove Atlantic. His films include In the Company of Men (New York Critics' Circle Award for Best First Feature and the Filmmaker Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival), Your Friends and Neighbors, Nurse Betty, Possession, The Shape of Things, a film adaptation of his play of the same title, The Wicker Man, Lakeview Terrace and Death at a Funeral.

Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as Treasure Island, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Kidnapped and A Child's Garden of Verses.

Burt Grinstead is an actor, writer, producer, and director. As an actor, he has appeared on television in numerous network, cable and internet programs, starred in many films, and continues to make appearances on stages around the world. As a director, producer, and writer, Grinstead has teamed up with the talented Anna Stromberg to create Blanket Fort Entertainment, a multi-media production company focused of developing fast-paced, fun, and compelling work. Check out BurtGrinstead.com for more information on Grinstead's acting career. Go to BlanketFortEntertaiment.com and become a part of the stories Grinstead and Stromberg are telling

Anna Stromberg is a writer, actor, director, and producer based in Los Angeles. She lived and worked in NYC for ten years, appearing in many Off-Broadway shows, and originating roles in works by Lyle Kessler and Derek Ahonen. A decade of workshopping plays with the likes of Broadway director Daniel Aukin has given her a unique perspective on the art of shaping a story. As a writer, she imbues each story with the kind of fierce intensity and quick pacing she learned to love as an actor. Her award-winning feature film, THE LOST FOOTAGE OF LEAH SULLIVAN, which she co-wrote with husband Burt Grinstead, is set to hit theaters in 2019. The pair are always writing. His propensity for plot-driven stories, combined with her love of the written word create a dynamic team. She is now working on a young adult fantasy story.

Mary Shelley (1797 – 1851) was a novelist and the wife of poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her most famous novel is Frankenstein. She also wrote the novels Valperga (1823), The Last Man (1826), and the autobiographical Lodore (1835). Her final novel, Mathilde, was published posthumously.

Austin Tichenor is a playwright, lyricist, songwriter, director, and actor. He's the co-author of nine COMPLETE (abridged) stage comedies, which have been produced around the world, published in two countries, and translated into over a dozen languages; the beautifully illustrated (by Jennie Maizels) children's book for all ages Pop-Up Shakespeare; the irreverent reference book Reduced Shakespeare: The Complete Guide for the Attention-Impaired (abridged); the comic memoir How The Bible Changed Our Lives (Mostly For The Better) for all e-book platforms; the half-hour film The Ring Reduced for UK's Channel 4; the half-hour pilot The Week Reduced for TBS; and the six episode Reduced Shakespeare Radio Show for the BBC World Service. He also produces and hosts the weekly Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast, which was named one of Broadway World's Top Ten Podcasts for Theatre Fans. Austin is an alumnus of the BMI Musical Theatre workshop and has written over a dozen plays and musicals for young audiences. His full-length one-act DANCING ON THE CEILING (an adaptation of Kafka's "The Metamorphosis") and adaptation of FRANKENSTEIN are both published by Broadway Play Publishing, and he directed the world premiere of his adaptation of New York Times bestselling author Jasper Fforde's THE EYRE AFFAIR in 2016. As co-managing partner of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, he has performed with them around the world, Off-Broadway, in London's West End, in the PBS version of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (abridged), and at such theaters as the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, American Repertory Theatre, the Folger Shakespeare Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, and Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. On TV, Austin played recurring roles on 24, Alias, Felicity, Ally McBeal, and The Practice, and guest starred as Guys In Ties on The West Wing, The X-Files, ER, The Mentalist, Nip/Tuck, Gilmore Girls, and on many other hours of episodic television. He's also performed his own material many times on NPR and the BBC, performed with both the Oakland Symphony and in Disney Hall with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and acted in the midwest premiere of Lauren Gunderson's THE BOOK OF WILL at Chicago's Northlight Theatre, and in the world premiere of IN THE GARDEN: A DARWINIAN LOVE STORY with Chicago's Tony Award-winning Lookingglass Theatre Company. Austin is a fifth-generation Californian who was born on the 54th anniversary of the San Francisco Earthquake and the 185th anniversary of Paul Revere's Ride, which makes him older than he looks but short for his weight. Austin is a member of the Dramatists Guild, has a BA in History and Theatre from UC Berkeley and an MFA from Boston University, and currently lives in Chicago with his improviser and writer wife Dee Ryan, their two kids, and too many cats.

Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 in north-east Hampshire, England, to the Reverend George Austen and his wife, Cassandra. She had a sister and six brothers. In 1783, along with her sister, she was sent to boarding school. While at school both sisters nearly died of fever, possibly from typhus. Jane left school in 1786. Even as a child she loved writing and wrote a number of short stories. About 1795 she wrote her first novel, Elinor and Marianne. In the years 1796–97 she wrote another novel, First Impressions, later published as Pride and Prejudice. Then in 1798–99 she wrote a novel named Susan. It was published posthumously as Northanger Abbey in 1817. In 1801 Jane moved with her sister and parents to Bath. A tall, slim woman, in 1802 she received a proposal of marriage from a man named Harris Bigg-Wither. At first Jane accepted but changed her mind and never married. In 1807 Jane moved to Southampton. She lived there until 1809. At that time Southampton was a flourishing port town with a population of over 8,000. In 1809 she moved to the little village of Chawton in north Hampshire. In 1811 Sense and Sensibility was published. Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813, Mansfield Park in 1814. Emma followed in 1816. She also wrote Persuasion, but she died before it could be published. It was published posthumously in 1817. Jane died on 18 July 1817 at only 41 years old and was buried in Winchester Cathedral.

Christopher Baker is a playwright, dramaturg, producer, director and teacher. His play CALLIOPE JAM premiered at the Alley Theatre in Houston and his LINCOLN: AN AMERICAN VAUDEVILLE was workshopped at Center Stage in Baltimore. As a dramaturg, Baker has worked on productions Off-Broadway and at theatres across the country, including the Alley Theater, American Repertory Theater, Hartford Stage, PlayMakers Repertory Company and the Shakespeare Theatre. For fourteen years he was a member of the artistic staff at Hartford Stage, serving in various capacities, including Associate Artistic Director, Associate Producer and Senior Dramaturg. He is the author of Shakespeare in an Hour and Molière in an Hour and is a contributor to The Production Notebooks, African American Connecticut Explored and The Lively ART. Baker teaches at the University of Massachusetts and is a member of the Dramatists Guild and Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of America.