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 Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...

'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 Volume (bibliography), volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans ...

''. Aiken was a writer of

dime novel The dime novel is a form of late 19th-century and early 20th-century American 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 form ...

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' 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 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 Harry Ransom Center, 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