William B. Jones, Jr.

WILLIAM B. JONES JR. is the author of CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED: A CULTURAL HISTORY (McFarland, 2002), the editor of ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON RECONSIDERED (McFarland, 2003), and co-editor of A SPECTRUM READER (August House, 1991). An expanded second edition of the CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED book is scheduled for publication by McFarland in 2011 or 2012. Since 2003, he has written introductions and author biographies for the revived CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED, CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED SPECIAL ISSUE, and CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED JUNIOR series published in Toronto by Jack Lake Productions.

Jones has also scripted readers' theatre performance pieces and radio plays, including an authorized NEA "BIG READ" adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's THE GREAT GATSBY. He has spoken at international academic conferences on Robert Louis Stevenson and Jules Verne and has been published in such venues as the JOURNAL OF STEVENSON STUDIES and THE PUBLIC HISTORIAN. An attorney and teacher of literature, drama, and film, Jones lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, has two sons, Will and Stephen, and is married to professional costume designer Yslan Hicks.