“History is the study of choices so we can make better ones.” ~Jennifer Emerson.
From Connecticut to Maine, from Baltimore to London, Jennifer has honed her craft on both sides of the Atlantic. A living history playwright, First-Person Interpreter, performer, and speaker over the past twenty-two years, she has created an army of characters. Her work has been seen at such Connecticut venues as Mystic Seaport, Shaw Mansion, Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park, Smith-Harris House, Noank Historical Society, Nathan Lester House, Samuel Smith Farmstead and Jabez Smith House (where she also served as Curator), Charles Dickens’s first childhood home in Cleveland Street (London), The House of the Seven Gables (Salem MA), Lafayette-Durfee House (Fall River, MA), the 1697 Duston-Dustin Garrison House (Haverhill, MA), and The Penn Club of New York.
Jennifer’s love of literature, history and acting began at the age of seven when her mother placed a copy of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol in her hands. The summer of 2013 marked her fifth research trip to London, during which time she performed at the plaque unveiling of Charles Dickens’s first childhood home in that city. She was also welcomed as a Volunteer Interpreter at The Charles Dickens House Museum. Jennifer holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Fairfield University. Her first novel, Dickens and the Whore, a work of historical fiction concerning Charles Dickens’s involvement in prostitution reform, debuted in February 2014. She had a short story featured in the anthology, Sherlock Holmes: Tales From the Stranger's Room (Compiled by David Ruffle, 2011) and has contributed past articles to The Baker Street Blog. Also in 2014, she was featured along with fellow Fairfield University MFA authors in Now What? The Creative Writer's Guide to Success After the MFA (Editor-in-Chief: Ashley C. Anderson Zantop, Fairfield University Press, 2014).
In 2014 she also starred in Firesite Films’ award-winning documentary, The Prize of the Chesapeake as Mrs. Captain Henry Dashiell. With no lines, she had to cry on queue (during many hours of shooting!); her character’s sorrow revealed solely by body language.
For Jennifer, history is a family affair. Directly descended from the Emerson’s of Haverhill, Massachusetts, her roots run deep in the tragedy and violence of early New England - including the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria of 1692. Jennifer is a cousin by marriage of Martha Carrier. In 1693, Elizabeth Emerson, one of Jennifer's 8th great aunts, was hanged on Boston Common, convicted of double infanticide, and proclaimed a whore. Though not officially accused, some believed her to also be a witch. In 1697, Elizabeth's eldest sister, Hannah Emerson Dustin, murdered ten Indigenous people (including women and children), escaped captivity, and returned home to her family. Through meticulous research and calling upon every moment of her training, Jennifer has brought Hannah back to the public eye in a way never before done.
Jennifer is a past member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and also a passionate reenactor. Her fourth great grandfather, Richard Hines, is believed to have been at Valley Forge. From 2017-2019, she worked alongside His Majesty’s 54th Regiment of Foot each August as Naomi Wade (a composite character cook and assistant to the Surgeon) for Redcoats & Rebels at Old Sturbridge Village (Sturbridge, Massachusetts) portraying military camp life during the American War for Independence from the perspective of a woman from London. Naomi appears annually as the hearth cook for 18th Century Twelfth Night Celebrations at the Lafayette-Durfee House.
In 2019, Jennifer made her Salem debut with Intramersive Media, LLC as Irish Famine refugee Mrs. Kelly in Daemonolgie: Smoke & Mirrors (sponsored by the Peabody-Essex Museum). A member of their creative team, she co-wrote the script and voiced a character for their groundbreaking satellite-controlled walking tour, Hawthorne’s Shadow, produced for The House of the Seven Gables. She served as Intramersive's Special Projects Coordinator from 2021-2022. 2021 saw her appearing virtually alongside Gerald Dickens (great-great grandson of Charles Dickens) on behalf of The Charles Dickens Museum, London, in an adaptation of Kate Douglas Wiggins’s recollection, A Child’s Journey with Dickens. In September of 2022, they were finally able to present this special piece for the first time on stage together at Old Sturbridge Village.
Whatever the venue, Jennifer enjoys the challenge and excitement of bringing the past to life for a modern audience in fun, fresh and believable ways. She lives and works in Salem, Massachusetts.
From Connecticut to Maine, from Baltimore to London, Jennifer has honed her craft on both sides of the Atlantic. A living history playwright, First-Person Interpreter, performer, and speaker over the past twenty-two years, she has created an army of characters. Her work has been seen at such Connecticut venues as Mystic Seaport, Shaw Mansion, Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park, Smith-Harris House, Noank Historical Society, Nathan Lester House, Samuel Smith Farmstead and Jabez Smith House (where she also served as Curator), Charles Dickens’s first childhood home in Cleveland Street (London), The House of the Seven Gables (Salem MA), Lafayette-Durfee House (Fall River, MA), the 1697 Duston-Dustin Garrison House (Haverhill, MA), and The Penn Club of New York.
Jennifer’s love of literature, history and acting began at the age of seven when her mother placed a copy of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol in her hands. The summer of 2013 marked her fifth research trip to London, during which time she performed at the plaque unveiling of Charles Dickens’s first childhood home in that city. She was also welcomed as a Volunteer Interpreter at The Charles Dickens House Museum. Jennifer holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Fairfield University. Her first novel, Dickens and the Whore, a work of historical fiction concerning Charles Dickens’s involvement in prostitution reform, debuted in February 2014. She had a short story featured in the anthology, Sherlock Holmes: Tales From the Stranger's Room (Compiled by David Ruffle, 2011) and has contributed past articles to The Baker Street Blog. Also in 2014, she was featured along with fellow Fairfield University MFA authors in Now What? The Creative Writer's Guide to Success After the MFA (Editor-in-Chief: Ashley C. Anderson Zantop, Fairfield University Press, 2014).
In 2014 she also starred in Firesite Films’ award-winning documentary, The Prize of the Chesapeake as Mrs. Captain Henry Dashiell. With no lines, she had to cry on queue (during many hours of shooting!); her character’s sorrow revealed solely by body language.
For Jennifer, history is a family affair. Directly descended from the Emerson’s of Haverhill, Massachusetts, her roots run deep in the tragedy and violence of early New England - including the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria of 1692. Jennifer is a cousin by marriage of Martha Carrier. In 1693, Elizabeth Emerson, one of Jennifer's 8th great aunts, was hanged on Boston Common, convicted of double infanticide, and proclaimed a whore. Though not officially accused, some believed her to also be a witch. In 1697, Elizabeth's eldest sister, Hannah Emerson Dustin, murdered ten Indigenous people (including women and children), escaped captivity, and returned home to her family. Through meticulous research and calling upon every moment of her training, Jennifer has brought Hannah back to the public eye in a way never before done.
Jennifer is a past member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and also a passionate reenactor. Her fourth great grandfather, Richard Hines, is believed to have been at Valley Forge. From 2017-2019, she worked alongside His Majesty’s 54th Regiment of Foot each August as Naomi Wade (a composite character cook and assistant to the Surgeon) for Redcoats & Rebels at Old Sturbridge Village (Sturbridge, Massachusetts) portraying military camp life during the American War for Independence from the perspective of a woman from London. Naomi appears annually as the hearth cook for 18th Century Twelfth Night Celebrations at the Lafayette-Durfee House.
In 2019, Jennifer made her Salem debut with Intramersive Media, LLC as Irish Famine refugee Mrs. Kelly in Daemonolgie: Smoke & Mirrors (sponsored by the Peabody-Essex Museum). A member of their creative team, she co-wrote the script and voiced a character for their groundbreaking satellite-controlled walking tour, Hawthorne’s Shadow, produced for The House of the Seven Gables. She served as Intramersive's Special Projects Coordinator from 2021-2022. 2021 saw her appearing virtually alongside Gerald Dickens (great-great grandson of Charles Dickens) on behalf of The Charles Dickens Museum, London, in an adaptation of Kate Douglas Wiggins’s recollection, A Child’s Journey with Dickens. In September of 2022, they were finally able to present this special piece for the first time on stage together at Old Sturbridge Village.
Whatever the venue, Jennifer enjoys the challenge and excitement of bringing the past to life for a modern audience in fun, fresh and believable ways. She lives and works in Salem, Massachusetts.
