Follow this page for links to Laura's published work!

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Laura is honored that her short story "The Lady on the Point" was the 2021 winner of the 'LitMag' Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction. This epistolary historical fiction story takes the reader on a journey to the Idlewild Hotel on Swans Island in Maine in August of 1898, where a young woman named Alice has retreated as she grieves for death of her fiancé in the Spanish-American War.  Will her encounter with a mysterious woman on the rocks help Alice say goodbye to Edward and move forward?

You can read the story by ordering a copy of Issue 04 here: https://litmag.com/issues/current/

This new adaptation of JANE EYRE by Laura Rocklyn and Sally Boyett sweeps the audience away with the mystery and romance of Jane’s compelling journey.  Experience Charlotte Brontë’s iconic novel of self discovery, redemption and love brought to vibrant life onstage!

Orphaned Jane Eyre feels alone and adrift until she finds a safe haven as the governess at Thornfield Hall.  Then, the unexpected arrival of her employer, Mr. Rochester, sets in motion a chain of events that will challenge Jane to stay true to herself, even as she is tempted to give up everything she believes in to gain the love for which she has been searching her entire life.

You can read a review of the premier production at the Classic Theatre of Maryland in 2024 by following this link: https://mdtheatreguide.com/2024/02/theatre-review-jane-eyre-at-classic-theatre-of-maryland/

In 1826 a young Charlotte Brontë and her siblings dreamt up their shared fantasy world of Glass Town. The siblings worked on the stories and characters from this world, and later Angria and Gondal, as they grew up. History has not been kind to the Brontë juvenilia with the surviving writings being split up across the world and the texts published in isolation. One famous example of this is "The Twelve Adventurers and Other Stories" (1926) which presented a heavily edited version of Charlotte's early fiction. Despite this, there is a special place in the hearts of Brontë fans for the juvenilia, twelve toy soldiers, epic power battles, warring siblings, love affairs, and genii.  Laura's Brontë-inspired story "Albion and Marina" was included in this new book that presents twelve new adventures written by Brontë fans which capture the spirit of the juvenilia.

You can order a copy of "The Twelve Adventurers and Other Stories: A New Edition" online by following this link: https://www.amazon.com/Twelve-Adventurers-Other-Stories-New/dp/B0B4J194MK

This story was published in Volume 29 of Stork Magazine in 2020.  This historical fiction short story follows Adelaide Westwood through the winding streets of Boston (and of her memories) on November 2, 1920, the day of the first presidential election after the passage of the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. Over the course of the story, Adelaide struggles to reconcile her traditional upbringing with the rapidly changing world around her.

This story was inspired by an evening Laura spent exploring the "(Anti) Suffrage" Exhibit at The Boston Athenaeum in the autumn of 2019.

You can read the story online by following this link: https://issuu.com/storkstory/docs/stork_mag_2020_final__hopefully_

Ebenezer Scrooge lives in Victorian Baltimore in this spirited version of Charles Dickens’ classic ghost story re-imagined by Chesapeake Shakespeare Company Member and historian Laura Rocklyn. This brand-new adaptation is exhilarating and imaginative featuring beloved carols and characters to make your season bright! A delight for all ages!

You can read a review of the premier production in 2022 by following this link: https://dctheaterarts.org/2022/12/04/a-christmas-carol-is-set-in-baltimore-with-joy-and-heart-at-chesapeake-shakespeare-company/

'New Square,' the official publication of the Sancho Panza Literary Society, published Laura's short story, "The Little Brown Book," in their Fall 2020 issue. It is a coming of age story that details the events surrounding the 16th birthday celebrations of a young woman named Emma. Her encounter that evening with the enigmatic Mrs. Vanderlyden changes her outlook on life forever.

You can read the story online by following this link: https://sanchopanzalit.wixsite.com/newsquare/post/the-little-brown-book

Laura wrote this flash fiction piece in response to a call from "The Brontë Babe Blog" to submit 30 word stories inspired by the life and work of the Brontës.

You can read Laura's story, and all of the other poignant submissions, by following this link: https://brontebabeblog.com/2021/07/10/im-just-going-to-write-because-i-cannot-help-it-a-flash-fiction-tribute-to-the-brontes/

This is an article that was published on The Revere Express in May of 2020. Laura wrote this piece as the culmination of the research she did as an intern at The Paul Revere House Museum in Boston in the spring of 2020. Through close study of the letters and journals of two ordinary women with a talent for vividly describing extraordinary events, Laura's article examines the effects that the British Occupation of Boston had on daily life for families living in the city. It provides the point of view of one Patriot woman, and one Loyalist.

You can read the article here: https://www.paulreverehouse.org/windows-into-daily-life-during-the-british-occupation-of-boston/

This new full-length play by Laura Rocklyn and Ty Hallmark explores the life of Clover Adams, wife of Henry Adams and pioneer female photographer. Upon arriving in Gilded Age Washington, D.C., Clover immerses herself in the political and social scene, but then, the death of her beloved father and possible trouble in her marriage subject her to darker forces that run in her family line.

Natalie Dykstra’s 2012 biography 'Clover Adams: A Gilded and Heartbreaking Life' inspired and guided the playwrights' work.

You can follow this link to a review of the first full production at Ally Theatre Company in 2017: https://dcist.com/story/17/09/25/ally-theatre-brings-an-18th-century/

This article, which was published in Volume 32, Issue 2 of 'Brontë Studies: The Journal of the Brontë Society', is the core of a chapter on Charlotte Brontë’s novel Shirley from a thesis paper in which Laura explored the tension between organized religion and personal faith in Charlotte Brontë’s four major novels, The Professor, Jane Eyre, Shirley and Villette. In this chapter, Laura examines how Shirley combines many of the themes from Charlotte Brontë’s juvenilia and earlier novels, most strikingly the themes of death and resurrection, and the deep connection of Shirley herself to her Mother Earth. Shirley is also distinguished from Charlotte’s other novels by its exploration of Robert Moore’s implied atheism. The antagonism between Dissenters and the Established Church, which is more vividly depicted in Shirley than in any of Charlotte’s other novels and presents an interesting and timely examination of the problematic connection between Church and State, is explored.

You can downlaod and read the article here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/147489307X182853

In this paper, which was published in Volume 37, Issue 4 of "Bronte Studies: The Journal of the Bronte Society", Laura illuminates the importance of three presences in 'The Professor' that could be said to embody the Word of God in the protagonist’s, William Crimsworth’s, life. These are his inscrutable friend Mr Hunsden, who has more the air of a biblical prophet than a Yorkshire manufacturer; William’s Conscience — very specifically Conscience with a capital ‘C’ whose voice has strong biblical echoes; and William’s dreams, with clear messages and images that are saturated with biblical imagery. The importance of this scriptural presence in William’s life cannot be overlooked in a novel that examines so closely the dangers of the power that a confessor can have over his congregation. Through William’s observations, Charlotte Brontë strongly advocates a personal connection to and relationship with God as he is revealed to the individual through the Bible.

You can download and read the artilce here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/1474893212Z.00000000039?journalCode=ybst20

This was a review I wrote for "The Brontë Parsonage Blog" of the Off-Broadway Actors Temple Theatre production of Brontë: A Portrait of Charlotte in the fall of 2012. The playwright was William Luce, and the one-woman show was performed by Maxine Linehan.

You can read the review here: https://bronteparsonage.blogspot.com/2012/09/theatre-review-bronte-portrait-of.html