Romeo and Juliet (Graphic Shakespeare Audio Edition) About the Author William Shakespeare is the author of the circa 1597 play Romeo and Juliet. Hilary Burningham was a teacher for many years before moving into writing. She is fervently against the dumbing down of literature and manages to keep the spirit of the original text in her Graphic Novels series. She is the author of several graphic novel adaptations of classics, including the Graphic Shakespeare series, the Graphic Dickins series, and the Graphic Novels series, which includes Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge.