Louis Stone was born in Leicester, England, in 1871. In 1884 he migrated with his family to Brisbane before moving to Redfern in Sydney the following year. Stone trained as a teacher in 1888 and studied Arts at the University of Sydney for two years from 1893 without graduating. After rural postings at Cootamundra and South Wagga, Stone returned to Sydney in 1904 to teach at several schools until 1931. In 1908 he married Abigail Allen and began work on the novel, Jonah, his best-known work. Jonah received little comment when it was published in London in 1911, but its growing reputation for vivid descriptions of urban Australia, authentic dialogue and the depiction of larrikinism saw it re-published in Sydney in 1933. It was also published in the U.S.A at this time with the title Larrikin. In 1915 Stone published in London another novel, Betty Wayside, before concentrating on drama. After an unsuccessful trip to London with his plays, Stone's The Lap of the Gods won second place in a competition run by the Daily Telegraph in 1922. It was produced unsuccessfully in 1928 by Gregan McMahon. Stone retired from teaching in 1931 after repeated bouts of illness in the 1920s. He died in 1935.
In 1982 the Australian Broadcasting Corporation produced a television series based on Jonah and a musical, Jonah Jones, was performed by the Sydney Theatre Company in 1985.
