Sophia Reeve published a number of novels, largely of the "Gothic" type, in the first two decades of the 19th century.

William Rees was born in 1800 in Bristol and was apprenticed to Sir Astley Cooper, a prominent surgeon and anatomist at St. Thomas and Guy's Hospital in London, where he studied medicine. In 1819, he immigrated to Lower Canada and became an immigration health officer at the port of Quebec. In 1822, he was commissioned to take medical charge of transport to England.

After moving to York, Upper Canada, he received his medical license in January 1830 after passing the Medical Board of Upper Canada (MBUC) licensing examinations. He purchased the practice of Dr. John Porter Daly, which he operated until 1840. In 1840, he became superintendent of the Toronto Temporary Lunatic Asylum. In 1845, he was injured by a patient and subsequently dismissed from the asylum. This led to Rees falling into debt and being unable to work. He eventually passed away in the Toronto General Hospital in 1874.

John Ernest (Johann Ernst) Juncken Rees was born on 15 August 1758 in Philadelphia to John Jacob Rees and Christina Dorothea Juncken. He moved to Quebec City in approximately 1787 to assist his uncle, Henry Juncken, in his hat-making business. After his uncle's death in 1802, he moved back to Philadelphia with his aunt.