Thomas Peckett (or Preskett) Prest (probable dates 1810–1859) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

hack writer ''Hack writer'' is a pejorative term for a writer who is paid to write low-quality, rushed articles or books "to order", often with a short deadline. In fiction writing, a hack writer is paid to quickly write sensational, "pulp" fiction such as " ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

, and

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wr ...

. He was a prolific producer of

penny dreadful Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular serial literature produced during the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typically referred to ...

s and was known as a skilled author in the horror genre. He is now remembered as the co-creator (with James Malcolm Rymer) of the fictional

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet Stre ...

, the 'demon barber' immortalized in his ''

The String of Pearls ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', as well as the co-author with Rymer of ''

Varney the Vampire ''Varney the Vampire; or, the Feast of Blood'' is a Victorian-era serialized gothic horror story variously attributed to James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett Prest. It first appeared in 1845–1847 as a series of weekly cheap pamphlets of the ...

''. He wrote under

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

s including Bos, a takeoff of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

' own pen name, Boz. He also was noted to have a style similar to Dickens. Before joining

Edward Lloyd Edward Lloyd may refer to: Politicians *Edward Lloyd (MP for Montgomery), Welsh lawyer and politician * Edward Lloyd (16th-century MP) (died 1547) for Buckingham *Edward Lloyd, 1st Baron Mostyn (1768–1854), British politician *Edward Lloyd (Colon ...

's publishing factory, Prest had made a name for himself as a talented musician.

Style

Prest was noted to follow a similar style to Dickens, often outright imitating his work like he did with ''Oliver Twiss.'' His work was also noticed to not have as strong a narrative or continuity throughout its story, little description and lots of action in order to ensure people would keep returning week after week and not grow bored. He also was noted to avoid the social commentary that Dickens often had as an important element of his work. It is possible he also borrowed idea from French folklore as the character

has been noted to bear similarities with a popular French folktale at the time of it being published.

Authorship question

Unfortunately Lloyd's business practices did not allow authors to put their name on their published work, due to this there is disagreement over the authorship of many works published by his company. In particular the authors of ''Varney the Vampire'' and ''The String of Pearls'' are much debated. E.F. Bleiler has argued that Rymer is most likely the author of Varney, due to the differences in how he wrote dialogue compared to Prest, as did Louis James, the latter citing a piece of the manuscript in Rymer's handwriting. The String of Pearls is usually attributed to either Prest or James Malcolm Rymer, however other contenders such as George Mcfarren or

have been suggested. The first claim of Prest being the author came in 1894 followed by a 1901 response claiming that Rymer was the true author. Although historically attributed to Prest recently arguments have been made that Rymer should be considered the true author of ''The String of Pearls''. It is commonly noted that these works were cooperatively written and so they usually are both considered co-authors of the piece.

Bibliography

*''The Miller and His Men; or, The Bohemian Banditti'' (1831) *''The Penny Pickwick'' (1839) (lampoon of ''

The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was Charles Dickens's first novel. Because of his success with '' Sketches by Boz'' published in 1836, Dickens was asked by the publisher Chapman & Hall to ...

'') *'' Gallant Tom: or, the Perils of a Sailor '' (1841) *''The Life and Adventures of Oliver Twiss, the Workhouse Boy'' (1841) (lampoon of ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with ...

'') *''David Copperful'' (a lampoon of ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

'') *''Nickelas Nicklebery'' (a lampoon of ''

Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...

'') *''Ela, the Outcast; or, The Gipsy of Rosemary Dell. A Romance of Thrilling Interest'' (1841) *''The Hebrew Maiden; or, The Lost Diamond'' (1841) *''Ernestine de Lacy; or, The Robber's Foundling. An Old English Romance'' (1842) *''Adeline; or, The Grave of the Forsaken. A Domestic Romance'' (1842) *''The Smuggler King; or, The Foundling of the Wreck. A Nautico-Domestic Romance'' (1844) *''Gilbert Copley, the Reprobate. A Domestic Romance'' (1844) *'' The String of Pearls: A Romance'' (1846) *''The Harvest Home: A Romance'' (1850) *''The Brigand; or, The Mountain Chief: A Romance'' (1851) *''The Robber's Wife: A Domestic Romance'' (1852) *''Schamyl; or, The Wild Woman of Circassia. An Original Historical Romance'' (1856) *''The Maniac Father; or, The Victims of Seduction'' *Varney the Vampire, or the Feast of Blood *''Vice and its Victims; or, Phoebe the Peasant's Daughter'' *''The Sketch Book'' (imitation of Dicken's ''Sketche's by Boz'') *''The Gipsy of Rosemary Dell''

External links

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prest, Thomas Peckett 1810 births 1859 deaths 19th-century British male writers 19th-century British novelists 19th-century British short story writers British horror writers British male novelists British male short story writers Pseudonymous writers Pulp fiction writers Sweeney Todd Victorian novelists Writers of Gothic fiction