Richard Brinsley Peake
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Richard Brinsley Peake (19 February 1792 – 4 October 1847) was a
dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...
of the early nineteenth century best remembered today for his 1823 play '' Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein'', a work based on the
novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
''
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...
'' by
Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
. It was Peake, not Shelley, who wrote the famous line, "It lives!"


Early life

Richard Brinsley Peake was born in Gerrard Street in
Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, the son of Richard Peake, who for forty years worked in the Treasury Office of the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...
in London. He was named after the playwright
Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Anglo-Irish playwright, writer and Whig politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1780 to 1812, representing the constituencies of Stafford, Westminster and I ...
, who was a friend of his father.John Russell Stephens, ‘Peake, Richard Brinsley (1792–1847)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 28 April 2011
/ref> From 1809 to 1817 Peake was an
apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...
with the engraver James Heath. On leaving Heath's employ in 1817 Peake began to write for the theatre; his first play was ''The Bridge that Carries Us Safe Over'', produced at the English Opera House in 1817, and which was quickly followed by a farce, ''Wanted, a Governess''.


Writing career

For the next forty years Peake wrote
burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
s,
farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...
s, comedies, melodramatic and musical romances, and an "operatic romance". His play ''The Meltonians'' was described as "a perfectly illegitimate drama and extravaganza." His 1823 play '' Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein'', was seen by
Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
and her father
William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous fo ...
on 29 August 1823 at the English Opera House, shortly after her return to England. Shelley approved of the way the Creature, played by T .P. Cooke, was represented by a series of dashes in the advertising.Playbill for ''Presumption: or, The Fate of Frankenstein''
-
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,
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To capitalise on the success of the play, Godwin arranged for his daughter's
novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
''
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...
'' to be reprinted in two volumes with emendations by himself. In the play the character 'Fritz' was originated by Robert Keeley. In about 1825 Peake married Susannah Snell, and they had at least six children together.'Richard Brinsley Peake'
on the
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
website


Later years

From November 1839 and into the 1840s Peake wrote numerous articles for the
periodical Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...
s; with a few exceptions all of his articles were published in ''
Bentley's Miscellany ''Bentley's Miscellany'' was an English literary magazine started by Richard Bentley. It was published between 1836 and 1868. Contributors Already a successful publisher of novels, Bentley began the journal in 1836 and invited Charles Dicken ...
''. Peake wrote the accompanying text for the picture-book ''French Characteristic Costumes'' (1816); a comedic book of
Cockney Cockney is a dialect of the English language, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by Londoners with working-class and lower middle class roots. The term ''Cockney'' is also used as a demonym for a person from the East End, ...
sports entitled ''Snobson's 'Seasons (1838); ''Cartouche, the Celebrated French Robber'' (1844) in three-volumes; and a two-volume biography of a theatrical family, ''Memoirs of the Colman Family'' (1841). His comedy ''The Title Deeds'', produced in June 1847 at the
Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...
, was probably his last play. From 1832 until his death Peake was the Treasurer at the Lyceum Theatre in London. At his death in 1847 his family inherited his numerous debts, and were left in financial distress.''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' 7 October 1847


Selected plays

* ''
Presumption In law, a presumption is an "inference of a particular fact". There are two types of presumptions: rebuttable presumptions and irrebuttable (or conclusive) presumptions. A rebuttable presumption will either shift the burden of production (requir ...
'' (1823) * ''Comfortable Lodgings'' (1827) * '' The Haunted Inn'' (1828) * ''Court and City'' (1841) * ''The Devil of Marseilles'' (1846) * ''Gabrielli'' (1847) * ''The Title Deeds'' (1847)


References


External links


Richard Brinsley Peake on ''Lord Byron and His Times''
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
website
Portraits of the cast of ''Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein''
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
website
Forry, Steven Earl, ''The Hideous Progenies of Richard Brinsley Peake: Frankenstein on the Stage, 1823 to 1826'' - Theatre Research International (1986)Richard Brinsley Peake compositions: Guide
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,
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Full text of ''Memoirs of the Colman Family'' (1841)
''
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'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Peake, Richard Brinsley 1792 births 1847 deaths People from Soho English male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English male writers