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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

hack author. He was a prolific producer of

penny dreadful Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular Serial (literature), serial literature produced during the 19th century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typical ...

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'' (1846–1847). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet St ...

, the 'demon barber' immortalized in his '' The String of Pearls'', as well as the co-author with Rymer of '' Varney the Vampire''. He wrote under

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

s including Bos, a takeoff of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

' own pen name, Boz. He also was noted to have a style similar to Dickens. Before joining Edward Lloyd'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 Twist.'' 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 Edward Lloyd 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 the Debut novel, first novel serialised from March 1836 to November 1837 by English author Charles Dickens. Because of his success with ''Sketches by Bo ...

'') * '' 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'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...

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

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

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

Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'', or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'', is the third novel by English author Charles Dickens, originally published as a serial from 1838 to 1839. The character of Nickleby is a young man who must support his ...

'') * ''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 Death Ship, Or, The Pirate's Bride and the Maniac of the Deep: A Nautical Romance'' (1846) * ''The Jew and the Foundling: A Romance'' (1847) * ''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

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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