Samuel Jackson Pratt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1749-12-25)25 December 1749 |
| Died | 4 October 1814(1814-10-04) (aged 64) Birmingham, West Midlands |
| Pen name | "Courtney Melmoth" |
| Occupation | Writer, poet & dramatist |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | English |
| Education | Felsted, Essex |
| Period | 18th & 19th Centuries |
| Spouse | "MrsCharlotte Melmoth" |
Samuel Jackson Pratt (25 December 1749 – 4 October 1814) was a prolific English poet, dramatist and novelist, writing under the pseudonym of "Courtney Melmoth"[1] as well as under his own name. He authored around 40 publications between 1770 and 1810, some of which are still published today,[2] and is probably best remembered as the author ofEmma Corbett: or the Miseries of Civil War, (1780) and the poemSympathy (1788).[3] Although his reputation was tainted by scandal during his lifetime, he is today recognised as an early campaigner foranimal welfare[4] and the first English writer to treat theAmerican Revolution as a legitimate subject for literature.[5]
Samuel Jackson Pratt was born "to a very respectable family"[6] on 25 December 1749, inSt Ives, Huntingdonshire.[7] His father was a brewer,[8] who twice served as High Sheriff of Huntingdonshire.[6] Pratt was educated atFelsted, in Essex and was later ordained as a Church of England clergyman. His first published writing, as "Rev Mr Pratt of Peterborough" was an elegy, entitledPartridges, published in 1771, which appeared in popular poetry collections through most of the 19th century.[8] He was described as 'an esteemed and popular preacher'[8] but by 1773 had become entangled in a scandalous love affair and left the church to become an actor under the stage name 'Courtney Melmoth"[8][9]
Some time in the early 1770s, Pratt entered into a marital-like relationship with a lady who thereafter referred to herself as "MrsCharlotte Melmoth" (Melmoth being Pratt's stage-name). Her maiden name is unknown.[10] According toA History of The City of Brooklyn, Charlotte "had been duped into a sham marriage, while at boarding school, by a Mr. Pratt (known in the literary and theatrical circles of that day as Courtney Melmoth ), and with him went upon the stage, playing in several companies both in England and Ireland.".[11] Pratt's parents strongly disapproved of the relationship[8] and it is not known whether or not the marriage was ever legally formalised. The couple toured together in theatrical productions, unsuccessfully, and eventually had to resort totelling fortunes to make their living.[8]
By 1777 the couple were briefly in Paris, where they metBenjamin Franklin who lent the couple money which they struggled to repay.[12] Charlotte, like Pratt, considered herself a poet, and Pratt sent Franklin copies of some of his wife's poetry.[13]
In 1781 the couple separated and Charlotte embarked on a solo acting career. In 1793 she emigrated to America where she gained a reputation as "The Grande Dame of Tragedy on the Early American Stage".[10] The couple would never meet again.
The relationship was to taint Pratt's reputation with the reading public as indicating a dubious moral character;[14] one obituary published after his death tactfully refers to the relationship as "such indiscretions as too frequently accompany genius";[7] others simply omit any reference to his marriage altogether.[1]
In 1773, having abandoned his Church career, Pratt made his first appearance as an actor under the name 'Courtney Melmoth' at theSmock Alley Theatre, in Dublin, playing Marc Antony in John Dryden'sAll For Love but with no great success. He then took a theatre company toDrogheda, again with no success, and the theatre closed after three months.[8] In 1774 he appeared asHamlet at theCovent Garden Theatre but his performance was again judged a failure.[1][8] One critic wrote that he walked with "a kind of airy swing that rendered his acting at times rather ludicrous."[8] After this he gave up the stage and took to writing full-time although he still continued to take occasional parts opposite his wife until around 1781.[15]
In 1774, having given up the stage, he had his first literary success – a poem entitledThe Tears of A Genius, occasioned by the Death of Dr Goldsmith which attracted the attention of the reading public, and from then onwards he was able to make a living by writing.[1][6][8] By 1776 he had moved toBath, where he entered into a part-ownership of a book-shop inMilsom Street[16] with a partner of the name of Clinch.[8] As with his previous professions, he soon decided that he was not suited to the life of a book-seller and returned to London within a few years.[8] However he made many friends in Bath and became part of the fashionable Bath society, making the acquaintance of the famous actressMrs Siddons, for whom he would later write leading character parts in his plays.[1] He later fell out with Mrs Siddons after borrowing £500 from her husband and becoming offended when she asked him to repay it.[15]
By 1802 he was inBirmingham, a well-known literary figure with a reputation for being willing to help and advise aspiring writers, including a youngGeorge Mogridge, who would later find fame as "Old Humphrey". In 1814 he fell from his horse, resulting in a long illness,[8] from which he died on 4 October 1814 in his home at Colmore Row, Birmingham.[1][6][8]
Pratt's first poem, written while he was still a clergyman,[7] wasThe Partridges – an elegy. Published inThe Annual Register in 1771, it was a 10-verse tale of a mother partridge praying for the safety of her chicks during the shooting season, and revealed Pratt's concern for animal welfare which would be reflected in later writings.[17] It was included in many collections of popular poetry throughout the 19th Century.[8]
However, it was hisThe Tears of A Genius, occasioned by the Death of Dr Goldsmith (1774) which first caught the public's attention: written within a few hours of Goldsmith's death, it contained poetry written in imitation ofGoldsmith's style[8] and was published under Pratt's pseudonym of 'Courtney Melmoth'.[1]
Over the next six years he produced twelve further works as 'Courtney Melmoth' includingAn Apology for the Life and Writings of David Hume (1777);Shenstone Green, or the New Paradise Lost (1779);Emma Corbett (1780) andShadows of Shakespeare, a Monody on Death of Garrick (1779): lines from the latter are quoted onGarrick's memorial in Westminster Abbey.[8] In 1781 he began writing under his own name, with a tragic play entitledThe Fair Circassian, and most of his following works were published as by Samuel Jackson Pratt.
During the 1790s he produced his popularGleanings through Wales, Holland and Westphalia andGleanings in England, which went through several editions. In total he penned seven novels (in twenty-three volumes), ten plays and twenty-three volumes of poems, 'miscellanies' and travel journals.[1][18]
In 1776 he scandalised the literary world with a novel, satirisingLord Chesterfield, entitledThe Pupil of Pleasure or The New System (Lord Chesterfield's) Illustrated, describing a fictional series of seductions inBuxton. Its licentious tone evoked letters of complaints, the author being described as "a dissipated clergyman"[19] and theMonthly Review magazine said of it "It is unnatural and shocking – it cannot be read without disgust.'[1] Pratt's reputation suffered as a result, and, in an attempt to repair the damage he wrote a moral work,The Tutor of Truth', two years later, of which theMonthly Review conceded "it is more inoffensive than any of the previous productions of this writer."[1]
In 1780 Pratt, still using the name Courtney Melmoth, published his most historically significant novel:Emma Corbett or, The miseries of civil war. Founded on some recent circumstances which happened in America. In the novel, the title-character, Emma, travels to America to find her lover, Henry, a British soldier. She is captured by American rebels, but released onGeorge Washington's orders. She finds Henry, wounded by apoisoned arrow fired by an American 'Indian', and sucks out the venom, poisoning herself in the process. Henry dies and the fatally ill Emma travels back to England with their child, to die.[20] The novel was highly praised on its release and passed through many editions in several languages.[8] Today, however, its principal significance is, firstly, its depiction of Anglo-American relations during theAmerican War of Independence, and, secondly, that it was the first English novel to address the subject of the American Revolution.[21]
As well as his poems, novels and 'miscellanies', Pratt drew upon his theatre experience to write ten plays, although three were never performed or published. His first play,Joseph Andrews, was an adaptation ofHenry Fielding'snovel of the same name, and was acted atTheatre Royal, Drury Lane on 20 April 1778, with the role of Fanny being played byMary Robinson.[22] Pratt would eventually write the epitaph for Mary Robinson's tombstone. The play has never been published.[8] His most successful dramatic work wasThe Fair Circassian, an adaptation ofJohn Hawkesworth's novelAlmoran and Hamet, and was first performed at Drury Lane on 27 November 1781.[8] The leading part was written for Pratt's friend, the actressMrs Siddons, but she was unavailable and the part was played byElizabeth Farren (later Countess of Derby) instead.[6]The Fair Circassian was published in many editions, and is still in print today.[23] His 1783 comedyThe School for Vanity was also staged at Drury Lane.
Pratt was a campaigner againstcruelty towards animals and an opponent of hunting and blood-sports. Many of his writings reflect this concern, including his most famous poem,Sympathy (1788) which argues that man was "born to share" the earth with all other living creatures and asks "Why must man subsist by prey?". InHumanity, or the Rights of Nature he attacks hunting, demanding "For hunger kill, but never sport with life". A review inGentleman's Magazine ofLord Erskine's speech in support of the Bill for Preventing Malicious and Wanton Cruelty to Animals" (1809) said of Pratt, "Certainly [no living author has] expatiated more on this subject [cruelty to animals] than the Author of "Sympathy," both in his poetical and prose writings. Indeed, nearly a third of a volume of the "Gleanings" of that Writer has been consecrated to this subject."[24]
Critical reception to Pratt's works was mixed during his lifetime. His scandalous "sham marriage" and the public furore over his "unnatural and shocking" novelThe Pupil of Pleasure damaged his reputation, giving him a 'dubious moral character' which deterred respectable readers.[18] His poemSympathy, however, was noted for its 'feeling, energy and beauty'[8] and theGentleman's Magazine remarked
"It is a just tribute to his character to say that all his works strongly tended to promote the interests of benevolence and virtue. Though his literary fame has been somewhat overcast by the extraordinary success of several contemporary poets, yet it is probable that many of his works will be admired when most of theirs has sunk into oblivion."
However the same publication also noted that "his chief error was not knowing how to check the exuberance of his feeling and imagination; and therefore he sometimes diffused his sentiments to a tedious extent."[1]Charles Lamb lambasted hisGleanings as "A wretched assortment of vapid feelings", although the same volume was popular enough with readers to pass through many editions.[8]The London Magazine said ofThe Tutor of Truth, "We can recommend this sprightly and at the same time instructive romance in the warmest terms."[1] TheCatalogue of Five Hundred Authors Now Living(1788) summarised his works with the succinct phrase "There are people now living who believe that they possess a degree of merit."TheGentleman's Magazine obituary of Pratt summarised his life with the words
"No man who ever attained public distinction was more exempt from envy; and though he may, in the vicissitudes of a life unsupported by fortune and exposed to all the casualties of a precarious subsistence, have fallen into errors, nothing of malice or ill-nature can justly be imputed to him; and as his works are all intended to promote the interests of virtue, none of these errors should be remembered in his epitaph."[7]
