Courtney Melmoth
| Samuel Jackson Pratt | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
25 December 1749 St Ives, Huntingdonshire |
| Died | 4 October 1814 (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 | "Mrs Charlotte 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" as well as under his own name. He authored around 40 publications between 1770 and 1810, some of which are still published today, and is probably best remembered as the author of Emma Corbett: or the Miseries of Civil War, (1780) and the poem Sympathy (1788). Although his reputation was tainted by scandal during his lifetime, he is today recognised as an early campaigner for animal welfare and the first English writer to treat the American Revolution as a legitimate subject for literature.
Samuel Jackson Pratt was born "to a very respectable family" on 25 December 1749, in St Ives, Huntingdonshire. His father was a brewer, who twice served as High Sheriff of Huntingdonshire. Pratt was educated at Felsted, 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, entitled Partridges, published in 1771, which appeared in popular poetry collections through most of the 19th century. He was described as 'an esteemed and popular preacher' 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"
Some time in the early 1770s, Pratt entered into a marital-like relationship with a lady who thereafter referred to herself as "Mrs Charlotte Melmoth" (Melmoth being Pratt's stage-name). Her maiden name is unknown. According to A 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.". Pratt's parents strongly disapproved of the relationship 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 to telling fortunes to make their living.
By 1777 the couple were briefly in Paris, where they met Benjamin Franklin who lent the couple money which they struggled to repay. Charlotte, like Pratt, considered herself a poet, and Pratt sent Franklin copies of some of his wife's poetry.
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