Beschreibung
'Israeli, Isaac (1766 -1848) British writer, scholar and man of letters. Best known for his essays, associations with other men of letters, and as the father of British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. Samuel Jackson Pratt (1749 - 1814) was a prolific English dramatist, poet, novelist, pamphleteer, actor and ordained Church of England minister, who often wrote and performed under the pseudonym "Courtney Melmoth." Some of his works are still published today. Although his reputation was tainted by scandal during his lifetime, he is today recognized as an early campaigner for Animal Rights and the first English writer to treat the American Revolution as a legitimate subject for literature. His first published writing, as "Rev Mr Pratt of Peterborough" was an elegy, entitled Partridges, which appeared in popular poetry collections through most of the 19th century. It is 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. 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. In the early 1770s, Pratt entered into a relationship with a lady who thereafter referred to herself as "Mrs Charlotte Melmoth." 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, and with him went upon the stage. The couple toured together unsuccessfully, and eventually had to resort to telling fortunes to make their living. In1777 they were in Paris, where they met Benjamin Franklin who lent the couple money. In 1793 Charlotte immigrated to United States where she gained a reputation as "The Grande Dame of Tragedy on the Early American Stage." In 1774 he appeared as Hamlet at the Covent Garden Theatre but his performance was judged a failure and after this he mostly gave up the stage and took to writing full-time. His first literary success was a poem entitled The Tears of A Genius, which attracted the attention of the reading public, and from then onwards he was able to make a living by writing. In 1776 he moved to Bath, became a bookseller, but soon tired of it. He made the acquaintance of the famous actress Mrs Siddons, for whom he would later write leading character parts in his plays, but later fell out with her after borrowing £500 from her husband and becoming offended when she asked him to repay it. In 1776 he scandalized the literary world with a novel, satirizing Lord Chesterfield, entitled The Pupil of Pleasure or The New System (Lord Chesterfield's) Illustrated, describing a fictional series of seductions in Buxton. Its licentious tone evoked letters of complaints and reviews expressing shock. In 1780 he published his novel Emma Corbett or, The Miseries of Civil War with two British protagonists, Emma and her British soldier lover, both captured by American rebels, released by George Washington to later die tragically. The novel passed through many editions in several languages. It is the first English novel dealing with the American Revolution. His first play, Joseph Andrews, was performed at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1778, with the role of Fanny being played by Mary Robinson. His The Fair Circassian, first performed at Drury Lane 1781 had Miss Farren (later Countess of Derby) playing the lead. It was published in many editions, and is still in print today. Pratt was a keen campaigner against cruelty towards animals and an opponent of hunting and blood-sports. His poem Sympathy argues that man was "born to share" the earth with all other living creatures and asks "Why must man subsist by prey?" Lord Erskine, in his 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,". Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 006242
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