Samuel Jackson Pratt

Samuel Jackson Pratt
Born(1749-12-25)25 December 1749
St Ives, Huntingdonshire
Died4 October 1814(1814-10-04) (aged 64)
Birmingham, West Midlands
Pen name"Courtney Melmoth"
OccupationWriter, poet & dramatist
LanguageEnglish
NationalityEnglish
EducationFelsted, Essex
Period18th & 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"[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 of Emma Corbett: or the Miseries of Civil War, (1780) and the poem Sympathy (1788).[3] Although his reputation was tainted by scandal during his lifetime, he is today recognised as an early campaigner for animal welfare[4] and the first English writer to treat the American Revolution as a legitimate subject for literature.[5]