Ela, the Outcast; Or, The Gipsy of Rosemary Dell. A Romance of Thrilling Interest

by Thomas Peckett Prest

827 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1841

About the author

Thomas Peckett Prest, also known as Thomas Preskett Prest, was a British hack writer, journalist and musician. He was a prolific producer of penny dreadfuls. He is now remembered as the co-creator with James Malcolm Rymer of the fictional Sweeney Todd, the 'demon barber' immortalized in his The String of Pearls. He has also been associated with the authorship of Varney the Vampire, now more often thought to be the work of Rymer. He wrote under pseudonyms including Bos, a takeoff of Charles Dickens' own pen name, Boz. Before joining Edward Lloyd's publishing factory, Prest had made a name for himself as a talented musician and composer.

Reviews

[Marjolein]

Although this was the first penny blood and we might be disposed to award the author with some leniency based on that, I cannot help but feel this is one of the worst penny bloods I have read so far. Prest’s writing style is nothing out of the ordinary and he is exceedingly fond of the expression “it would be impossible to describe the …” or any variant on this, which he uses at least once every five pages (much to the agitation of this reader). It is also lacking in originality as the same themes keep reoccurring. One would verily believe that wealthy men in the 17th century had nothing better to do than to seduce or forcefully abduct poor, beautiful, young girls. It happens to no less than six girls (one is unfortunate enough to fall from one abduction into another).

As such, I would only recommend this to those (scholars) who are interested in reading the first penny blood ever written.