The Life and Literary Remains of Charles Reece Pemberton: With Remarks on His Character and Genius

The Life And Literary Remains Of Charles Reece Pemberton: With Remarks On His Character And Genius by W. J. Fox. This collected volume centers on Charles Reece Pemberton, opening with an editor’s introduction and a life sketch by Fox, along with critical notices and letters about Pemberton, and an embedded piece titled The Autobiography of Pel. Verjuice. The introduction frames Pemberton as a remarkable, itinerant intellect and performer, outlining his Pontypool birth in 1790, Birmingham upbringing, sea years after a press-gang, theatre work in the West Indies, and a later English career as lecturer and tragedian. It records his Covent Garden debut (1829), mixed reception, eventual popularity as a lecturer in Mechanics’ Institutes, and his death in 1840, with memorials and tributes noted by friends. The Autobiography of Pel. Verjuice is a fictional, confessional life-narrative inserted to illuminate themes of genius, poverty, education, and social hypocrisy. Part 1 recounts origins, schooling, a sense of exile from polite society, a turning toward theatre and literature, and early experiences of acting. The writing voice is confessional, digressive, and argumentative, blending social critique with self-scrutiny. Overall, the volume preserves Pemberton’s life and writings while using Pel. Verjuice to explore the pressures and passions shaping a genius who moves between art and society.