(1803-1857) Dramatist and miscellaneous writer, son of an actor, himself appeared as a child upon the stage. From his 10th to his 12th year he was at sea. He then became apprentice to a printer, devoting all his spare time to self-education. He early began to contribute to periodicals, and in his 18th year he was engaged by the Coburg Theatre as a writer of short dramatic pieces. In 1829 he made a great success by his drama of Black-eyed Susan, which he followed up by The Rent Day, Bubbles of the Day, Time works Wonders, etc. In 1840 he became editor of a publication, Heads of the People, to which Thackeray was a contributor, and in which some of the best of his own work appeared. He was one of the leading contributors to Punch, in which Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures came out, and from 1852 he edited Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper. Among his novels are St. Giles and St. James, and The Story of a Feather. Jerrold had a great reputation as a wit, was a genial and kindly man, and a favourite with his fellow littérateurs, who raised a fund of £2000 for his family on his death.