Theodore Hook

At the age of 16, in conjunction with his father, he scored a dramatic success with The Soldier's Return, a comic opera, and it followed up with a series of popular ventures with John Liston and Charles Mathews, including Tekeli.

Hook then became a playboy and practical joker best known for the Berners Street hoax in 1810 in which he arranged for dozens of tradesmen, and notables such as the Lord Mayor of London, the Governor of the Bank of England, the Chairman of the East India Company and the Duke of Gloucester to visit Mrs Tottenham at 54 Berners Street to win a bet that he could transform any house in London into the most talked-about address within a week.

The Prince Regent was at the time holding "a fête of surpassing magnificence" at Carlton House, and Coates "in his glory- murdering Shakespeare at the Haymarket"; imitating the Chamberlain's handwriting, Hook produced a ticket "commanding the presence of Signor Romeo" and, dressing himself in fine scarlet livery, delivered this flattering but fake invitation to Coates in person.

Hook waited to watch Coates embark for the event in his carriage, "bedizened in all his finery, with a diamond-hilted sword and the air of Louis le Grand".

The Prince, unwittingly involved in Hook's prank, regretted that Coates had been turned away, observing him to be an "inoffensive gentleman", and noting that "his presence might have amused many of the guests, and could have done harm to no one."

His gift of improvising songs charmed the Prince Regent into a declaration that something must be done for Hook, who was appointed accountant-general and treasurer of Mauritius with a salary of £2,000 a year (£142,325; US$194,771 in 2021 terms).

He was the life and soul of the island from his arrival in October 1813, but a serious deficiency was discovered in the treasury accounts in 1817, and he was arrested and brought to England on a criminal charge.

[1] Work had already begun to tell on his health when Hook returned to his old habits and a prolonged attempt to combine industry and dissipation resulted in the confession that he was done up in purse, in mind and in body, too, at last.