Thomas Peckett (or Preskett) Prest (probable dates 1810–1859) was a British hack author.
[2] Before joining Edward Lloyd's publishing factory, Prest had made a name for himself as a talented musician.
Prest was noted to follow a similar style to Dickens, often outright imitating his work like he did with Oliver Twist.
[5] The String of Pearls is usually attributed to either Prest or James Malcolm Rymer, however other contenders such as George Mcfarren or Edward Lloyd have been suggested.
[5] Although historically attributed to Prest recently arguments have been made that Rymer should be considered the true author of The String of Pearls.