author
Percival Leigh
1813–1889
A sharp Victorian humorist who helped shape the early voice of Punch, he brought a doctor’s training and a satirist’s eye to comic writing. His work mixes playful wit with close observation of everyday manners, making him one of the memorable lighter voices of 19th-century English literature.
6 Audiobooks
Portraits of Children of the Mobility
by Percival Leigh
Jack the Giant Killer
by Percival Leigh
Comic Arithmetic
by Percival Leigh
About the author
Born in 1813, Percival Leigh trained for the medical profession at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, qualifying before turning toward journalism and comic writing. He became closely associated with the young magazine Punch, joining its staff soon after its launch and later serving as deputy to editor Mark Lemon.
Leigh was known for brisk, polished satire and for collaborations with leading illustrators of the day, including John Leech and Richard Doyle. His writing often poked fun at social habits, language, and Victorian respectability, and he helped define the magazine’s early blend of humor, observation, and caricature.
He continued contributing to Punch for decades and was remembered as one of its original figures. Percival Leigh died in 1889, leaving behind a body of comic prose and verse that captures the lighter, sharper side of Victorian literary culture.