Elizabeth Woodville, later known as Dame Elizabeth Grey, was Queen of England from 1 May 1464 until 3 October 1470 and from 11 April 1471 until 9 April 1483 as the wife of King Edward IV. She was a key figure in the Wars of the Roses, a dynastic civil war between the Lancastrian and the Yorkist factions between 1455 and 1487.
Mary of Teck was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 6 May 1910 until 20 January 1936 as the wife of King-Emperor George V.
Gilbert Burnet was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was highly respected as a cleric, a preacher, an academic, a writer and a historian. He was always closely associated with the Whig party, and was one of the few close friends in whom King William III confided.
Stephen Gardiner was an English Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I and King Philip.
Richard Hakluyt was an English writer. He is known for promoting the English colonization of North America through his works, notably Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America (1582) and The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation (1589–1600).
Richard Crashaw was an English poet, teacher, High Church Anglican cleric and Roman Catholic convert, who was one of the major metaphysical poets in 17th-century English literature.
Richard Daniel Altick was an American literary scholar, known for his pioneering contributions to Victorian Studies, as well as for championing both the joys and the rigorous methods of literary research.
Sir James Dyer was a judge and Speaker of the House of Commons during the reign of Edward VI of England.
The Archpriest Controversy was the debate which followed the appointment of an archpriest by Pope Clement VIII to oversee the efforts of the Roman Catholic Church's missionary priests in England at the end of the sixteenth century.
The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck: A Romance is an 1830 historical novel by Mary Shelley about the life of Perkin Warbeck. The book takes a Yorkist point of view and proceeds from the conceit that Perkin Warbeck died in childhood and the supposed impostor was indeed Richard of Shrewsbury. Henry VII of England is repeatedly described as a "fiend" who hates Elizabeth of York, his wife and Richard's sister, and the future Henry VIII, mentioned only twice in the novel, is a vile youth who abuses dogs. Her preface establishes that records of the Tower of London, as well as the histories of Edward Hall, Raphael Holinshed, and Francis Bacon, the letters of Sir John Ramsay to Henry VII that are printed in the Appendix to John Pinkerton's History of Scotland establish this as fact. Each chapter opens with a quotation. The entire book is prefaced with a quotation in French by Georges Chastellain and Jean Molinet.
The Destruction of the Bastile was composed by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1789. The poem describes Coleridge's feelings of hopes for the French Revolution as a catalyst for political change.
Songs of the Pixies was composed by Samuel Taylor Coleridge during 1793. The poem describes Coleridge's summer vacation and his childhood home. It also incorporates Coleridge's own view of himself as a young poet.
Alexander Pope was an Irish actor and painter.
The Eccentric Lover is a comedy play by the British writer Richard Cumberland. It was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 30 April 1798. The original cast included William Thomas Lewis as Sir Francis Delroy, John Quick as Peter Crowfoot, Joseph George Holman as Fenton, Joseph Shepherd Munden as Admiral Delroy, John Fawcett as Doctor Crisis, Charles Murray as Gangrene, John Whitfield as Sir Henry Netterville, Julia Betterton as Eleanor de Ferrars, Jane Pope as Constantia and Isabella Mattocks as Fidelia.
Don Pedro is a tragic play by the British writer Richard Cumberland. It was first staged at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in London on 23 July 1796. The original cast included James Aickin as Count Valdesoto, Charles Kemble as Henrique, John Palmer as Pedro De Rascifiria, John Bannister as Basco de Robeldondo, Richard Suett as Nicolas Sassenigo, Thomas Caulfield as Tayo, George Wathen as Roca, Robert Palmer as Cerbero and Elizabeth Kemble as Celestina, Sarah Harlowe as Mariguita, Maria Kemble as Cattania and Elizabeth Hopkins as Benedicta. The epilogue was written by George Colman the Younger.
The Last of the Family is a comedy play by the British writer Richard Cumberland. It was first staged at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1797 as a benefit performance for the actor John Bannister. The original cast included William Dowton as Sir John Manfred, John Bannister as Sir Adam ap Origen, Ralph Wewitzer as Squire Abel, Charles Kemble as Peregrine, Richard Suett as Beau Tiffany, Robert Palmer as Ned Flexible, Thomas Caulfield as George Ivey, John Hayman Packer as David Duncan, Jane Pope as Lady Manfred, Charlotte Tidswell as Lucy and Dorothea Jordan as Letitia Manfred.
The Mysterious Husband is a play by the British writer Richard Cumberland. It is a Domestic drama with a tragic ending, first performed in 1783. Along with several other Cumberland plays it was influenced by the 1768 gothic play The Mysterious Mother by Horace Walpole.
The Country Attorney is a 1787 comedy play by the British writer Richard Cumberland. It was first performed at the Haymarket Theatre on 7 July 1787. The Haymarket cast included Robert Bensley as Sterling, James Aickin as Wordly, Stephen Kemble as Sir Wilful Wayward, Robert Palmer as Lord Millamourm, John Bannister as Jack Volatile and Mary Bulkley as Mrs Worldly, Margaret Cuyler as Mrs Gayless and Elizabeth Farren as Lady Rustic. It was not published during Cumberland's lifetime. The play was reworked and much of it used again by Cumberland for the 1789 play The School for Widows.
Elizabeth Whately was an English writer and the wife of Dr Richard Whately, Protestant Archbishop of Dublin. She wrote and edited a number of fictional, religious and educational works, although little of her writing appeared explicitly under her own name.
Wives as They Were and Maids as They Are is a 1797 comedy play by the British writer Elizabeth Inchbald. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 4 March 1797. The original London cast included John Quick as Lord Priory, Joseph Shepherd Munden as Sir William Dorrillon, Alexander Pope as Sir George Evelyn, William Thomas Lewis as Mr Bronzeley, John Waddy as Mr Norberry, John Fawcett as Oliver, James Thompson as Nabson, Charlotte Chapman as Lady Priory, Tryphosa Jane Wallis as Miss Dorrillon and Isabella Mattocks as Lady Mary Raffle. The Irish premiere was at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin on 12 June 1797.
