Favourite playwright of Charles II. He came to England as an impoverished Nova Scotian, became a 'gentleman usher' and wrote his play 'Pandion and Amphigenia' in 1665. This he followed six years later with another romance, 'Juliana'. Under the patronage of John Wilmot he produced a court masque called 'Callisto' which brought him to the attention and approval of the King. Encouraged, Crowne wrote a two part play called 'The Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus Vespasian'(1677), as a political satire showing his growing confidence. Another followed in 1681, 'The City Politiques'. Despite meeting with the approval of the sovereign, these plays made him enemies amongst the Puritan and Whig elements of the Government, and Crowne petitioned the King for a position that would free him from the onus of writing plays and maiking enemies. The King agreed so long as Crowne wrote one more play, which was 'Sir Courtly Nice', a comedy which remained popular in performance for nearly a century.However, Crowne did not receive his reward as the King died before it was performed. He continued writing plays although, without aristocratic patronage, he gradually became more obscure. His death went almost unremarked and, according to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, he was buried in the parish which contained many of the actors and writers of the time.
Favourite playwright of Charles II. He came to England as an impoverished Nova Scotian, became a 'gentleman usher' and wrote his play 'Pandion and Amphigenia' in 1665. This he followed six years later with another romance, 'Juliana'. Under the patronage of John Wilmot he produced a court masque called 'Callisto' which brought him to the attention and approval of the King. Encouraged, Crowne wrote a two part play called 'The Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus Vespasian'(1677), as a political satire showing his growing confidence. Another followed in 1681, 'The City Politiques'. Despite meeting with the approval of the sovereign, these plays made him enemies amongst the Puritan and Whig elements of the Government, and Crowne petitioned the King for a position that would free him from the onus of writing plays and maiking enemies. The King agreed so long as Crowne wrote one more play, which was 'Sir Courtly Nice', a comedy which remained popular in performance for nearly a century.However, Crowne did not receive his reward as the King died before it was performed. He continued writing plays although, without aristocratic patronage, he gradually became more obscure. His death went almost unremarked and, according to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, he was buried in the parish which contained many of the actors and writers of the time.
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