John Banks, Vertue Betray'd or Anna Bullen (1692)

John Banks (1650–1706) was an English playwright of the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

era. His works concentrated on historical dramas, and his plays were twice suppressed because of their implications, or supposed implications, for the contemporaneous political situation. Virtually nothing is known about Banks's early life; his date of birth has been estimated on the basis of his later biography. He studied law at the New Inn, one of the minor

Inns of Chancery The Inns of Chancery or ''Hospida Cancellarie'' were a group of buildings and legal institutions in London initially attached to the Inns of Court and used as offices for the clerks of chancery, from which they drew their name. Existing from a ...

attached to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

. Banks's first play was ''The Rival Kings'' of

1677 Events January–March * January 1 – Jean Racine's tragedy ''Phèdre'' is first performed, in Paris. * January 21 – The first medical publication in America (a pamphlet on smallpox) is produced in Boston. * February ...

, written in imitation of Nathaniel Lee's ''The Rival Queens'' of the same year. Banks followed this with '' The Destruction of Troy'', which was staged by the Duke's Company at the

Dorset Garden Theatre The Dorset Garden Theatre in London, built in 1671, was in its early years also known as the Duke of York's Theatre, or the Duke's Theatre. In 1685, King Charles II died and his brother, the Duke of York, was crowned as James II. When the Du ...

in November

1678 Events January–March * January 10 – England and the Dutch Republic sign a mutual defense treaty in order to fight against France. * January 27 – The first fire engine company (in what will become the United States) goe ...

and printed the following year. '' The Unhappy Favourite, or the Earl of Essex'' (

1682 Events January–March * January 7 – The Republic of Genoa forbids the unauthorized printing of newspapers and all handwritten newssheets; the ban is lifted after three months. * January 12 – Scottish minister James Re ...

), for which

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

provided a prologue and epilogue, was his first major success. ''Virtue Betrayed, or Anna Bullen'', published the same year, proved to be his most popular play, and was acted as late as

1766 Events January–March * January 1 – Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain, as King Charles III, and figurehead for Jacobitism. * January 14 – C ...

. Banks was considered a crude writer who could nonetheless, at his best, create powerful drama. His next play, however, was judged more crude than powerful: ''The Innocent Usurper'', based on the life of Lady Jane Grey, was disliked by both the

King's Company The King's Company was one of two enterprises granted the rights to mount theatrical productions in London, after the London theatre closure had been lifted at the start of the English Restoration. It existed from 1660 to 1682, when it merged wit ...

and the Duke's Company. He tried to stage ''The Innocent Usurper'' again in

1693 Events January–March * January 11 – 1693 Sicily earthquake: Mount Etna erupts, causing a devastating earthquake that affects parts of Sicily and Malta. * January 22 – A total lunar eclipse is visible across North and South Ame ...

, but on this second attempt the play was banned for political reasons. It was eventually published in

1694 Events January–March * January 16 – Francesco Morosini, the Doge of Venice since 1688, dies after ruling the Republic for more than five years and a few months after an unsuccessful attempt to capture the island of Negropont from th ...

. ''The Island Queens, or the Death of Mary Queen of Scotland'' (

1684 Events January–March * January 5 – King Charles II of England gives the title Duke of St Albans to Charles Beauclerk, his illegitimate son by Nell Gwyn. * January 15 (January 5 O.S.) - To demonstrate that the River Thames, froz ...

), had a similar history: originally banned on political grounds, it was published in

1686 Events January–March * January 3 – In Madras (now Chennai) in India, local residents employed by the East India Company threaten to boycott their jobs after corporate administrator William Gyfford imposes a house tax on res ...

, and eventually successfully staged as ''The Albion Queens'', twenty years after its creation. His last drama was '' Cyrus the Great'', inspired by ''Le Grand Cyrus'' of

Madeleine de Scudéry Madeleine de Scudéry (15 November 1607 – 2 June 1701), often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry, was a French writer. Her works also demonstrate such comprehensive knowledge of ancient history that it is suspected she had received inst ...

. The acting companies resisted this work because of its perceived low quality, but it proved to be another success once staged, by the King's Company at

Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in develo ...

References

External links

* 1650s births 1706 deaths Year of birth uncertain English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights {{UK-playwright-stub