Biographia Dramatica/Granville, George, Lord Lansdown
Granville, George, Lord Lansdown, was second son of Bernard Granville, and grandson of the famous Sir Bevil Granville, who was killed at the battle of Lansdown, in 1643. He was born in 1667, became a member of Trinity College, Cambridge, at a very early period of life; took his degree of M. A. at the age of thirteen years, and was with difficulty prevented from taking up arms, both at the time of Monmouth’s rebellion, and at the Revolution, in defence of King James the Second. Having no public employment, being totally unconnected with the court, and possessed of but a contracted fortune, he devoted his attention, during the reign of King William, to literary pursuits and amusements; the fruits of which appeared in his plays and poems, chiefly written within that period. At the accession of Queen Anne, he was chosen into Parliament, and sat in the House of Commons until he was created a peer. On the change of the ministry, in the year 1719, he was appointed secretary at war, and afterwards succssively comptroller and treasurer of the household. His connexions with the Tory ministers prevented his being employed in the succeeding reigns of George I. and II.; in the former of which he fell under the suspicion of plotting against the government, and was committed to the Tower, where he was confined seventeen months. The latter part of his life was spent in the cultivation of letters, in an honourable retirement, universally beloved and respected by all orders of men. He died January 30, 1735, in the 68th year of his age. Mr. Walpole[1] observes, that “he imitated Waller; but as that poet has been much excelled since, a faint copy of a faint master must strike less.”
His dramatic pieces are,
- The She Gallants. C. 4 to. 1696.
- Heroic Love. T. 4 to. 1698.
- The Jew of Venice. C. 4 to. 1701.
- Peleus and Thetis. M. 4 to. 1701.
- The British Enchanter; or, No Magic like Love. D. P. 4 to. 1706.
He afterwards new-wrote The She Gallants, and named it,
- Once a Lover, and always a Lover. C. 12 mo. 1736.
- ↑ In “George Granville, Lord Lansdown,” from A Catalogue of the Royal and Noble Authors. (Wikisource contributor note)