Sir George Etherege
born c. 1635, Maidenhead, Berkshire,
Eng.?
died c. May 10, 1692
English diplomat and creator of the
Restoration-era comedy of manners.
Etherege probably accompanied his father to
France in the 1640s. About 1653 his grandfather
apprenticed him to an attorney in Beaconsfield,
Buckinghamshire.
Etherege’s first comedy, The Comical Revenge;
or, Love in a Tub, was premiered at Lincoln’s
Inn Fields Theatre in 1664. An immediate
success, it was novel in its exploitation of
contemporary manners, especially in the intrigue
of the stylish Sir Frederick Frollick. It still
followed earlier tradition, with its romantic
plot, in heroic couplets and blank verse, and
farcical subplot. Its success gave Etherege an
entrée into the world of fashion, where he
became the boon companion of the literary rakes
Sir Charles Sedley, the Earl of Rochester, and
the Earl of Dorset.
She wou’d if she cou’d, Etherege’s second
comedy (1668), failed because of poor acting. It
was the first comedy of manners to attain unity
of tone by shedding the incongruous romantic
verse element.
From 1668 to 1671 Etherege was in Turkey as
secretary to the English ambassador, Sir Daniel
Harvey. After his return he wrote the prologue
for the opening in 1671 of the new Dorset Garden
Theatre. There his last and wittiest comedy, The
Man of Mode, or, Sir Fopling Flutter, was
produced with acclaim in 1676. He was knighted
in 1680.
Etherege was appointed envoy to the Diet in
Ratisbon in 1685. His two Letterbooks from there
include personal, as well as official,
correspondence. Although irresponsible, Etherege
showed qualities of loyalty, and he followed his
king, James II, to Paris after that monarch was
deposed in the Glorious Revolution (1688).
Known to his friends as easy and gentle,
Etherege had a relish for life and a shrewd
knowledge of men. His style of comedy was
successfully cultivated by his successors and
persisted to modern times. His own plays,
however, failed to hold the stage after the
mid-18th century. His love lyrics are among the
most charming of their day.
