John Gay

John Gay was born in 1685 into a Devon family, lost his parents at the age of ten, and was placed with a silk merchant in London. He found his place in a circle of writers, with Pope and Swift, that ridiculed pedantry, and lived on offices obtained through patronage, which he lost and regained as favour came and went. At forty-two, a play at last brought him success. He died less than five years later, in December 1732, and was buried at Westminster.

In the catalogue 1

• TheatreThe Beggar's OperaJohn Gay · 1728LiteraturePublic domain