John Tatham

John Tatham (flourished 1632 – 1664) was an English dramatist of the mid-seventeenth century.

Little is known of him. He was a Cavalier who hated the Puritans — and the Scots;he invented a dialect which he claimed was their vernacular tongue. "Fancy's Theatre", a collected of his poems, was published in 1640.

He produced eight pageants for the Lord Mayor's show in the years 1657–64 (seven of them titled "London's Triumph"), and several dramas. He wrote "London's Glory", an entertainment to celabrate the return of King Charles II to London at the Restoration; it was presented on July 5, 1660.

Among his known plays are:
*"Love Crowns the End" (1632; printed 1646)
*"The Distracted State" (1641; printed 1651)
*"The Scots Figgaries, or a Knot of Knaves" (printed 1652)
*"The Rump" (printed 1660).

In 1682, Aphra Behn adapted "The Rump" into her "The Roundheads".

External links

* [http://www.bartleby.com/218/0509.html Tatham, in "The Cambridge History of English and American Literature".]

References

*Tatham, John. "The Dramatic Works of John Tatham." James Maidment and W. H. Logan, eds. London, H. Southeran, 1879.
*A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature