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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Restoration
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(1660) The return of the monarch, *Charles II, to Britain and to his throne. The term is used of the event itself and of the period spanning the reigns of *Charles II and *James II, ending with the *Revolution of 1688. It was a time of frivolity and glamour (in reaction against the preceding years of the *Commonwealth), with the example of Charles II himself and of courtiers such as Lord *Rochester giving a veneer of licentiousness to London life.
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The witty, cynical, aristocratic plays of the late 17C are often classed together as Restoration comedy. The style began in the reign of Charles II, and *Wycherley is the best-known exponent from that period. But the leading writers grouped under this heading were not born at the time of the Restoration and began writing after the departure of James II. They were *Vanbrugh (b. 1664, first play 1696), *Congreve (b. 1670, first play 1693) and *Farquhar (b. 1678, first play 1698).
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