Vanbrugh, << van BROO or VAN bruh, >> Sir John (1664-1726), was an English playwright and architect. His plays lightly satirize London high society, but they sometimes seriously criticize social values and institutions. Vanbrugh’s first and most famous comedy, The Relapse (1696), ridicules sentimental comedies in which villains suddenly reform at the end. It also shows how mistreatment can tempt good people to act badly. The Provoked Wife (1697) deals with an unhappy marriage. His other plays are adaptations from French writers.
The buildings Vanbrugh designed are large, ornate, and almost overpowering in the fashion of his time. His most famous building is Blenheim Palace near Oxford. Vanbrugh also designed Castle Howard in Yorkshire and the Queen’s Theatre in London. He was born in London in January 1664 and died on March 26, 1726.
