English theatre prompter during the Restoration period, best known for his Roscius Anglicanus (1708), a historical review of the stage.

Scottish nobleman and commander in the wars against the English in the early fifteenth century. Douglas was captured by Sir Henry Percy at the Battle of Homildon Hill in 1402 and taken prisoner by the English king in 1403 after fighting in a battle with his captors against the king, not to be released until 1413.

The eponymous hero of the novel by Cervantes muddles the line between reality and fiction as a result of his reading chivalric romances.

Amateur musician and friend of George Frideric Handel, Donnellan was friends as well with several notable bluestockings and literary figures, especially Elizabeth Montagu and Mary Delany.

Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London and leading poet of the Metaphysical school, Donne is best known for his religious verse and love poetry.

Known first as a poet, Dodsley opened a London bookselling business in 1735. His shop became an important gathering place for literary and publishing figures of the mid-eighteenth century.

A British writer, essayist, and scholar, Isaac D'Israeli created such works as Curiosities of Literature (1791) and The Literary Character of Men of Genius, Drawn From Their own Feelings and Confessions (1818), a revision of An Essay on the Manners and Genius of the Literary Character (1795).

The Greek god of the grape harvest, wine, fertility, and theatre.

Greek tyrant of Syracuse, Sicily, also called "Dionysius the Elder." Although his military prowess protected Sicily from conquest by Carthage, his cruelty and greed made him an unpopular public figure.

Anglo-Irish soldier, landlord, and poet, enthusiastically praised by his contemporaries, including Alexander Pope and Joseph Addison. His most notable works include his translation of Horace's Ars Poetica and his Essay on Translated Verse.