An English poet and lyricist with profoundly High Church beliefs, Crashaw was forced to flee to the continent after the rise of the seventeenth-century Puritan government, converting to Catholicism in 1645. He lived first in France, then Italy. He was best known for a collection of primarily mystical religious poems, Steps to the Temple. Sacred Poems, With other Delights of the Muses (1646) and the posthumously-published Carmen Deo Nostro (1652).

The first wife of Henry Fielding, with whom he had five children. In the preface of Miscellanies, published one year prior to her death, he wrote, "one from whom I draw all the solid Comfort of my Life."

An author known for his verse tales which bring sympathy and humor to an acute observation of human failings, Crabbe is best remembered for The Village: A Poem (1783); The Borough: A Poem (1810); and Tales (1812). Other works include Inebriety, A Poem (1775); The Candidate; A Poetical Epistle To The Authors Of Monthly Review (1780); The Library.

Poet who is sometimes viewed as a precursor to the Romantic poets partly for his sensitive and accurate descriptions of nature. His best known works include The Task (J. Johnson, 1785) and "The Castaway" (1803). He was subject to severe bouts of depression with a strong religious overtone for much of his life.

A prominent English politician during the reign of Queen Anne and the first Lord High Chancellor (the highest-ranking minister in England and Scotland).

A popular comic playwright, Hannah Cowley is best remembered for A Bold Stroke for a Husband (1783) and The Belle's Stratagem (1780).

Playwright, poet, and satirist, Abraham Cowley employed his pen on the royalist side during the English Civil War.

A character often featured in Joseph Addison's Spectator papers. His name is taken from that of a popular dance.

Coventry's picaresque novel The History of Pompey the Little; or, The Life and Adventures of a Lap-Dog (1751) enjoyed much success. Coventry also authored Penshurst: A Poem (1750).

The Theatre Royal Covent Garden opened in 1732 under the management of John Rich. While Rich was manager, David Garrick spent a season or so performing there before taking over management of the theater at Drury Lane. Rich died in 1761, and by 1767 management devolved onto George Colman the elder and Thomas Harris (died 1820). Harris became sole manager after George Colman the elder's departure in 1774 and remained active until 1809. During that time, the theater saw such acting innovations as Charles Macklin's 1773 performance as Macbeth in Scottish costume.