John Wilmot, the second Earl of Rochester, was born on April 10th, 1644 at Ditchley Manor House in Oxfordshire, England. Wilmot is the epitome of a Restoration rake (or rakehell) who indulged in wine, women, and song, though in Wilmot's case, "any port in the storm" should be substituted for women. Wilmot is considered England's first pornographer and is reputedly the author of Sodom, or The Quintessence of Debauchery (1684), the first work to be censored in England. The play is alleged to have had a single performance before a private court audience. Wilmot's life served as the basis of The Libertine, a film from 2004 starring Johnny Depp.
Read more at
Rictor Norton, the
Diary of Samuel Pepys, and
IMDB.
No comments:
Post a Comment