Masks and Facades: Sir John Vanbrugh the Man in his Setting

First published in 1974, Masks and Facades paints an authentic picture of John Vanbrugh as a man of character, talent, wit and charm, moving in an age where patronage held the key to worldly advancement. Yet against a backcloth of theatre, of the great palaces of the aristocracy, and the sycophancy which Court, rank and riches demanded, he always remained his own man. Whether imprisoned in the Bastille as the ‘guest’ of Louis XIV, or in his long contest with the insufferable Sarah, Duchess ...