Nathaniel Lee

He was the son of Dr Richard Lee, a Presbyterian clergyman who was rector of Hatfield and held many preferments under the Commonwealth; Dr Lee was chaplain to George Monck, afterwards Duke of Albemarle, but after the Restoration he conformed to the Church of England, and withdrew his approval for Charles I's execution.

[1] Coming to London, perhaps under the patronage of George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, he tried to earn his living as an actor, but acute stage fright made this impossible.

Two tragedies written in rhymed heroic couplets, in imitation of John Dryden, followed in 1676: Sophonisba, or Hannibal's Overthrow and Gloriana, or the Court of Augustus Caesar.

Lee's reputation was made in 1677 with a blank verse tragedy, The Rival Queens, or the Death of Alexander the Great.

The play was suppressed after its third representation for some lines on Tarquin's character that were taken to be a reflection on King Charles II.

He therefore joined Dryden in The Duke of Guise (1683), a play which directly advocated the Tory point of view.