Farquhar, George

George Farquhar (1678-1707) was an Irish-born playwright of the Restoration period. During his ten-year career, he produced two brilliant comedies, "The Recruiting Officer" in 1706 and "The Beaux' Stratagem" the following year. The son of a clergyman, he studied at Trinity College, Dublin, before briefly working as an actor at the Smock Alley Theatre in that city. Following an accident during a stage fight, when he mistakenly used a real sword and wounded a fellow actor so badly that he almost died, Farquhar renounced acting. Encouraged by his fellow actor Robert Wilks, he took up the pen and