1667 in literature

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1667. Events January – Courtier Tobias Rustat creates the first endowment for the purchase of books for Cambridge University Library in England. February 22 – The Lejonkulan ("lion's den") opens at Stockholm in Sweden as the first permanent theater in Scandinavia, with the performance of Jean Magnon's Orontes en Satira. March 2 – The première of John Dryden's tragicomedy Secret Love, or The Maiden Queen at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London is well received by an audience including King Charles II of England, his brother the Duke of York and Samuel Pepys. The cast includes Nell Gwyn in one of the first breeches roles in Restoration theatre and her lover Charles Hart. April 15 - Edward Howard's play The Change of Crowns is first performed, in London. Actor John Lacy improvises a few lines about influence-peddling at court, angering King Charles II, a member of the audience (as is Samuel Pepys). The theatre is closed for a time and Lacy jailed. April 27 – The blind, impoverished 58-year-old John Milton seals a contract (one of the first detailed contracts between author and printer known in England) for publication of Paradise Lost with London printer Samuel Simmons for an initial payment of £5.