Molière

alias Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673). French playwright, actor and theatre manager. In the Restoration his plays were very often adapted for the English stage and proved a decisive influence. William Wycherley's The Plain Dealer, for instance, takes central elements from Molière's Le Misanthrope (1666).

Further Reading:

Knutson, Harold C. The Triumph of Wit: Molière and Restoration Comedy. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1988.