Sir John Falstaffe

Robert Barnabas Brough was a 19th-century English writer, journalist, and dramatist known for sharp satire and an energetic comic style. He worked across several forms, including journalism, songs, plays, and prose, and was part of the busy literary world of Victorian London.

His book The Life of Sir John Falstaff turns Shakespeare’s beloved rogue into the center of a mock biography, expanding the joke with imagination and period wit. That kind of playful literary treatment fits Brough’s reputation as a writer who liked to mix humor, commentary, and performance.

Although he is not as widely read now as some of his contemporaries, his work still offers a vivid glimpse of Victorian comic writing at its liveliest. Readers coming to him through Sir John Falstaff can expect a clever, spirited voice with a real feel for theatrical fun.