1626 in literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1626.
Events
- February – The King's Men premiere Ben Jonson's satire on the new newsgathering enterprise The Staple of News, his first new play in almost a decade, at the Blackfriars Theatre in London.
- November – The deaths of Lancelot Andrewes and Nicholas Felton, Bishop of Ely, prompt John Milton, then a student at Cambridge, to write elegies in Latin for both.
- December 27 – Izaak Walton marries Rachel Floud.
New books
Prose
- Francis Bacon – The New Atlantis
- Nicholas Breton – Fantastickes
- Alonso de Castillo Solórzano – Jornadas alegres
- Robert Fludd – Philosophia Sacra
- Marie de Gournay – Les Femmes et Grief des Dames
- Francisco de Quevedo – ''El Buscón''
Drama
- Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft – Baeto, oft oorsprong der Holanderen
- John Fletcher and collaborators – The Fair Maid of the Inn
- William Heminges – The Jews' Tragedy
- Jean Mairet – La Sylvie
- Philip Massinger – A New Way to Pay Old Debts
- Thomas May – Cleopatra
- Thomas Middleton – The Triumphs of Health and Prosperity
- Tirso de Molina – La Huerta de San Juan
- James Shirley – The Maid's Revenge; ''The Brothers''
Births
- January – Robert Howard, English dramatist and politician
- February 5 – Madame de Sévigné, French letter writer
- March 12 – John Aubrey, English antiquary and writer
- July 25 – Gerard Brandt, Dutch dramatist and historian
- September 8 – Simon Patrick, English theologian and bishop
- October 6 – Géraud de Cordemoy, French historian, philosopher and lawyer
- Unknown dates
- *Elizabeth Egerton, Countess of Bridgewater, English poet and dramatist
- *Alonso de Olmedo y Ormeño, Spanish actor and dramatist
Deaths
- February – William Rowley, English dramatist
- February 28 – Cyril Tourneur, English dramatist
- September 25
- *Lancelot Andrewes, English scholar and bishop
- *Théophile de Viau, French poet and dramatist
- October 19 – Béroalde de Verville, French poet and novelist
- December 8 – Sir John Davies, English poet
- unknown date – Samuel Purchas, English miscellanist and travel writer
- probable – Nicholas Breton, English poet and novelist