John Hoyle (died 1692) was a bisexual lawyer in London and a lover of the writer Aphra Behn. [1] [2] [3] Behn's relationship with Hoyle was the "dominating one" in her life. [4]
John Hoyle was the eldest son of Thomas Hoyle (baptised 29 January 1587 - died 30 January 1650) who was a member of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651) and became lord mayor of York when the city surrendered in July 1644. [5] Thomas Hoyle was among those who supported the execution of King Charles I (1649), and he hanged himself one year later. [5]
John Hoyle was a lawyer who received his training at Gray's Inn [2] and was a member of the Inner Temple, [6] London. He was openly republican and follower of Thomas Hobbes. [4]
While still a law student, in 1663, or possibly in 1665, [2] he stabbed an unarmed watchmaker, who died six days later. [4] Despite a number of witnesses against him, he escaped the murder charge with a verdict of ignoramus, i.e. there was not sufficient evidence to convict him. [4] Hoyle was arrested again in 1687, this time for the crime of "sodomy with a poulterer". [7] The grand jury returned again a verdict of ignoramus. [3]
In the 1670s, he was an intimate of the pioneering woman writer and playwright Aphra Behn. Their relationship was tumultuous. [8] [3] Tom Brown published a letter from Aphra Behn to John Hoyle in "Letters of Love and Gallantry", [9] Behn was asking Hoyle to exculpate himself in regards of the accusations made against him; she was upset about his behaviour, and asked him to try to restore his reputation. [10] He figures in much of Behn's writings [11] and is thought to be one of the two models for the promiscuous protagonist of Behn's 1677 play The Rover. [8] Behn died in 1689 and is buried in Westminster Abbey. It has been said that John Hoyle wrote her epitaph: "Here lies a proof that wit can never be / Defense enough against mortality." [2]
Around 1692, he was stabbed to death "after a drunken brawl in a tavern" [3] and is buried in the vault belonging to the Inner Temple Church.