Nicholas Rowe (writer) many years regularly acted on the anniversary of William's landing at Torbay. In Dublin in 1712, at a time when political passions were running high, the performance provoked a serious riot. "The Fair Penitent" (1703), an adaptation of Massinger and Field's "The Fatal Dowry", was pronounced by Samuel Johnson as one of the most pleasing tragedies ever written in English. It featured the character of Lothario from "The Impertinent Curious Man", a story within a story in Miguel de Cervantes' 1605 novel "Don Quixote". As a result of this play, the name became synonymous with a rake (womaniser). Calista is
Penitent thief Don Willis wrote about the two thieves crucified with Jesus in his novel "Tale of the Penitent Thief". The book went on to be awarded as a Finalist in the 2014 International Book Awards, Religious Fiction category. In the 2016 film "Ben-Hur", Dismas is first shown as a teenage zealot whose family has been murdered by the Romans and later crucified beside Jesus. Dismas, the highwayman provided to the player in the first level of roguelike video game "Darkest Dungeon", is named after the penitent thief. Dismas is featured as an integral part of the storyline of the video game