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During a brief but brilliant literary career, Irish-born dramatist and statesman Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816) wrote cleverly plotted plays that revealed his nimble wit and keen eye for comic situations. Two of them -- The School for Scandal and The Rivals -- are among... Read Full Overview

The Rivals, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, is a comedy of manners in five acts. It was first performed on 17 January 1775.

The Rivals is the first major comedy by Richard Sheridan, a radical Irish actor and politician in George III's England. Not quite as complex and astute as his later She Stoops to Conquer, the Rivals remains a warm, unforgettable, and very, very funny play. Here we meet the chatty... Read Full Overview

Both Sheridan and Goldsmith lamented the popularity of sentimental comedy in the later eighteenth century and wrote their witty and satirical plays (though never lascivious in the manner of Restoration comedies) to counteract the sentimental mode. The Rivals (1775) was a qualified... Read Full Overview

The Rivals is a comedy in five acts by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 17 January 1775. The Rivals was Sheridan's first play. The play is considered to be one of Sheridan's masterpieces, and the term malapropism was coined in reference... Read Full Overview

This anthology is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. For those who have known and loved these works in the past, this is an invitation to reunite with old friends in a fresh new format. From Shakespeare's... Read Full Overview

Both Sheridan and Goldsmith lamented the popularity of sentimental comedy in the later eighteenth century and wrote their witty and satirical plays (though never lascivious in the manner of Restoration comedies) to counteract the sentimental mode. The Rivals (1775)... Read Full Overview

Both Sheridan and Goldsmith lamented the popularity of sentimental comedy in the later eighteenth century and wrote their witty and satirical plays (though never lascivious in the manner of Restoration comedies) to counteract the sentimental mode. The Rivals (1775)... Read Full Overview

The Rivals was Sheridan's first play. At the time, he was a young newlywed living in Bath. At Sheridan's insistence, upon marriage his wife Eliza (born Elizabeth Linley) had given up her career as a singer. This was proper for the wife of a "gentleman", but it was difficult because... Read Full Overview

Lydia Languish is determined to marry only for love, and not for wealth. Knowing this, wealthy Captain Jack Absolute woos Lydia by pretending to be an impoverished naval ensign. Unfortunately, Lydia's aunt, Mrs Malaprop, refuses to give her blessing to this match - which means... Read Full Overview

Reproduction of the original: The Rivals a Comedy by Richard Brinsley Sheridan

The plot centres on the two young lovers, Lydia and Jack. Lydia, who reads a lot of popular novels of the time, wants a purely romantic love affair. To court her, Jack pretends to be "Ensign Beverley", a poor army officer. Lydia is enthralled with the idea of eloping with... Read Full Overview