Richard Brinsley Sheridan

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This article is about Irish playwright and Whig politician. For his
grandson, the English Whig politician, see Richard Brinsley Sheridan
(died 1888). For the Australian politician, see Richard Bingham
Sheridan.

The Right Honourable

Richard Brinsley Butler

Sheridan

Treasurer of the Navy

 In office
1806–1807

Prime Lord Grenville

Minister

Preceded by George Canning

Succeeded by George Rose

Personal details

Born 30 October 1751

Dublin, Ireland

Died 7 July 1816 (aged 64)

14 Savile Row, London, England

Political party Whig

Spouse(s) Elizabeth Ann Linley, Esther Jane

Ogle

Profession Statesman, playwright

Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 1751 – 7 July 1816)

was an Irish satirist, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of
the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such
as The Rivals, The School for Scandal, The Duenna, and A Trip to
Scarborough. He was also a Whig MP for 32 years in the British House
of Commons for Stafford (1780–1806), Westminster(1806–1807),
and Ilchester (1807–1812). He is buried at Poets' Corner in Westminster
Abbey. His plays remain a central part of the canon and are regularly
performed worldwide.

Contents

 1Life
o 1.1Playwright
o 1.2Member of Parliament
 2Family life
 3Works
 4Adaptations and cultural references
 5Notes
 6References
 7Further reading
 8External links

Life[edit]
Portrait of a Gentleman, traditionally identified as Richard Brinsley Sheridan, by John
Hoppner

RB Sheridan was born in 1751 in Dublin, Ireland, where his family had a
house on then fashionable Dorset Street. While in Dublin Sheridan
attended the English Grammar School in Grafton Street. The family
moved permanently to England in 1758 when he was aged seven.[1] He
was a pupil at Harrow School from 1762 to 1768.[2]

His mother, Frances Sheridan, was a playwright and novelist. She had
two plays produced in London in the early 1760s, though she is best
known for her novel The Memoirs of Miss Sidney Biddulph (1761).[3] His
father, Thomas Sheridan, was for a while an actor-manager at
the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin, but following his move to England in
1758 he gave up acting and wrote several books on the subject of
education, and especially the standardisation of the English language in
education.[4] After Sheridan's period in Harrow School, his father
employed a private tutor, Lewis Ker, who directed his studies in his
father's house in London, while Angelo instructed him in fencing and
horsemanship.[2]

In 1772 Sheridan fought two duels with Captain Thomas Mathews, who
had written a newspaper article defaming the character of Elizabeth Ann
Linley, the woman Sheridan intended to marry. In the first duel, they
agreed to fight in Hyde Park, but finding it too crowded they went first to
the Hercules Pillars tavern (on the site where Apsley House now stands
at Hyde Park Corner) and then on to the Castle Tavern in Henrietta
Street, Covent Garden.[5]Far from its romantic image, the duel was short
and bloodless. Mathews lost his sword and, according to Sheridan, was
forced to "beg for his life" and sign a retraction of the article. [6] The
apology was made public and Mathews, infuriated by the publicity the
duel had received, refused to accept his defeat as final and challenged
Sheridan to another duel. Sheridan was not obliged to accept this
challenge, but could have become a social pariah if he had not. The
second duel, fought in July 1772 at Kingsdown near Bath,[7] was a much
more ferocious affair. This time both men broke their swords but carried
on fighting in a "desperate struggle for life and honour".[8] Both were
wounded, Sheridan dangerously, being "borne from the field with a
portion of his antagonist's weapon sticking through an ear, his breast-
bone touched, his whole body covered with wounds and blood, and his
face nearly beaten to jelly with the hilt of Mathews' sword".[9] His
remarkable constitution pulled him through, and eight days after this
bloody affair the Bath Chronicle was able to announce that he was out of
danger. Mathews escaped in a post chaise.

Playwright[edit]
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Mrs.Richard Brinsley Sheridan, aged 31, by Gainsborough (National Gallery of Art)

In the same year, 1772, Richard Sheridan, at the age of 21, eloped with
and subsequently married Elizabeth Ann Linley and set up house in
London on a lavish scale with little money and no immediate prospects
of any—other than his wife's dowry. The young couple entered the
fashionable world and apparently held up their end in entertaining. In
1775 Sheridan's first play, The Rivals, was produced at London's Covent
Garden Theatre. It was a failure on its first night. Sheridan cast a more
capable actor in the lead for its second performance, and it was a huge
success which immediately established the young playwright's
reputation and the favour of fashionable London. It has gone on to
become a standard of English literature.

Shortly after the success of The Rivals, Sheridan and his father-in-
law Thomas Linley the Elder, a successful composer, produced the
opera, The Duenna. This piece was accorded such a warm reception
that it played for seventy-five performances.

His most famous play The School for Scandal (Drury Lane, 8 May 1777)
is considered one of the greatest comedies of manners in English. It was
followed by The Critic (1779), an updating of the satirical Restoration
play The Rehearsal.

Having quickly made his name and fortune, in 1776 Sheridan

bought David Garrick's share in the Drury Lane patent, and in 1778 the
remaining share; his later plays were all produced there.[10] In 1778
Sheridan wrote The Camp, which commented on the ongoing threat of a
French invasion of Britain. The same year Sheridan's brother-in-
law Thomas Linley, a young composer who worked with him at Drury
Lane Theatre, died in a boating accident. Sheridan had a rivalry with his
fellow playwright Richard Cumberland and included a parody of
Cumberland in his play The Critic. On 24 February 1809 (despite the
much vaunted fire safety precautions of 1794) the theatre burned down.
On being encountered drinking a glass of wine in the street while
watching the fire, Sheridan was famously reported to have said, "A man
may surely be allowed to take a glass of wine by his own
fireside."[11] Sheridan was the manager of the theatre for many years, and
later became sole owner with no managerial role.

Member of Parliament[edit]

In Uncorking Old Sherry (1805), James Gillray caricatured Sheridan as a bottle

of sherry, uncorked by Pitt and bursting out with puns, invective, and fibs.

In 1780, Sheridan entered Parliament as the ally of Charles James

Fox on the side of the American Colonials in the political debate of that
year. He is said to have paid the burgesses of Stafford five guineas
apiece to allow him to represent them. As a consequence, his first
speech in Parliament was a defence against the charge of bribery.

In 1787 Sheridan demanded the impeachment of Warren Hastings, the

first Governor-General of India. His speech[12] in the House of Commons
was described by Edmund Burke, Charles James Fox and William Pitt
as the greatest ever delivered in ancient or modern times.[13]

In 1793 during the debates on the Aliens Act designed to prevent French
Revolutionary spies and saboteurs from flooding into the country,
Edmund Burke made a speech in which he claimed there were
thousands of French agents in Britain ready to use weapons against the
authorities. To dramatically emphasise his point he threw down a knife
onto the floor of the House of Commons. Sheridan is said to have
shouted out "Where's the fork?", which led to much of the house
collapsing in laughter.[14]

During the invasion scare of 1803 Sheridan penned an Address to the

People:

THEY, by a strange Frenzy driven, fight for Power, for Plunder, and
extended Rule—WE, for our Country, our Altars, and our Homes.—
THEY follow an ADVENTURER, whom they fear—and obey a Power
which they hate—WE serve a Monarch whom we love—a God whom we
adore...They call on us to barter all of Good we have inherited and
proved, for the desperate Chance of Something better which
they promise.—Be our plain Answer this: The Throne WE honour is the
PEOPLE'S CHOICE—the Laws we reverence are our brave Fathers'
Legacy—the Faith we follow teaches us to live in bonds of Charity with
all Mankind, and die with Hope of Bliss beyond the Grave. Tell
your Invaders this; and tell them too, we seek no Change; and, least of
all, such Change as they would bring us.[15]

He held the posts of Receiver-General of the Duchy of Cornwall (1804–

1807) and Treasurer of the Navy (1806–1807).

When he failed to be re-elected to Parliament in 1812, after 32 years, his

creditors closed in on him and his last years were harassed by debt and
disappointment. On hearing of his debts, the American Congress offered
Sheridan £20,000 in recognition of his efforts to prevent the American
War of Independence. The offer was refused.
Mrs Sheridan (Miss Linley)

In December 1815 he became ill, largely confined to bed. Sheridan died

in poverty, and was buried in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey;
his funeral was attended by dukes, earls, lords, viscounts, the Lord
Mayor of London, and other notables.

In 1825 the Irish writer Thomas Moore published a two-volume

sympathetic biography Memoirs of the Life of Richard Brinsley
Sheridanwhich became a major influence on subsequent perceptions of
him. A Royal Society of Arts blue plaque was unveiled in 1881 to
commemorate Sheridan at 14 Savile Row in Mayfair.[16] Another plaque
is in Stafford.

Family life[edit]
He was twice married. He and his first wife Elizabeth had a son:

 Thomas (Tom) Sheridan, who married Caroline

Henrietta Callander, daughter of Col. Sir James
Campbell of Craigforth, Stirling, and Ardkinglas
 [Argyll], and was the father of Helen Blackwood,
Baroness Dufferin and Claneboye, Caroline
Norton and Georgiana Seymour, Duchess of
Somerset

Elizabeth also had a daughter, Mary, born 30 March 1792 but fathered
by her lover, Lord Edward FitzGerald.[17] After Elizabeth's death,
Sheridan fulfilled his promise to look after Elizabeth and FitzGerald's
baby daughter. A nurse was employed to care for the child at
his Wanstead home.[18] The baby had a series of fits one evening in
October 1793, when she was 18 months old, dying before a doctor could
attend. She was interred beside her mother at Wells Cathedral.[19]

In 1795, Richard B. Sheridan married Hester Jane Ogle (1776–1817),

daughter of the Dean of Winchester. They had at least one child:
Charles Brinsley Sheridan (1796–1843).[20] At one time Sheridan
owned Downe House, Richmond Hill in London.[21]

Works[edit]

Physical Aid,—or—Britannia recover'd from a Trance;—also, the Patriotic Courage of

Sherry Andrew; & a peep thro' the Fog (1803) by James Gillray, showing Sheridan
as a Silenus-like and ragged Harlequin defending Henry Addington and Lord
Hawkesbury on the Dover coast from the advancing French rowboats filled with
French soldiers, led by Napoleon. Sheridan says: "Let 'em come! damn'me!!!—
Where are the French Buggabo's? Single handed I'd beat forty of 'em!!! dam'me I'd
pay 'em like Renter Shares, sconce off their half Crowns!!!—mulct them out of their
Benefits, &c, come Drury Lane Slang over em!."

 The Rivals
 St Patrick's Day
 The Duenna
 A Trip to Scarborough
 The School for Scandal
 The Camp
 The Critic
 The Glorious First of June
 Pizarro
 Clio's Protest (written 1771, published 1819)

He also wrote a selection of poems and political speeches during his

time in parliament.

Adaptations and cultural references[edit]

 Sheridan is played by Barry Stanton in the

film Madness of King George (1994). In The
Duchess (2008), a film based on the life of
Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire,
Sheridan is played by Aidan McArdle and The
School for Scandal is performed in the movie.
 Chris Humphreys has used the character of
Jack Absolute from The Rivals as a basis for his
books The Blooding of Jack Absolute, Absolute
Honour and Jack Absolute. These are published
under the name C. C. Humphreys.
  Sheridan is also a neighbourhood, named after
the famous playwright and politician
in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Sheridan was
shortlisted as the name of the newly
incorporated city in 1974, which lies just west of
the province's capital city of Toronto.[22]

Notes[edit]
1. ^ Thomas Sheridan Biography at James Boswell
Info; retrieved 30 June 2013.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b Rae 1897, p. 78.
3. ^ Campbell Ross, Ian (2004), "Sheridan , Frances
(1724–1766)", Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography, Oxford University Press, retrieved 2
September 2014
4. ^ Rae 1897a, pp. 87–88.
5. ^ Wheatley 2011, p. 19.
6. ^ Rae 1897, p. 79.
7. ^ "Bath, Wednesday July 8th", Bath
Chronicle, XII (612), p. 3, 9 July 1772 – via British
Newspaper Archive
8. ^ Steinmetz 1868, p. 17.
9. ^ Fintan O'Toole: A Traitor's Kiss
10. ^ The Oxford Companion to the Theatre, edited
by Phyllis Hartnoll, OUP (1951)
11. ^ The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (1999) OUP
12. ^ http://www.bartleby.com/268/6/6.html
13. ^ John O'Connor Power, 'Irish Wit and Humour',
Time, 1890. p.480. The Making of an Orator, 1906,
pp. 187–194
14. ^ Arnold-Baker 1996, p. 393.
 15. ^ Frank J. Klingberg and Sigurd B. Hustvedt
(eds.), The Warning Drum. The British Home Front
Faces Napoleon. Broadsides of 1803 (University of
California Press, 1944), pp. 93–94.
16. ^ Sheridan Plaque – Mayfair, London at English
Heritage. Retrieved 30 June 2013
17. ^ Chedzoy 1998, p. 278, 281.
18. ^ Chedzoy (1998), p. 297
19. ^ Chedzoy (1998), p. 298
20. ^ Jeffares, A. Norman (2008). "Sheridan, Richard
Brinsley (1751–1816)". Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press.
Retrieved 19 June2015. (subscription or UK public
library membership required)
21. ^ Historic England. "Downe House
(1249949)". National Heritage List for England.
Retrieved 19 June 2015.
22. ^ Riendeau, Roger (1985), Mississauga, An
Illustrated History, Windsor Books

References[edit]

 Arnold-Baker, Charles (1996), The Companion

to British History, Longcross Press
 Chedzoy, Alan (1998), Sheridan's Nightingale,
Allison & Busby, ISBN 0-7490-0341-3
 Steinmetz, Andrew (1868), The Romance of
Duelling in All Times and Countries, Chapman
and Hall
 Rae, William Fraser (1897a), "Sheridan,
Thomas (1719-1788)" , in Lee,
 Sidney (ed.), Dictionary of National
Biography, 52, London: Smith, Elder & Co,
pp. 87–88
 Wheatley, Henry Benjamin (2011), Round about
Piccadilly and Pall Mall: Or, a Ramble from the
Haymarket to Hyde Parkvb (illustrated ed.),
Cambridge University
Press, ISBN 9781108036504
Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a

publication now in the public domain: Rae,
William Fraser (1897), "Sheridan, Richard
Brinsley", in Lee, Sidney (ed.), Dictionary of
National Biography, 52, London: Smith, Elder &
Co, pp. 78–85
 O'Toole, Fintan. A Traitor's Kiss: The Life of
Richard Brindsley Sheridan, 1751–1816, New
York, 1998.

Further reading[edit]

 Cousin, John William (1910). "Sheridan, Richard

Brinsley" . A Short Biographical Dictionary of
English Literature. London: J. M. Dent & Sons –
via Wikisource.
 Klingberg, Frank J.; Hustvedt, Sigurd B., eds.
(1944), The Warning Drum. The British Home
 Front Faces Napoleon. Broadsides of 1803,
University of California Press
 Taylor, David Francis (2012), Theatres of
Opposition: Empire, Revolution, and Richard
Brinsley Sheridan, Oxford University Press
 Richard Brinsley Sheridan profile,
TheatreHistory.com, retrieved 2 March 2008

External links[edit]
Wikisource has
original works
written by or about:
Richard Brinsley
Sheridan

Wikiquote has
quotations related
to: Richard
Brinsley Sheridan

Wikimedia
Commons has media
related to Richard
Brinsley Sheridan.

 Works by Richard Brinsley Sheridan at Project

Gutenberg
 Works by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
(illustrator) at Faded Page (Canada)
 Works by or about Richard Brinsley
Sheridan at Internet Archive
  Works by Richard Brinsley
Sheridan at LibriVox (public domain
audiobooks)
 The Dramatic Works of Richard Brinsley
Sheridan at the Internet Archive. Seven plays
including The School For Scandal.
 Memoirs of the Life of the Right Honorable
Richard Brinsley Sheridan Volume One
(1853) at the Internet Archive.
 Memoirs of the Life of the Right Honorable
Richard Brinsley Sheridan Volume Two
(1826) at the Internet Archive.
 Richard Brinlsey Sheridan Gallery at the
National Portrait Gallery.

Political offices

Preceded by Treasurer of the Navy Succeeded by

George Canning 1806–1807 George Rose

Parliament of Great Britain

Parliament of the United Kingdom

Member of Parliament Succeeded by

Preceded by
for Stafford Richard Mansel-
Richard Whitworth
1780–1806 Philipps

Member of Parliament
Preceded by Succeeded by
for Westminster
 Earl Percy 1806–1807 Lord Cochrane

Preceded by Member of Parliament

Succeeded by
Sir William for Ilchester
Lord Ward
Manners 1807–1812

hide

Plays by Richard Brinsley Sheridan

1777)

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The Rivals (disambiguation).

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he Rivals

Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Mrs Malaprop
Miss Lydia languish
 Faulkland
Acres
Sir Lucius O'Trigger
Fag
David
Coachman
Errand boy servants
Sir Anthony Absolute
Captain Jack Absolute
Julia
Lucy
Maid

17 January 1775

Covent Garden Theatre

English

Comedy of manners

Bath, 'within one day'[1]

medy of manners by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in five acts which was first performed at Covent G
The story has been updated in numerous adaptions, including a 1935 musical in London and a 1
averick, with attribution.

Contents

1History
o 1.1Production
o 1.2Reception
 2Characters
3Plot
4Adaptations
o 4.1Musical (1935)
o 4.2"Maverick" adaptation (1958)
o 4.3Television productions
o 4.4Jack Absolute Novels (2003-06)
5Biographical sources
6References
7External links

it]
eridan's first play. At the time, he was a young newlywed living in Bath. At Sheridan's insistence, u
zabeth Linley) had given up her career as a singer. This was proper for the wife of a "gentleman",
d have earned a substantial income as a performer. Instead, the Sheridans lived beyond their me
try and nobility with Eliza's singing (in private parties) and Richard's wit. Finally, in need of funds,
ould gain him the remuneration he desired in a short time: he began writing a play. He had over th
ys and poems, and among his papers were numerous unfinished plays, essays and political tract
h an ambitious project as this. In a short time, however, he completed The Rivals.

t]
t performed at Covent Garden, London, on 17 January 1775, with comedian Mary Bulkley as Julia
oth the public and the critics for its length, for its bawdiness and for the character of Sir Lucius O'T
played very badly. The actor, Lee, after being hit with an apple during the performance, stopped
By the pow'rs, is it personal? — is it me, or the matter?" Apparently, it was both. Sheridan immedia
t 11 days, rewrote the original (the Larpent manuscript) extensively, including a new preface in wh
see no reason why the author of a play should not regard a first night's audience as a candid and
of the public, at his last rehearsal. If he can dispense with flattery, he is sure at least of sincerity,
ude, he may rely upon the justness of the comment.

ogised for any impression that O'Trigger was intended as an insult to Ireland. Rewritten and with a
f O'Trigger, the play reopened on 28 January to significant acclaim. Indeed, it became a favourite
mand performances in ten years, and also in the Colonies (it was George Washington's favourite p
he repertoires of 19th-century companies in England and the US.

nsidered to be one of Sheridan's masterpieces, and the term malapropism was coined in referenc
ay. She was first played by Jane Green.

dit]

rvant, illustration by Edwin Austin Abbey, c. 1895

 Sir Anthony Absolute, a wealthy baronet

 Captain Jack Absolute, his son, disguised as Ensign Beverley
 Faulkland, friend of Jack Absolute
 Bob Acres, friend of Jack Absolute
 Sir Lucius O'Trigger, an Irish baronet
 Fag, Captain Absolute's servant
 David, Bob Acres' servant
 Thomas, Sir Anthony's servant
 Lydia Languish, a wealthy teenaged heiress, in love with "Ensign Beverley"
  Mrs. Malaprop, Lydia's middle-aged guardian
 Julia Melville, a young relation of the Absolutes, in love with Faulkland
 Lucy, Lydia's conniving maid

8th-century Bath, a town that was legendary for conspicuous consumption and fashion at the time
went there to "take the waters", which were believed to have healing properties. Bath society was
don, and hence it provides an ideal setting for the characters.

the two young lovers, Lydia and Jack. Lydia, who reads a lot of popular novels of the time, wants
her, Jack pretends to be "Ensign Beverley", a poor army officer. Lydia is enthralled with the idea
e of the objections of her guardian, Mrs. Malaprop, a moralistic widow. Mrs. Malaprop is the chief c
continual misuse of words that sound like the words she intends to use, but mean something com
ism was coined in reference to the character).

anguish in The Rivals, 1899. Photograph by Zaida Ben-Yusuf.

r suitors: Bob Acres (a somewhat buffoonish country gentleman), and Sir Lucius O'Trigger, an imp
ntleman. Sir Lucius pays Lucy to carry love notes between him and Lydia (who uses the name "De
ia" is actually Mrs. Malaprop.

Sir Anthony arrives suddenly in Bath. He has arranged a marriage for Jack, but Jack demurs, say
rel violently. But Jack soon learns through the gossip of Lucy and Fag that the marriage arranged
He makes a great show of submission to his father, and is presented to Lydia with Mrs. Malaprop'
at he is only posing as Sir Anthony's son. She annoys Mrs. Malaprop by loudly professing her ete
ecting "Jack Absolute".

and is in love with Julia, but he suffers from jealous suspicion. He is constantly fretting himself ab
quarrel foolishly, making elaborate and high-flown speeches about true love that satirise the rom

Lucius that another man ("Beverley") is courting the lady of Acres' choice (Lydia, though Sir Luciu
mediately declares that Acres must challenge "Beverley" to a duel and kill him. Acres goes along,
espite his own rather more pacifist feelings, and the profound misgivings of his servant David. Sir
cres tells him of his intent. Jack agrees to deliver the note to "Beverley", but declines to be Acres'

n presents Jack to Lydia, but this time with Sir Anthony present, exposing Jack's pose as "Beverl
cturing of her romantic dreams, and spurns Jack contemptuously.

learned of the proposed marriage of Jack and Lydia, and determines to challenge Jack. He meet
a's rejection, agrees to fight him without even knowing the reason. They will meet at the same tim
Beverley".

nd, Acres is very reluctant to fight, but Sir Lucius will have no shirking. Jack and Faulkland arrive
ly his friend Jack, and begs off from their duel. However, Jack is quite willing to fight Sir Lucius, a

Malaprop, Lydia, Julia, and Sir Anthony of the duel, and they all rush off to stop it. Sir Lucius expl
ydia denies any connection to him, and admits her love for Jack. Mrs. Malaprop announces that s
rror, realising that he has been hoaxed. Sir Anthony consoles Mrs. Malaprop, Julia is reconciled t
one to a party.
[edit]

)[edit]
al production of The Rivals with songs by Herbert Hughes and lyrics by John Robert Monsell was
at London's Novelty Theatre in September 1935. The Novelty Theatre had a few other names bu
ay Theatre. Queen Mary attended one of the performances.[4]

aptation (1958)[edit]

erick

ick

ten as a 1958 episode of the television series Maverick, starring James Garner and Roger Moore
es in which Garner and Moore appeared together (Moore did not play "Beau Maverick," Bret Mave
ft the series). Patricia "Pat" Crowley portrays the leading lady. The episode was called "The Rival
en due credit.

oductions[edit]
ted for Australian television in 1961.

a version which was broadcast in 1970 as part of their Play of the Month series, starring Jeremy
e Novels (2003-06)[edit]
ter of the play was taken to be the identity of the hero of a series of historic fictional adventure bo
Humphreys. They take place in Cornwall, London, Quebec, the American colonies during both th
can Revolution, and Portugal.

l sources[edit]

 Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The Rivals (New Mermaids 1979, Elizabeth Duthie, Ed.).
 Linda Kelly, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, A Life (Sinclair-Stevenson 1997).
 Brooke Allen, The Scholar of Scandal, a review of Fintan O’Toole, The Traitor's Kiss: The Li
Brinsley Sheridan, 1751–1816 (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 1998), at New Criterion.
 Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816) at Theatre History.

edit]

1. ^ Dramatis Personæ
2. ^ The Dramatic Works of Richard Brinsley Sheridan at the Internet Archive. Oxford University Press 193
Joseph Knight p10. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
3. ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Bulkley née Wilford; other married name Barresford, Mary, b
4. ^ Rosing, Ruth Glean. Val Rosing: Musical Genius. pg. 123, Manhattan: Sunflower University Press (19

ks[edit]
ia
s has media
The

 Full text of The Rivals at Project Gutenberg

 The Rivals at the Internet Broadway Database
 The Rivals on YouTube
 The Rivals public domain audiobook at LibriVox
hide

Plays by Richard Brinsley Sheridan

St Patrick's Day, or, The Scheming Lieutenant is an 18th-century play

by Irish playwright and poet Richard Brinsley Sheridan(1751–1816), first
performed on 2 May 1775 at Covent Garden. It is said to have
completed by the author within two days. Sheridan wrote the two-act
farce for the benefit performance of lead actor Lawrence Clinch, who
had so successfully played Sir Lucius O'Trigger in his previous play The
Rivals.
The Duenna is a three-act comic opera, mostly composed by Thomas
Linley the elder and his son, Thomas Linley the younger, to an English-
language libretto by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. At the time, it was
considered one of the most successful operas ever staged in
England,[1] and its admirers included Samuel Johnson, William
Hazlitt and Lord George Byron (Byron called it "the best opera ever
written"[2]).

A Trip to Scarborough is an 18th-century play by Richard Brinsley

Sheridan (1751–1816), first performed on 24 February 1777. Sheridan
based his work on John Vanbrugh's The Relapse (1696), removing
much of the bawdy content.[1]

The play was reworked as one of three plot strands in a 1982 revival
by Alan Ayckbourn, with the action taking place in the Royal
Hotel, Scarborough. The first performance was on 8 December that
year. It is a technically demanding piece as the actors are required to
take on several roles, with quick changes between scenes as the play
switches from the 18th century to World War II to the present
day.[2]Ayckbourn updated the production when it returned to the Stephen
Joseph Theatre in the town during 2007-2008.[3]

The School for Scandal is a play, a comedy, written by Richard

Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane
Theatre on 8 May 1777.

The Camp: A Musical Entertainment is a 1778 play by Richard

Brinsley Sheridan, with assistance from John Burgoyne and David
Garrick. The set designs were by Philip James de Loutherbourg. The
play gently satirised the preparations of the British to organise home
defences during the American War of Independence when an invasion
of the British Isles by France, and later Spain, seemed imminent. It
focuses on a military camp placed near Coxheath in Southern England.
It premiered on 15 October 1778 at the Drury Lane Theatre. The play
was produced at a time when a genuine sense of crisis swept the
country following France's entry into the war which culminated in the
failed Armada of 1779. Because of his death while working on the play,
Garrick is sometimes said to be the only casualty of the French
invasion.[1]

The play proved to be a hit. It was the most performed work at the Drury
Lane Theatre during the 1778-1779 season, comfortably beating School
for Scandal.[2]

References
The Critic: or, a Tragedy Rehearsed is a satire by Richard Brinsley
Sheridan. It was first staged at Drury Lane Theatre in 1779. It is
a burlesque on stage acting and play production conventions, and
Sheridan considered the first act to be his finest piece of writing. One of
its major roles, Sir Fretful Plagiary, is a comment on the vanity of
authors, and in particular a caricature of the dramatist Richard
Cumberland who was a contemporary of Sheridan.
The Glorious First of June is a 1794 play by Richard Brinsley
Sheridan. It depicts the Glorious First of June, a British naval victory
over the French that took place on 1 June 1794 during the French
Revolutionary War. It premiered on 2 July 1794 at the Drury Lane
theatre, and was based on newspaper accounts of the battle. It contains
a debate on the question of naval patriotism – a key issue at the time.
The profits made from the play were donated to the families of those
killed in the battle.[1]

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Study
Guide
Analyzing
the
Characters
in “The
Rivals” by
Richard
Sheridan
Literature Study Guides and Chapter

Summaries / By Cameron Burry / Homework

Help & Study Guides
An Overview
"The Rivals" is an 18th century comedy written

by Richard Sheridan. It is widely considered a

comedy of manners, which is a social satire
that focuses on commenting on the state of

the social classes of the day, particularly in

high society. The play features a cast of 12

major characters, each of which plays a pivotal

role in the play’s composition.

The play is set in Bath, Somerset, England, in

the mid-18th century and revolves around two

rich young lovers, Lydia and Jack. However,
Jack pretends to be a young, poor soldier in

the hopes of sweeping Lydia off her feet with

the romantic idea of running off and eloping

with a poor officer. Both characters are

readers of romantic novellas of the day,

lending to their overly dramatic romance

encounters throughout the story.
Understanding each of the characters in "The

Rivals" by Richard Sheridan will help any

reader or watcher better understand the

context of the story and the state of mind of

the characters.
Overview of
Main
Characters
Though there are 12 unique characters, the
primary characters, defined as the characters
who are absolutely essential to the story, are
the two lovers and their respective guardians:
Sir Anthony, his son Jack, Mrs. Malaprop and
her ward Lydia. The other major characters,

though important, are not essential to the

storyline’s basic message.

Sir Anthony
Absolute:
The Wealthy
Baronet
Considered one of the most flirtatious men in

all of Bath, Sir Anthony is a dualistic character

who is difficult to figure out. This is because
his mannerisms change based on the

company he keeps. If he keeps company with

a group of young women, he is a charming

and facetious man, while if he keeps company

with a group of older men, he is a staunch,

unyielding authoritarian. This dualistic nature

of Sir Anthony ironically conflicts with his

name: Absolute. However, in spite of his

altering personality, Sir Anthony is a generally

loving father to his son, Jack, and seems to

want only the best for him.
Captain Jack
Absolute: Sir
Anthony’s
Young,
Romantic
Son
Captain Jack Absolute is a ranking officer in
the King’s Royal Army and is generally
considered a gentleman by all the other
characters in the play. However, in spite of his
well-to-do nature, Captain Jack seems to have
 a penchant for mischief throughout the play,

taking the role of a soldier named “Ensign

Beverly" in order to romantically win the
affections of Lydia. Captain Jack shares his

father’s dualistic nature, again conflicting with

his name. At one moment, he could be the

consummate gentleman, while at another

moment, he will be a romantic flirt and

absolute fool. It is important to note that,

whenever Jack is with Lydia, he tends to be

the latter.

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Lydia: A
Wealthy
Heiress and
Lover of Jack
A frivolous young woman infatuated with

romance novellas and high society fashion,

Lydia is one of the original so-called Valley

Girls. She is highly sentimental, often
lamenting over the sadness of life and the
romantic thrills that she gets from her young

courters. In fact, she makes an effort to mimic

the lines and mannerisms in the romantic
stories that she reads. Even though she is a
very silly and flighty character, Lydia is also

stubborn and enduring, causing much tension

between her and her guardian. Though she is
the heiress of a large sum of money, she

seems all too willing to throw it all away to

pursue her love of adventure and romance.

Mrs.
Malaprop:
Lydia’s Legal
Guardian
The archetypal hard, proper woman, Mrs.

Malaprop is Lydia’s aunt and legal owner of

her fortune until Lydia becomes of age. She is

strictly opposed to Lydia’s frivolous behavior
and often scoffs at her desire for romance and
love. Mrs. Malaprop conflicts with Jack’s father

in scoffing at love and romance rather than

encouraging it. She is a gossiping and
melodramatic character, often taking things
way out of proportion and putting her own

spin on them.

Minor
Characters
Though not necessarily as important, the
minor characters are still key components to
the play’s satirical message. They engage in

several sub-plots, but mostly center around

the activity of Jack and Lydia.
 Julia: Lover of Faulkland – Considered the

only reasonable character in the play, Julia

is the voice of logic to the sillier
characters.

 Lucy: Lydia’s Maid – A sneaky and

conniving character, she double deals and

back stabs whenever possible.

 Bob Acres: A friend of Jack's – A country

gent who tries hard to be a proper

gentleman. However, he is portrayed as a

pretender and fool.

 Faulkland: A friend of Jack's – Lover of

Julia and a torn character. He, like Jack, is

dualistic and caught between being a

dramatic lover and a proper gentleman.

 Sir Lucius: An Irish courtier and baronet –

A proper but short-tempered gentleman

who serves as a casual antagonist and
courter of many women.

 Jack’s servant: A proper and loyal

character who, like Lucy, often lies and

connives to get his job done.

 David: Bob’s Servant – An old man who

tries to level out the moody Bob.

References
 Sheridan, Richard. The Rivals.