Richard Brinsley Sheridan, 1751-1816

Irish playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal,
Drury Lane
known for his plays such as The Rivals, The School for Scandal and A Trip
to Scarborough
For 32 years he was a Whig Member of the British House of
Commons for Stafford (17801806), Westminster (18061807)
and Ilchester (18071812)
He was buried at Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey
in 1775, his first play, The Rivals, was produced at London's Covent Garden
Theatre
His most famous play The School for Scandal (Drury Lane, 8 May 1777) is
considered one of the greatest comedies of manners in English
Terms to know
Comedy of Manners realistic, often satirical, commend in which manners and
conventions of an artificial, highly sophisticated society; characters usually types.
Malapropism an inappropriate use of speech resulting from a use of a word
which sounds like another; comic device; Mrs. Malaprop.