The intrigues of such aptly named characters as Lady Sneerwell, Sir Joseph Surface, Lady Candour, and Sir Benjamin Backbite have amused theater audiences for more than two centuries. They are the invention of the Irish-born playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and they unfold, collide, and backfire hilariously in his masterpiece, The School for Scandal, a play still considered by many the best comedy of manners in English. It is a comedy with two...

The Rivals was Richard Brinsley Sheridan's first play and while at first it was not well received it would go on to prove to be a great success and establish Sheridan as a major talent. The Rivals satirizes the pretentiousness of English society in the late 18th century. As witty and accessible today as when it was first written, The Rivals sparkles with the humor that Sheridan and his writing are known for.

"The Duenna" was first performed in 1775 and was even deemed "the best opera ever written" by Lord Byron. It was a group effort between Sheridan, his father-in-law Thomas Linley the elder, an expert composer, and brother-in-law Thomas Linley the younger.

Combined in this volume are three of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's most loved works, The School for Scandal and The Rivals and The Critic. "The School for Scandal" is Richard Brinsley Sheridan's classic comedy that pokes fun at London upper class society in the late 1700's. Often referred to as a "comedy of manners", "The School for Scandal" is one Sheridan's most performed plays and a classic of English comedic drama. "The Rivals" was Richard Brinsley...

In The Critic Richard Brinsley Sheridan turns his attention to satirize the Theatre and all the people engaged in the business of the Theatre in late 18th century England. The critic of the story is a man by the name of Mr. Dangle and the play that is the subject of criticism is a horribly written production named The Spanish Armada. Fans of Sheridan will delight in this lesser known work.

Combined in this volume are three of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's most loved works. "The School for Scandal" is Sheridan's classic comedy that pokes fun at London upper class society in the late 1700s. Often referred to as a "comedy of manners", "The School for Scandal" is one Sheridan's most performed plays and a classic of English comedic drama. "The Rivals" was Sheridan's first play and while at first it was not well received it would go on to prove...