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 the funniest in the English language.
The Rivals, brimming with false identities and with romantic entanglements carried on amid a cloud of parental disapproval, satirizes the pretentiousness and sentimentality of the age. It features a cast of memorable characters, among them the lovely Lydia Languish, whose pretty head has been filled with nonsense from romantic novels; Capt. Jack Absolute, a young officer in love with Lydia; Sir Anthony Absolute, Jack's autocratic father; Sir Lucius O'Trigger, a fiery Irishman; and Jack's provincial neighbor, Bob Acres, a bumptious but lovable country squire in love with Lydia.
Hoping to win Lydia's affection, Captain Jack woos the pretty miss by pretending to be a penniless ensign named Beverley, an act that nearly incites a duel with Acres. His actions also provoke serious objections from Lydia's aunt, Mrs. Malaprop, a misspeaking matron whose ludicrous misuse of words gave the English language a new term: malapropism. Ultimately, the hilarious complications are resolved in a radiant comic masterpiece that will entertain and delight theater devotees and students of English drama alike.

comedy of manners; five acts; Covent Garden Theatre; Sir Anthony Absolute; Captain Jack Absolute; Faulkland; Bob Acres; Sir Lucius O'Trigger; Fag; David; Thomas; Lydia Languish; Ensign Beverley; Mrs. Malaprop; Julia Melville; Lucy; Bath; 18th century; conspicuous consumption; take the waters; London; malapropism; Irish satirist; Irish playwright; Irish poet; London Theatre Royal; Drury Lane; The School for Scandal; The Duenna; A Trip to Scarborough; Whig MP; British House of Commons for Stafford; Westminster; Ilchester; Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey