author
Richard Sheridan
A master of wit and social satire, this Anglo-Irish dramatist gave the English stage enduring favorites like The Rivals and The School for Scandal. He also led a remarkably public second life in politics, serving for decades in the British Parliament.
1 Audiobook
The Hoplite
by Richard Sheridan
About the author
Born in Dublin in 1751, Richard Brinsley Sheridan grew up in a literary family and went on to become one of the best-known playwrights of the late 18th century. His comedies, especially The Rivals, The School for Scandal, and The Critic, are still remembered for their sharp dialogue, theatrical energy, and delight in exposing vanity and hypocrisy.
Sheridan was more than a writer. He became owner-manager of London’s Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and later built a major political career as a Whig member of Parliament. That mix of stagecraft, public speaking, and political life helped shape his reputation in his own time as both a brilliant entertainer and a striking public figure.
He died in London in 1816, but his plays have lasted far beyond the world that first applauded them. Readers and audiences still return to his work for its sparkle, comic timing, and very human sense of how people behave when pride, gossip, and ambition take over.