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Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 1751-1816We have 4 books for this author.
 Richard Brinsley Sheridan (October 30, 1751 – July 7, 1816) was an Irish playwright and Whig statesman. Early lifeR.B. Sheridan was born in Dublin on October 30, 1751 at 12 Dorset Street, a fashionable street in the late eighteenth century. (Fellow playwright Sean O'Casey was born in Dorset Street 130 years later.) He was baptized on November 4, 1751, his father Thomas Sheridan being an actor-manager who managed the Theatre Royal, Dublin for a time, and his mother, Frances Sheridan, a writer (most famous for her novel The Memoirs of Sidney Biddulph). She died when her son was fifteen. The Sheridans' eldest child, Thomas, died in 1750, the year when their second son, Charles Francis (d. 1806), was born. Works
He also wrote a selection of poems, and political speeches for his time in parliament. Family and careerRichard was educated at Harrow School, and was to study law. However, his highly romantic elopement with Elizabeth Linley (1754-1792; daughter of Thomas Linley), and their subsequent marriage on 13 April 1773 at St Marylebone Parish Church, put paid to such hopes; they had a son, Thomas (1775-1817). Richard's second marriage was to Esther Jane Ogle; they also had a son, Charles Brinsley Sheridan (died 1843). When Richard returned to London, he began writing for the stage. His first play, The Rivals, produced at Covent Garden in 1775, was a failure on its first night. Sheridan cast a more capable actor for the role of the comic Irishman for its second performance, and it was a smash which immediately established the young playwright's reputation. It has gone on to become a standard of English literature. Having quickly made his name and fortune, Sheridan bought a share in Drury Lane. His most famous play The School for Scandal (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, which received a memorable revival (performed with Oedipus in a single evening) starring Laurence Olivier at the Old Vic Theatre in 1946. He was the grandfather of society beauty and author Caroline Norton, and the great-grandfather of Lord Dufferin, third Governor General of Canada and eighth Viceroy of India. The famous ghost story writer Sheridan le Fanu was his great-nephew. PoliticsSheridan was also a Whig politician, entering parliament in 1780 under the sponsorship of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. A great public speaker, he remained in parliament until 1812, and was a leading figure in the party. He held the posts of Receiver-General of the Duchy of Cornwall (1804–1807) and Treasurer of the Navy (1806–1807). 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. External links
This biographical information was gathered from the Richard_Brinsley_Sheridan page, courtesy of the Wikipedia project. BooksThe DuennaScarborough and the Critic School for Scandal St. Patrick's day, or, the scheming lieutenant : a farce in one act |
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