Richard Brinsley Sheridan was born in Dublin, Ireland, on January 25, 1751. His father was an actor and teacher of elocution, while his mother was a writer with several novels published. Richard studied at Harrow, an elite private school in Dublin, where he was initially looked down upon as a "player's son" (at the time, actors, or players, were generally held in low esteem). When Richard was twenty-one, his father took the family to the resort town of Bath, where the would-be playwright fell in love. He fought two duels over the young and beautiful Elizabeth Linley, "the siren of Bath," a singer and daughter of a composer who organized concerts. The couple eloped and moved to London so that Richard could pursue a career in playwriting. He would remain in London the rest of his life, but his marriage would suffer from many infidelities.

The Rivals, his...