The School for Scandal

Richard Brinsley Sheridan, 1777

Plays Irish writers Comic classics

Gossip becomes a calculated weapon in a comedy about reputation and appearances.

Read the book Contents

Length: 16 chapters
Reading time: About 1 hr 56 min
Words: 27,709

About the book

Lady Sneerwell and Snake discuss planted reports with the efficiency of people managing a business. Their conversation introduces a social world in which an invented story can circulate widely before its target has any chance to answer it.

Sheridan makes the management of reputation into theatrical action. Quick exchanges expose how readily wit, malice and self-interest can share the same polished surface. The play's comedy asks audiences to listen closely to claims about other people, noticing who profits from a rumour and how a flattering public manner may distort judgement.

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Plays Irish writers Comic classics

This edition

Text from Standard Ebooks, who proofread and typeset it and dedicate their edition to the public domain. Richard Brinsley Sheridan died more than 70 years ago, so the work is out of copyright in the UK. Includes the original introduction, a portrait, dramatis personae.