The School for Scandal, in five acts by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, is one of the greatest comedies of manners in English, a sharp satire of affectation and pretentiousness. The play was first performed in 1777 and published in 1780.
There are two plots (I just give a very basic outline of the complex play). One is based on the contrast between two brothers, Charles Surface, who is an extravagant but basically good-hearted young man, and Joseph, who appears respectable and worthy, but who actually is a conniving schemer. Sir Oliver Surface, their uncle, who has been away for 16 years in the colonies where he has made his fortune, disguises himself to discover incognito which of his nephews has the better character and shall be his heir. An element that adds to the competition is that both brothers are in love with Maria, the ward of Sir Peter Teazle.
The second plot concerns the marriage of the young, flirtatious and naive Lady Teazle. Originally from the countryside, she has become the wife of the wealthy and much older (and rather stubborn) Sir Peter Teazle. In this way propelled into London life, she forgets her sober manners and becomes a spendthrift, constantly bickering with her husband. Socially, she joins a group of people around Lady Sneerwell who do nothing but gossip in a rather malicious way about others. They enjoy undermining the reputation of innocent people by their sophisticated lies - the title of the play refers to this group whose members have elevated spreading scandals to a high art. Lady Teazle also flirts with Joseph who is often seen in Lady Sneerwell's salon, thus linking both plots.
Sir Peter Teazle gets to know the real facts in the "screen scene" in
which Lady Teazle hides behind a screen in front of her husband and
Charles in Joseph's apartment - only to be discovered by them. But it now becomes clear that she is only flirting with
Joseph "for the form" because she thought it was fashionable in her circles to
have an affair. In the end, she and Sir Peter will be reconciled.
As regards the plot about the two brothers, eventually Joseph's mean character is exposed, while Charles
passes the test. His debts are settled by Sir Oliver and the ending
shows Charles and Maria united - Charles makes no promises about reforming, but indicates that Maria's influence will keep him on a "virtuous path." The concluding line assures the audience that "even Scandal dies, if you approve."
Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816) was an Irish playwright and politician. His father had been a manager and actor at the Theater Royal in Dublin for a time. His mother was a writer. Sheridan received his education in Harrow and was going to study law, but a romantic elopement with beautiful singer Elizabeth Linley put an end to those plans. In London he began writing for the stage. His first play, The Rivals, premiered at Covent Garden in 1775. His most famous work is The School for Scandal, which is considered one of the greatest anglophone comedies. Sheridan was also a Liberal politician and entered Parliament in 1780. He emerged as an excellent public speaker. He became one of the leaders of the party and sat in parliament until 1812.
The critic and essayist William Hazlitt called The School for Scandal "if not the most original, perhaps the most finished and faultless comedy which we have."
The School for Scandal is available from both Penguin Classics and Oxford World's Classics.
It can also be downloaded from Project Gutenberg (https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1929)
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