William Congreve - The Mourning Bride by William Congreve

William Congreve - The Mourning Bride by William Congreve

William Congreve was born on January 24th, 1670 in Bardsey, West Yorkshire. Congreve's childhood was spent in Ireland (his father, a Lieutenant in the British Army had received a posting there). He was educated at Kilkenny College and then Trinity College in Dublin. After graduating he returned to London to study law at Middle Temple. However his interest in studying law soon lessened as the attraction of literature, drama, and the fashionable life began to exert its pull. This first play, The Old Bachelor, was written, to amuse himself during convalescence, and was produced at the Drury Lane Theatre in 1693. It was an enormous success. Although his playwrighting career was successful it was also very brief. Five plays authored from 1693 to 1700 would prove the entirety of his output. Although no further plays were to flow from his pen Congreve did write librettos for two operas and to begin translating the works of Moli re as well as Homer, Ovid and Horace and to write poetry. He also took an interest in politics and obtained various minor political posts, including being named Secretary of the Island of Jamaica by George I in 1714. Congreve suffered a carriage accident in late September 1728, from which he never recovered (having probably received an internal injury); William Congreve died in London on January 19th, 1729, and was buried in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.

William Congreve (1670-1729) was an English writer during the Restoration era, and one of the most polished exponents of the comedy of manners. Before he turned 30, Congreve had written five plays. The Old Bachelor, his debut play, was a huge hit at Drury Lane in 1693, starring Thomas Betterton and Mrs Bracegirdle. Congreve claims that he wrote the piece to pass the time during his recuperation. The Double Dealer (1694) was a flop, but in 1695 he released another smash, Love for Love (again with Betterton and Mrs Bracegirdle), to celebrate the opening of the new Lincoln's Inns Fields Theatre.

Its success cemented his name and provided him with a stake in the theater. Unfortunately, his pledge to compose at least one play a year for the theater, of which he was now a part owner, was not kept. The Mourning Bride (1697), Congreve's lone tragedy, was his most popular piece during his lifetime but is today rarely seen. Mrs Bracegirdle played Almeria, a role that became highly sought after by dramatic actresses.

The Way of the World, a very intricate and complicated treatise today regarded as his masterpiece, was received with skepticism in 1700. This failure, combined with his persistent dissatisfaction with his treatment in Jeremy Collier's popular treatise A Brief Account of the Profaneness and Immorality of the English Theatre (1698), convinced him to leave the stage. (In Corrections of Mr Collier's False and Imperfect Citations, Congreve replied to Collier with little effect.) Voltaire later visited him and scolded him of wasting his genius. Congreve stated that he preferred to be treated as a gentleman rather than an author when he was visited.

Voltaire responded that if Mr Congreve had just been a gentleman, he would not have bothered to summon him. Congreve was a warm man who won the love and respect of his numerous friends, according to all sources. John Dryden compared him to Shakespeare, Alexander Pope dedicated his Iliad translation to him in 1715, and John Gay referred to him as an unreproachable man. Henrietta, the second Duchess of Marlborough, who arranged for his burial in Westminster Abbey, received practically all of his £10,000 estate when he died.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781785438981
ISBN 10	1785438980
Title	William Congreve - The Mourning Bride
Author	William Congreve
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Stage Door
Year published	2017-01-11
Number of pages	80
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.