Congreve, William

William Congreve (1670-1729) was an English playwright, and one of the most sophisticated exponent of the comedy of manners during the Restoration era. Congreve wrote five plays before he was 30. His first, "The Old Bachelor", was an enormous success at Drury Lane in 1693, in a production starring Thomas Betterton and Mrs Bracegirdle. According to Congreve he wrote the play to amuse himself during a convalescence. "The Double Dealer" (1694) was not so well received but in 1695 he produced another hit, "Love for Love" (again with Betterton and Mrs Bracegirdle), to open the new Lincoln's Inns Fi...