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A Traitor's Kiss: The Life of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, 1751-1816
The great Irish-English playwright--his politics, his impassioned life.
A tale of stunning literary success, political celebrity and intrigue, early death, murder, treason, and revolution, this extraordinary book takes as its subject one of the most exciting and enigmatic figures in Irish and English history.
Dramatist, politician, entrepreneur, philanderer, duelist, and revolutionary (or traitor), Richard Brinsley Sheridan was a man of many a Protestant gentleman who cared about the rights of the Irish Catholic peasantry; a creative writer who was best known as a politician; a believer in sincerity yet a role-playing chameleon; a radical who masterminded the crisis following the madness of King George; a member of Parliament who associated with insurrectionists against the Crown.
His unusual and still-relevant life has been captured superbly by the masterful young scholar Fintan O'Toole, in an innovative work that opens up a radical new perspective on a great writer. O'Toole shows that Sheridan must be understood as an Irish writer and dissident, a complicated man who walked a thin line between success in London and extreme danger as a supporter of democratic reform and Irish independence.
A tale of stunning literary success, political celebrity and intrigue, early death, murder, treason, and revolution, this extraordinary book takes as its subject one of the most exciting and enigmatic figures in Irish and English history.
Dramatist, politician, entrepreneur, philanderer, duelist, and revolutionary (or traitor), Richard Brinsley Sheridan was a man of many a Protestant gentleman who cared about the rights of the Irish Catholic peasantry; a creative writer who was best known as a politician; a believer in sincerity yet a role-playing chameleon; a radical who masterminded the crisis following the madness of King George; a member of Parliament who associated with insurrectionists against the Crown.
His unusual and still-relevant life has been captured superbly by the masterful young scholar Fintan O'Toole, in an innovative work that opens up a radical new perspective on a great writer. O'Toole shows that Sheridan must be understood as an Irish writer and dissident, a complicated man who walked a thin line between success in London and extreme danger as a supporter of democratic reform and Irish independence.
519 pages, Hardcover
First published October 30, 1997
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About the author
Fintan O'Toole
58 books366 followersFintan O'Toole is a columnist, assistant editor and drama critic for The Irish Times. O'Toole was born in Dublin and was partly educated at University College Dublin. He has written for the Irish Times since 1988 and was drama critic for the New York Daily News from 1997 to 2001. He is a literary critic, historical writer and political commentator, with generally left-wing views. He was and continues to be a strong critic of corruption in Irish politics, in both the Haughey era and continuing to the present.
O'Toole has criticised what he sees as negative attitudes towards immigration in Ireland, the state of Ireland's public services, growing inequality during Ireland's economic boom, the Iraq War and the American military's use of Shannon Airport, among many other issues. In 2006, he spent six months in China reporting for The Irish Times. In his weekly columns in The Irish Times, O'Toole opposed the IRA's campaign during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fintan_O...
O'Toole has criticised what he sees as negative attitudes towards immigration in Ireland, the state of Ireland's public services, growing inequality during Ireland's economic boom, the Iraq War and the American military's use of Shannon Airport, among many other issues. In 2006, he spent six months in China reporting for The Irish Times. In his weekly columns in The Irish Times, O'Toole opposed the IRA's campaign during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fintan_O...
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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January 30, 2019Just before the American Revolution the cool couple in English literary and elite circles was Elizabeth Linley, a gorgeous singer, and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, an Irish-born playwright whose passion was really politics.
O'Toole does an excellent job not only pulling together the two careers that burned Sheridan out during his forty-year career, but making a convincing case for why Sheridan hung out with aristocrats but professed to be a radical, and why he paid more attention to politics than to his theater.
Most of all, O'Toole presents a Sheridan who, though he left Ireland forever--after a miserable childhood--remained forever passionate about the land of his birth, and concerned about Irish liberty and wellbeing.
This thesis explains a lot of the apparent dichotomies in Sheridan's life. Also O'Toole demonstrates how Sheridan became a master at lampooning politicians, politics, and various famous figures by seeming to be praising them while doing the opposite.
O'Toole also furnishes a fascinating look at the theater during this period, which plays were popular and why, and then dissects Sheridan's plays, providing glimpses into how and why they were such smashing successes. I was particularly struck by his exegesis on The Critic, with its bewildering and brilliant flashes between reality and illusion, masks and mirrors.
These days Sheridan is primarily known for his plays, his ventures into politics (and the resulting impoverishment and stints in debtors' jail) pretty much forgotten. But it's a mistake to overlook his contribution there, and his brotherhood in spirit with the likes of Edward FitzGerald and Charles James Fox; his relationship to Ireland seems to be an integral part of what shaped his worldview as well as his creativity.
O'Toole does an excellent job not only pulling together the two careers that burned Sheridan out during his forty-year career, but making a convincing case for why Sheridan hung out with aristocrats but professed to be a radical, and why he paid more attention to politics than to his theater.
Most of all, O'Toole presents a Sheridan who, though he left Ireland forever--after a miserable childhood--remained forever passionate about the land of his birth, and concerned about Irish liberty and wellbeing.
This thesis explains a lot of the apparent dichotomies in Sheridan's life. Also O'Toole demonstrates how Sheridan became a master at lampooning politicians, politics, and various famous figures by seeming to be praising them while doing the opposite.
O'Toole also furnishes a fascinating look at the theater during this period, which plays were popular and why, and then dissects Sheridan's plays, providing glimpses into how and why they were such smashing successes. I was particularly struck by his exegesis on The Critic, with its bewildering and brilliant flashes between reality and illusion, masks and mirrors.
These days Sheridan is primarily known for his plays, his ventures into politics (and the resulting impoverishment and stints in debtors' jail) pretty much forgotten. But it's a mistake to overlook his contribution there, and his brotherhood in spirit with the likes of Edward FitzGerald and Charles James Fox; his relationship to Ireland seems to be an integral part of what shaped his worldview as well as his creativity.
February 24, 2022
Starting off with a miserable childhood of the kind that most adults believe would kill them (forgetting the indestructibility of the young), O'Toole recounts Sheridan's rise to the the most famous playwright of his day and then his transition to statesman (arch-nemesis of Pitt and almost perpetually in opposition), close friend of the Prince of Wales, co-prosecutor of Warren Hastings, and the inevitable failure that all political careers end in.
In recounting Sheridan's political career, O'Toole gives much space to Sheridan's relationship with Ireland. This was the country of his birth but one which he left as a child and to which he never returned; nevertheless, O'Toole finds much evidence of Sheridan's continuing interest in Ireland and struggle for its interests and, indeed, its independence.
O'Toole is a journalist and drama critic and so is well qualified to write about Sheridan. He is also a talented writer, so the book is always entertaining. Last and not least, he is Ireland's leading social-liberal commentator and this, perhaps, is where criticism could be made. Given O'Toole's politics, many readers will question whether Sheridan really cleaved quite so closely to all the opinions one would associate with a late 20th Century social-liberal journalist. Still, a good read.
In recounting Sheridan's political career, O'Toole gives much space to Sheridan's relationship with Ireland. This was the country of his birth but one which he left as a child and to which he never returned; nevertheless, O'Toole finds much evidence of Sheridan's continuing interest in Ireland and struggle for its interests and, indeed, its independence.
O'Toole is a journalist and drama critic and so is well qualified to write about Sheridan. He is also a talented writer, so the book is always entertaining. Last and not least, he is Ireland's leading social-liberal commentator and this, perhaps, is where criticism could be made. Given O'Toole's politics, many readers will question whether Sheridan really cleaved quite so closely to all the opinions one would associate with a late 20th Century social-liberal journalist. Still, a good read.
March 22, 2016
My serious book for my vacation, this is about Richard Sheridan, known now more for his plays than his politics. But in his day, he was an Irishman serving in the English Parliament who advocated for self-government for the Irish for more than 30 years.
This biography almost reads like a novel, and I found the first half especially fascinating because it was about words, the spoken vs. written, and language.
Sheridan's father, also a playwright, was an advocate for a common language spoken commonly among the denizens of Ireland, Scotland and England. He wanted his son to teach at his academy.
His son wanted power, and used the written word in his plays to espouse his politics at the Drury Lane Theater, which he soon took over.
Once in Parliament, he used the spoken word to push for change, and became a power in English politics, especially when King George had his mad fits, and the prince was angling for the regency.
A gift that I would never would have picked up on my own, I found this a fascinating look at a turbulent part of England's history, and a saddening glimpse of how Ireland's chance for peace between Catholics and Protestants was almost reached through Sheridan's machinations.
This biography almost reads like a novel, and I found the first half especially fascinating because it was about words, the spoken vs. written, and language.
Sheridan's father, also a playwright, was an advocate for a common language spoken commonly among the denizens of Ireland, Scotland and England. He wanted his son to teach at his academy.
His son wanted power, and used the written word in his plays to espouse his politics at the Drury Lane Theater, which he soon took over.
Once in Parliament, he used the spoken word to push for change, and became a power in English politics, especially when King George had his mad fits, and the prince was angling for the regency.
A gift that I would never would have picked up on my own, I found this a fascinating look at a turbulent part of England's history, and a saddening glimpse of how Ireland's chance for peace between Catholics and Protestants was almost reached through Sheridan's machinations.
March 9, 2025
I find Fintan O'Toole insufferably irritating. He inhabits a gilded palace on the high ground and he is not noticeably modest about his talents or his achievements.
It therefore hurts me to note that this is a remarkable piece of scholarship and makes for an entertaining read.
Sheridan was one of the great figures of the 18th Century. He was a brilliant playwright and a considerable wit a very fine orator an influential politician and friend to the Prince of Wales. He was also dissolute with a wandering eye and a silver tongue.
Sheridan was also a subversive- an advocate of Irish freedom, and a supporter both of the French Revolution and the United Irishmen.
O'Toole brings him to life with verve. This biography is full of wonderful anecdotes about the man and the time he lived through.
It makes me resent O'Toole all the more!
It therefore hurts me to note that this is a remarkable piece of scholarship and makes for an entertaining read.
Sheridan was one of the great figures of the 18th Century. He was a brilliant playwright and a considerable wit a very fine orator an influential politician and friend to the Prince of Wales. He was also dissolute with a wandering eye and a silver tongue.
Sheridan was also a subversive- an advocate of Irish freedom, and a supporter both of the French Revolution and the United Irishmen.
O'Toole brings him to life with verve. This biography is full of wonderful anecdotes about the man and the time he lived through.
It makes me resent O'Toole all the more!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews