Richard Cumberland

Richard Cumberland (born Feb. 19, 1732, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Eng.—died May 7, 1811, London) was an English dramatist whose plays were in tune with the sentimental spirit that became an important literary force during the latter half of the 18th century. He was a master of stagecraft, a good observer of men and manners, but today perhaps is chiefly famous as the model for the character of Sir Fretful Plagiary in Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s play The...