Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
The School for Scandal
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

The School for Scandal

play by Sheridan
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

The School for Scandal, comedy in five acts by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, performed in 1777 and published in 1780. With its spirited ridicule of affectation and pretentiousness, it is one of the greatest comedies of manners in English.

Charles Surface is an extravagant but good-hearted young man. His brother Joseph, supposedly more respectable and worthy, is shown to be a conniving schemer who courts Lady Teazle, the young wife of a wealthy old nobleman. Sir Oliver Surface, their uncle, disguises himself to discover which of his nephews shall be his heir. Joseph is exposed as a hypocrite, and Charles triumphs, winning both fortune and true love.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.