About

William Congreve (24 January 1670 – 19 January 1729) was a British playwright, satirist, poet and colonial administrator. He spent most of his early career between London and Dublin, and became noted for his highly polished style of writing. Congreve is regarded by many critics as one of the most important dramatists of the early Georgian era, and the popularity of his comedy plays throughout the 17th and 18th centuries was central to the development of the comedy of manners satirical genre. He is remembered for his restoration play The Way of the World (1700), which is considered by commentators to be a centerpiece of Restoration comedy literature, and his tragedy play The Mourning Bride (1697), which contains the quote "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned".