Memoirs of the Life of the Rt. Hon. Richard Brinsley Sheridan — Volume 02

Richard Brinsley Sheridan was the most dazzling orator of his age and the playwright who redefined English comedy. This second volume of Thomas Moore's intimate memoir traces Sheridan's most consequential years: his masterly leadership in the impeachment of Warren Hastings, where his speeches held Parliament rapt and helped reshape British governance of India. Moore, who knew Sheridan personally, offers an insider's view of the political intrigue and the enormous stakes of that historic trial. Yet the memoir transcends mere politics. It delves into Sheridan's private anguish: his complicated relationship with his father, the elder Sheridan's death and the profound grief it provoked, and the emotional turbulence that haunted this brilliant, self-destructive man. Written with Victorian sweep and access to figures who knew Sheridan intimately, this volume captures a titanic personality in decline, a genius of the stage and rostrum whose greatest battles were often with himself. For readers who relish biography at its most psychologically revealing, this is a portrait of fame purchased at enormous personal cost.