The most immediately enjoyable of Congreve’s comedies, Love for Love (1695) centres on Valentine Legend, who feigns madness to avoid being disinherited in favour of his naval brother Ben. The resulting tangle of plot, counter-plot, and dazzling repartee involves astrologers, fortune-hunters, and the sharp-witted Angelica, whose true feelings remain a mystery to the last.
A theatre hit in its day that has never entirely left the repertoire, Love for Love represents Congreve’s comic gifts at their most exuberant. This free EPUB is formatted for any e-reader.