William Congreve was a playwright. He was born in February 1670 in Bardsey Grange, England. Congreve attended Trinity College, Dublin, and was admitted to the Middle Temple to study law. Congreve completed his first play, The Old Bachelor, in 1690. He became associated with John Dryden, collaborating with him on translations of the satires of Juvenal and Persius in 1693. Congreve's second play, Love for Love, was also successful and Congreve became a manager of the theater that staged it. Other plays followed, including The Way of the World in 1700. Congreve died on January 19, 1729.
Peter Ackroyd is the award-winning author of four biographies, most recently the national bestseller "The Life of Thomas More", as well as ten novels, including "Chatterton" & "Hawksmoor". He lives in London, where he is at work on his next book, "London: The Biography.