(London: At the Curwen Press for The Limited Editions Club, 1953).

FIRST EDITION WITH THE ILLUSTRATIONS BY SUSSAN, SIGNED BY THE ARTIST AND LIMITED AND NUMBERED. The Rivals is a comedy of manners in five acts which was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 17 January 1775. The story has been updated in numerous adaptations, including a 1935 musical in London and a 1958 episode of the television series Maverick. The Rivals was Sheridan's first play. At the time, he was a young newlywed living in Bath. In need of funds, Richard turned to the only craft that could gain him the remuneration he desired in a short time: he began writing a play. He had over the years written and published essays and poems, and among his papers were numerous unfinished plays, essays and political tracts, but never had he undertaken such an ambitious project as this. In a short time, however, he completed The Rivals.
The play is set in 18th-century Bath, a town that was legendary for conspicuous consumption and fashion at the time. Wealthy, fashionable people went there to "take the waters", which were believed to have healing properties. Bath society was much less exclusive than London, and hence it provides an ideal setting for the characters.
The plot centres on the two young lovers, Lydia and Jack. Lydia, who reads a lot of popular novels of the time, wants a purely romantic love affair. To court her, Jack pretends to be "Ensign Beverley", a poor army officer. Lydia is enthralled with the idea of eloping with a poor soldier in spite of the objections of her guardian, Mrs. Malaprop, a moralistic widow. Mrs. Malaprop is the chief comic figure of the play, thanks to her continual misuse of words that sound like the words she intends to use, but mean something completely different,
The play became a favourite of the royal family, receiving five command performances in ten years, and also in the Colonies (it was George Washington's favourite play. It became a standard show in the repertoires of 19th-century companies in England and the US. And it is now considered to be one of Sheridan's masterpieces. Item #31142

First Edition, Limited and with illustrations by René Ben Sussan. This copy with the prospectus and letter describing the book and its production. SIGNED BY THE ARTIST AND NUMBERED. With twelve full page engravings printed and coloured in Paris on a paper to match the Barcham Green used for the text-block, all by René Ben Sussan. Folio, publisher's original polished yellow linen-buckram by Winterbottom, the spine lettered in gilt, in the original slipcase. [xxii], [2], 149, [1] pp. A very fine copy, as pristine. The slipcase with a bit of mellowing to the edges.