Cumberland, Richard

Related Category: English Literature, 1500 to 1799: Biographies

1732–1811, English dramatist; great-grandson of the 17th-century philosopher Richard Cumberland. His family connections earned him a clerical position with the British board of trade. The author of over 40 plays, he was most successful with his sentimental comedies, the best of which are The Brothers (1769) and The West Indian (1771). He also wrote two seldom-read novels, Arundel (1789) and Henry (1795), and an autobiography (1806–7).