Very amusing. Some mores never change.

"A leading figure of Restoration drama, William Congreve (1690-1729) is considered the outstanding practitioner of the English comedy of manners during its formative period. ... This play is considered to be his masterpiece. He was not prolific and only wrote five full-length plays -this was his last and not a success when first performed. " ....Congreve's comedies are notable for their extreme verbal wit and for the precision with which they dismantle the pretentions of the courtly society of their day." iii

I got this book because he is the same author who wrote the libretto for Handel's Semele, which I liked.
"....thou are an epitomizer of words.
Petulant: Witwood - you are an annihilator of sense
Witwood: Thou cut a retailer of phrases; and dost deal in a ...ACT IV Scene I, p. 54

I saw someone else's review which said, "Tedious posh people being tedious and posh."

Precisely.

How pleasantly outrageous! A comedy of free spirited mean children and their games - and how much more to be said about it.

A play that thrives on confusion - the twisted and tangled threads of social life, pulled together and apart by human machinations. The audience and reader may find themselves in Lady Wishfort's position, 'in a very chaos' (Act 3: Scene 1), but it makes for thrilling drama.

There were some really nice and funny parts but it was really tedious to read. I get all the social criticism stuff, but do I really want to read about rich people wanting to be richer? No.