3 h 46 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Creditors crowd the door, a father bargains over inheritance, and love demands proof that money cannot buy.
Valentine is broke, in love, and running out of room to manoeuvre. His father, Sir Sampson Legend, uses his debts to press a harsh bargain over the family inheritance. Angelica, the clever, independent heiress Valentine loves, wants proof that his feelings are real. His freedom and his hopes now depend on more than charm.
In William Congreve's prose comedy Love for Love, schemes spread far beyond Valentine's troubles. His friend Scandal thrives on gossip, while Foresight trusts the stars and misses what happens at home. Ben, a plain-speaking sailor, returns to find others making plans for him. From Valentine's lodgings to this household of schemers, sharp exchanges turn money, marriage, and reputation into comic battlegrounds.
What you’ll discover
- Love put to the test Angelica asks for something harder to offer than charm: proof that Valentine's love is real.
- A father's harsh bargain Sir Sampson turns his son's debts into leverage, putting family ties under pressure.
- Fools with their own plans Meet an astrologer blind to his household and a vain beau who cannot keep secrets.
- Dialogue with a sting Quick replies and surprising comparisons let a closing joke overturn everything a speaker claims.
- The price of a name Watch characters bargain for fortunes, husbands, and reputations in a world of competing wants.
Who will love it
For readers who enjoy quick wit, social satire and well-built comic plots, and for anyone curious about Restoration theatre.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Valentine is broke and in love
- A hard father offers a cruel bargain
- Valentine decides to play the madman
- A household of fools and schemers
- What the play says about money and truth
- How Congreve builds the laughter
Who’s who
- ValentineA charming young gentleman, deep in debt, who loves Angelica and must find a way to keep both his freedom and his hopes.
- AngelicaA clever, independent heiress who holds Valentine's future in her hands and wants proof that his love is real.
- Sir Sampson LegendValentine's boastful, domineering father, who uses his son's debts to force a harsh deal over the family inheritance.
- BenValentine's younger brother, a plain-speaking sailor, who comes home to find himself a prize in other people's plans.
- ScandalValentine's sharp-tongued friend, who loves gossip and helps him with his schemes.
- ForesightAngelica's uncle, an old man who trusts astrology and omens, yet fails to see what happens in his own house.
- TattleA vain beau who prides himself on discretion while hinting at every conquest he claims.
- Miss PrueForesight's daughter, fresh from the country, eager to learn about love and unwilling to be told whom to marry.
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- Audiobook
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- 15-minute summary
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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Read and hear Love for Love in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Love for Love
by William Congreve · 1695
With creditors at his door, Valentine gambles on a daring pretence to protect his inheritance and his hopes of love.
Medium level2–5 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Love for Love is a comedy by William Congreve, first staged in London in 1695. It was the opening play of a new theatre company at Lincoln's Inn Fields, led by the actor Thomas Betterton, and audiences laughed their way through it.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Valentine is broke and in love
The play opens in Valentine's lodgings. He is reading, not for pleasure but to find a way out of his troubles. He has wasted his fortune on pleasure and fashion, and his servant Jeremy brings the bad news that tailors, tradesmen and bailiffs are all waiting. Jeremy is blunt and witty, and he speaks to his master with a freedom that comes from knowing exactly how foolish he has been.
Valentine's real trouble is not only money. He loves Angelica, a young woman of independent fortune, who is the niece of the old astrologer Foresight. She is clever, proud and fully aware of her power. She has not given Valentine a plain answer, and he cannot tell whether she scorns him or tests him.
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What is Love for Love about?
It follows Valentine, a young gentleman in debt, whose father demands he give up his inheritance. Valentine loves the heiress Angelica and tries to outwit his father while a crowd of comic characters pursue their own schemes.
When was Love for Love written?
Congreve's play was first staged in London in 1695. It is a work of fiction, but it paints a satirical picture of the fashionable society of its day, including its love of money, gossip and reputation.
Who is Ben in Love for Love?
Ben is Valentine's younger brother, a sailor who has spent his life at sea. He speaks bluntly in seafaring slang, dislikes courtly manners, and is pushed by the older generation toward a match he does not want.
The author
William Congreve
1670–1729 · English Restoration playwright
William Congreve (1670–1729) was an English playwright and poet. He was born in Yorkshire, grew up in Ireland, and later lived in London. He wrote plays in the 1690s, including Love for Love (1695). The Way of the World appeared in 1700. He died in London.
More by William Congreve
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