1. JA played the role of Mrs. Candour, an acid-tongued character in Sheridan's The School for Scandal, in a Twelfth Night amateur theatrical, in 1810, and apparently played the part with great relish. Wouldn't that have been an absolutely incredible event to witness?

2. Sheridan apparently gave at least momentary consideration to getting a stage adaptation made of P&P. Le Faye in "Jane Austen: A Family Record" wrote: "Sheridan the playwright asked his dinner-partner Miss Shirreff if she had seen it, 'and advised her to buy it immediately for it was one of the cleverest things he ever read.' "

3. Everyone knows about the many connections between Warren Hastings and the Austen family. At Hastings's very famous impeachment trial relative to his actions as Governor General of Bengal, Sheridan gave a speech for over 5 1/2 hours detailing Hastings's wrongdoing, a speech considered by some to be one of the greatest examples of political oratory in history. So, Sheridan was a man of many talents (although Hastings was acquitted, as I recall).