Wit Without Money; A Comedy

"Wit Without Money; A Comedy" by John Fletcher is a Jacobean comedy written around 1614. Valentine, a young gentleman, has squandered his entire estate to live fashionably in town, leaving himself and his younger brother Francisco penniless. When Valentine encounters the wealthy widow Lady Hartwell, his usual verbal attacks on women and marriage meet unexpected resistance. She matches his wit word for word, sparking a battle of intellects that leads somewhere neither anticipated. Meanwhile, Lady Hartwell's sister Isabella secretly falls for the impoverished Francisco, setting two unlikely courtships in motion.

Wit Without Money; A Comedy, by John Fletcher. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #13425.