Three Hours After Marriage was a restoration comedy, written in 1717 as a collaboration between John Gay, Alexander Pope and John Arbuthnot, though Gay was the principal author. It premiered in 1717. The play is best described as a satirical farce, and among its satirical targets was Richard Blackmore.
Three Hours After Marriage tells the story of Dr Fossil, a pompous ageing scientist, who has just married a much younger woman, who is then immediately beset by two rival suitors who try to win her affections. The wife and suitors then go to comical lengths to hide their intentions from Dr Fossil.