I am looking for a definition of "the comedy of manners."I would like to know the pioneers of this genre, as well as writers and their work.

The genre "comedy of manners" was introduced in the 1600s
in England.

Dictionary.com defines "comedy of
manners" as...

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...a comedy satirizing the manners and customs of
a social class, especially one dealing with the amorous intrigues of fashionable
society.

The comedy of
manners genre is believed to have its roots in the works of Ben Jonson (an English
writer), and seventeenth-century French playwright,
Molière.

(An example of a comedy of manners "predecessor"
might be Moliere's play Tartuffe, a very funny
production that depicts a scam artist [Tartuffe] being welcomed into a wealthy man's
home; the entire family can see the con man for who he is, while the host (Orgon) is
clueless. The plot moves along quickly, presenting ridiculous difficulties for the
family to deal with, and a good deal of entertainment for the
audience.)

Some of the writers who are considered experts
at writing these satirical pieces of humor in the first generation of this literary
movement are: George Etherege, William Wycherley and John Vanbrugh, among
others.

Etherege is credited with launching this new genre
with his works Love in a Tub and The Comical
Revenge.

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[William] Congreve is considered by many critics
to have been the greatest wit of the dramatists writing in this
vein.

The characters in these
works had little depth: more often than not character types were
used—generally:

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the fool, the schemer, the hypocrite, the jealous
husband...

Later, characters
would have more depth, being seen as individuals rather than just
"types."

While this form of comedy eventually made way for
sentimental comedies, the form was reintroduced by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (who
wrote The Rivals) and Oliver Goldsmith (author of She
Stoops to Conquer), writers who were able to bring about a renewed interest
in the genre.