Love's Victory

<i>Love's Victory</i> by Lady Mary Wroth (1587-1651) is the first romantic comedy written in English by a woman. The Revels Plays publishes for the first time a fully-authorised modern spelling edition of the Penshurst manuscript the only copy of the play containing all five acts handwritten by Wroth and privately owned by the Viscount De L'Isle. Edited by Alison Findlay Philip Sidney and Michael G. Brennan their critical introduction provides details of Wroth's remarkable life and work as a member of the Sidney family tracing connections between <i>Love's Victory </i>her prose and poetry and her family's extensive writings. The editors introduce readers to the influence of court drama on <i>Love's Victory </i>and offer a new account of the play's stage history in productions from 1999-2018. Extensive commentary notes guiding the modern reader include explanatory glosses literary references and staging information.