Beginning with its antecedents in the melodrama and farces of the Victorian era, the subject of his latest Reader's Guide continues the discussion of the maturation of British drama into a theater of ideas and on to the vital feminist drama that is currently energizing the present London theater. This book will be a useful tool for readers wishing to know more about Britain's great dramatic tradition and vital contemporary theater, for students pursuing in drama studies, and for libraries in need of an accessible reference work on this perennially interesting subject. Sanford Sternlicht reveals the influences of modern history and psychology on British drama; the allimportant influence of Irish dramatists like Wilde, Shaw, O'Casey, and Beckett; the significance of the Independent Theatre of J. T. Grein and the early Royal Court Theatre; the gay community's contribution to the British theater; the powerful, new feminist drama; and the British festival theater.