Contains biographical sketches of the most significant, and potentially most significant, playwrights of postwar Britain (including Ireland).

Focuses on English playwrights writing during the closing decades of the eighteenth century, whose careers flourished during a time of great theatrical activity and success in British theater.

Essays on playwrights writing during the Elizabethan era which includes not only the years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603), but loosely includes the reigns of James I and Charles I up to the closing of the theatres by the Commonwealth in 1642. Also includes essays on theatre in Shakespeare's time and the publication of English Renaissance plays.

Embraces the work of writers working in theatrical traditions ranging from the classic well-made play to the most radical avant-garde pieces. This variety is indicative of the fact that this period is one of the most important in British drama, comparable to the late-Elizabethan/Jacobean and post-Restoration eras in terms of the quantity and quality of new work and surpassing both of them in the sheer variety of theatrical offerings.

Embraces the work of writers working in theatrical traditions ranging from the classic well-made play to the most radical avant-garde pieces. This variety is indicative of the fact that this period is one of the most important in British drama, comparable to the late-Elizabethan/Jacobean and post-Restoration eras in terms of the quantity and quality of new work and surpassing both of them in the sheer variety of theatrical offerings.

Concise discussions of the lives and principal works of contemporary women playwrights, written by subject experts.