KATHERINE NEWEY is Professor of Drama and Theatre Arts at the University of Birmingham, UK. She has published widely on nineteenth-century theatre with a particular interest in women's writing, including Women's Theatre Writing in Victorian Britain. She is editor of the journal Nineteenth Century Theatre and Film. JEFFREY RICHARDS is Professor of Cultural History at Lancaster University, UK, and has published widely on different aspects of Victorian culture. His most recent publications include Imperialism and Music, Sir Henry Irving: A Victorian Actor and his World, Hollywood's Ancient Worlds and The Ancient World on the Victorian and Edwardian Stage.

"This is an exhaustive treatment of a subject most students of Victorian culture probably know little about...Recommended." - Choice

• Acknowledgements Illustrations John Ruskin at the Theatre Ruskinian Influences E.W. Godwin and Ruskinian Aesthetics Toga Plays Melodrama Pantomime Ruskinian Shakespeare Stage Beauty Index