Beaumont and Fletcher's Works, Vol. 01 of 10: The Custom of the Country

The play opens on a nightmare: in this corner of the world, a governor's right to deflower newlywed brides is law. Arnoldo loves Zenocia, but their marriage license comes with a horror he cannot bear. When the lecherous Count Clodio sets his sights on Zenocia under the guise of ancient custom, the young lovers face an impossible choice: submit to a barbarous tradition or defy the law and lose everything. Fletcher's 1613 tragedy crackles with the political danger and sexual wit characteristic of Jacobean drama. The Custom of the Country takes its title from a law that reveals how custom can become weaponized oppression, and whether love can survive when the state claims rights over a woman's body.