Play by Alice Mustian

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Alice Mustian (1614)


Historical Records

Depositions in Roberts v. Mustian

The evidence concerning this play comes from the depositions of eye-witnesses in the defamation suit that Mary Roberts brought against Alice Mustian in 1614. This evidence is summarized by McInnis, Steggle and Teramura.



  • Image of manuscript Fols. 10b–11a of depositions

    Fols. 10b–11a

  • Image of manuscript Fols. 11b–12a of depositions

    Fols. 11b–12a

  • Image of manuscript Fols. 12b–13a of depositions

    Fols. 12b–13a

  • Image of manuscript Fols. 13b–14a of depositions

    Fols. 13b–14a

  • Image of manuscript Fols. 14b–15a of depositions

    Fols. 14b–15a

  • Image of manuscript Fols. 15b–16a of depositions

    Fols. 15b–16a

  • Image of manuscript Fols. 16b–17a of depositions

    Fols. 16b–17a

  • Image of manuscript Fols. 17b–18a of depositions

    Fols. 17b–18a

  • Image of manuscript Fols. 18b–19a of depositions

    Fols. 18b–19a

  • Image of manuscript Fols. 19b–20a of depositions

    Fols. 19b–20a

  • Image of manuscript Fols. 20b–21a of depositions

    Fols. 20b–21a

  • Image of manuscript Fols. 21b–22a of depositions

    Fols. 21b–22a

  • Image of manuscript Fols. 22b–23a of depositions

    Fols. 22b–23a

Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, D/1/42/29D/1/42/29 (Bishop of Salisbury, Court Records, Deposition Book 29, 1614–1615), fols. 11a–23a, reproduced by permission.

Theatrical Provenance

Performed on 4 September 1614 in Salisbury, in the backyard of Alice and Roger Mustian's home on Catherine Street.


Probable Genre(s)

Comedy.


Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

The play dramatized an alleged adulterous tryst between Mary Roberts, the wife of a joiner, and the baker Robert Humphries.


References to the Play

None known.


Critical Commentary

For What It's Worth

Works Cited

Ingram, Martin. "Ridings, Rough Music and Mocking Rhymes in Early Modern England," in Barry Reay, ed., Popular Culture in Seventeenth-Century England. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985. 166–97.
McInnis, David, Matthew Steggle, and Misha Teramura. "Alice Mustian, Playwright." RES (forthcoming).
Wright, Susan J. "Family Life and Society in Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Century Salisbury." Ph.D. diss., University of Leicester, 1982.


Site created and maintained by David McInnis, University of Melbourne, Matthew Steggle, University of Bristol, and Misha Teramura, University of Toronto; updated 21 December 2023.