Fair Maid of Italy, The

Historical Records

Henslowe's Diary

In a listing headed as follows:

"In the name of god Amen begninge the 27 of

desember 1593 the earle of susex his men

R[d] at the fayer mayd of ytale the 12 Jenewary 1593	……….	ix^s
R[d] at the fayer mayd of ytaly the 21 of Jenewary 1593	……….	xxij^s

F. 9 (Greg, I.17)

In a listing headed as follows:

Jn the name of God Amen beginning at easter 1593

the Quenes men & my lord of Susexe to geather

R[d] at the fayer mayd of Jtaley y^e 4 of ap^rell 1594 21 of Jenewary 1593

……….

xxiij^s

Theatrical Provenance

The Fair Maid of Italy first appears in the diary in the offerings of Sussex's players at the Rose. It does not carry Henslowe's enigmatic "ne"; apparently, then, it was a play that had been in production for some time. Sussex's players gave performances at the Rose for about seven weeks, 27 Dec 1593 through 6 Feb 1594, during which time they offered The Fair Maid of Italy twice for an average return to Henslowe of 15s. 6d. Two months later, the play appeared among the offerings "to geather" of Sussex's men with the Queen's players. It does not appear elsewhere in theatrical documents.

Probable Genre(s)

Comedy (Harbage)

Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues

None known.

References to the Play

None known.

Critical Commentary

McMillin asked a crucial question with implications for the performance history of The Fair Maid of Italy. He asked, "Why should Sussex's men—and the Queen's men, for that matter—have established connections with Henslowe in 1593-94?" (215). His answer was in the form of "what if": "Suppose that Sussex's men appeared at Henslowe's playhouse . because at that time, like the other companies in the Diary for the 1590s, they were associated with Edward Alleyn" (218). One inference that could follow from McMillin's supposition is that Sussex's players—by mid-December 1593—were an amalgam of players from companies undergoing transition, one of which companies was Strange's men with whom Alleyn had recently been associated. Some number of Strange's players transitioned to the Chamberlain's players in June 1594 (i.e.,Thomas Pope,John Heminges,William Kempe, and Augustine Phillips).

Knutson

For What It's Worth

Although no narrative or dramatic analogues are known, some guesses may be warranted. The designations "fair" and "maid" were widespread in Elizabethan repertory offerings. The most notable relatively contemporary and extant play is Fair Em, and it is reasonable to extrapolate from that example that the fair maid of Sussex's play was a commoner, doubtless pursued by various unsuitable suitors but perhaps one desirable one. The nationality of Italy in the title suggests generic connections with lost plays such as The Love of a Grecian Lady, Grecian Comedy, and The Love of an English Lady. Incidentally, the latter set were roughly contemporary with The Fair Maid of Italy also; they belong to the repertory of the Admiral's men in 1594-5. Of course, it is always possible—with that "foreign" connection—that the Italian fair maid had a more exotic sexuality, as apparently "Hiren the Fair Greek" did in The Turkish Mahomet and Hiren the Fair Greek.

Works Cited

Knutson, Roslyn L. "What's So Special about 1594." Shakespeare Quarterly 61.4 (2010): 449-67.
McMillin, Scott. Sussex's Men in 1594: The Evidence of Titus Andronicus and The Jew of Malta." Theatre Survey 32 (1991): 214-23.

Site created and maintained by Roslyn L. Knutson, Professor Emerita, University of Arkansas at Little Rock; updated 9 February 2012.