Marriage and Land Law in Shakespeare and Middleton examines the dynamics of early modern marriagemaking a timehonored practice that was evolving often surreptitiously from patriarchal control based on money and inheritance to a companionate union in which love and the couples own agency played a role. Among early modern playwrights the marriage plays of Shakespeare and Middleton are particularly though not uniquely concerned with this evolution observing the movement towards spousal choice determined by the couple themselves. Through the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean period the role of the patriarch though often compromised remained intact the father or guardian negotiated the financial terms. And in a culture that was still tied to feudal practices land law held a primary place in the bargain. This book while following the arc of changing marriage practices focuses on the ways in which the oldest determination of status land affects marital decisions. Land is not a constant topic of conversation in the twentyone theatrical marriages scrutinized here but it is a persistent and omnipresent truth of family and economic life. In paired discussions of marriage plays by Shakespeare and MiddletonThe Taming of the ShrewA Chaste Maid in Cheapside Alls Well That Ends WellA Trick To Catch the Old One Measure for MeasureA Mad World My Masters The Merchant of VeniceThe Roaring Girl and Much Ado About NothingNo Wit No Help Like A Womansthis book explores the attempts maneuvers intrigues ruses and schemes that marriageable characters deploy in order to control spousal choice and secure land. Special attention is given to patriarchal figures whose poor judgment exploits inheritance law weaknesses and to the lack of legal protection and hence the vulnerability of womenand menwho engage the system in unconventional ways. Investigation into the milieu of early modern patriarchal influence in marriagemaking and the laws governing inheritance practices enables a fresh reading of