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"Fairies, Fractious Women, and the Old Faith examines the ways in which the fairy, rebellious woman, quasi-Catholic trio repeatedly stages resistance to early modern conceptions of appropriate class and gender conduct and state-mandated religion in A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Cymbeline, All's Well That Ends Well and Ben Jonson's The Alchemist. The introduction provides an overview of widespread popular beliefs with respect to fairies - beliefs with particular relevance to the lived experience of women - and illustrates their connection to the doctrinal battles waged over religious reform in this period."--Jacket.