these 17th-century playlists, the accuracy of the authorial attributions never rises above 50%. Later generations of scholars and commentators have been vocal in their criticisms as a result. The praeludium The 1656 quarto of The Careless Shepherdess also provides a preface, or "Praeludium," for the 1638 revival that may have been written by Richard Brome; it features a conversation among four figures — Spruce, a courtier, Spark, an Inns of Court man, Thrift, a London citizen, and Landlord, a country gentleman. The dialogue casts light on the theatrical conditions of the day, and is often quoted and discussed in the scholarly and critical literature on English Renaissance drama. References English Renaissance plays 1625 plays Charles I of England Henrietta Maria