Queen Victoria was both Supreme Head of the Church of England and an ardent playgoer. At the beginning of her reign considerable antagonism existed between the Church and the theater, but by the end the reconciliation was almost complete. This book explores the process in terms of trends in religious thought (the Oxford Movement and Christian-Socialism), other contemporary developments such as urbanization, education and women's emancipation and the principal protagonists: clergymen, dramatists, actors and actresses.