Marieluise Fleisser (1901-1974) is the author of Purgatory in Ingolstadt and Pioneers in Ingolstadt. Both plays were directed in Berlin in the 1920s by Bertolt Brecht. After a brief moment of glory, Fleisser's second play met with damning disapproval and outrage. Ostracized by the literary establishment, her family and the men in her life, Fleisser suffered a devastating personal and creative collapse, coming perilously close to suicide. Her work as a playwright would only receive recognition and success decades later.

This translation by Rachael McGill won the Revelations Award 2004 (The Gate Theatre Translation Award), and premiered at the Gate in July 2004. Included in this volume is Kerstin Specht's play The Time of the Tortoise, also translated by Rachael McGill.