It could not have been written earlier than 1619, when one of its primary sources, Los Trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda by Cervantes, was translated into English.
Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, describes The Custom of the Country as an "old play" in an entry in his record book dated 22 November 1629.
This sexual emphasis disturbed many traditional critics, though The Custom of the Country has been cited as "one of the most lively and amusing" of Fletcher's chastity plays.
Against her father Charino's advice, Zenocia prefers Arnoldo, a young man travelling with his older brother Rutilio.
When Arnoldo resists Hippolita, she has him arrested under a false accusation of theft; but she relents, and intervenes to save him from the death sentence he receives.
The related subplot concerns the adventures of Rutilio, who fights a duel with Manuel's arrogant young nephew Duarte and apparently kills him.
Rutilio is unknowingly sheltered by his opponent's mother Guidomar, the arrested by the watch, then ransomed by Sulpitia for her sexual service.