The English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I of England (James VI of Scotland, 1567-1625; in England he reigned from 1603).Beaumont & Fletcher began to collaborate as writers soon after they met. After notable failures of their solo works their first joint effort, Philaster, was a success and tragicomedy was the genre they explored and built upon. There would be many further successes to follow.There is an account that at the time the two men shared everything. They lived together in a house on the Bankside in Southwark, "e;they also lived together in Bankside, sharing clothes and having one wench in the house between them."e; Or as another account puts it "e;sharing everything in the closest intimacy."e;Whatever the truth of this they were now recognised as perhaps the best writing team of their generation, so much so, that their joint names was applied to all the works in which either, or both, had a pen including those with Philip Massinger, James Shirley and Nathan Field.The first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647 contained 35 plays; 53 plays were included in the second folio in 1679. Other works bring the total plays in the canon to about 55. However there appears here to have been some duplicity on the account of the publishers who seemed to attribute so many to the team. It is now thought that the work between solely by Beaumont and Fletcher amounts to approximately 15 plays, though of course further works by them were re-worked by others and the originals lost.After Beaumont's early death in 1616 Fletcher continued to write and, at his height was, by many standards, the equal of Shakespeare in popularity until his own death in 1625.

The English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I of England (James VI of Scotland, 1567-1625; in England he reigned from 1603).Beaumont & Fletcher began to collaborate as writers soon after they met. After notable failures of their solo works their first joint effort, Philaster, was a success and tragicomedy was the genre they explored and built upon. There would be many further successes to follow.There is an account that at the time the two men shared everything. They lived together in a house on the Bankside in Southwark, "e;they also lived together in Bankside, sharing clothes and having one wench in the house between them."e; Or as another account puts it "e;sharing everything in the closest intimacy."e;Whatever the truth of this they were now recognised as perhaps the best writing team of their generation, so much so, that their joint names was applied to all the works in which either, or both, had a pen including those with Philip Massinger, James Shirley and Nathan Field.The first Beaumont and Fletcher folio of 1647 contained 35 plays; 53 plays were included in the second folio in 1679. Other works bring the total plays in the canon to about 55. However there appears here to have been some duplicity on the account of the publishers who seemed to attribute so many to the team. It is now thought that the work between solely by Beaumont and Fletcher amounts to approximately 15 plays, though of course further works by them were re-worked by others and the originals lost.After Beaumont's early death in 1616 Fletcher continued to write and, at his height was, by many standards, the equal of Shakespeare in popularity until his own death in 1625.

Norman Douglas was born in Thüringen, Austria on 8th December 1868. He spent the first years of his life on the family estate, Villa Falkenhorst, in Thüringen. The following years were spent in Scotland at Tilquhillie, Deeside, his paternal home. Douglas was then educated at Yarlet Hall and Uppingham School in England, before a grammar school in Karlsruhe. Douglas started in the diplomatic service in 1894 and, until 1896, he was stationed in Russia at St. Petersburg, but was placed on leave following a sexual scandal. In 1897 whilst travelling in Italy with his brother he bought the villa Maya in Posillipo, a maritime suburb of Naples. In doing so he abandoned his pregnant Russian mistress and his career as a diplomat. The following year he married a cousin, Elizabeth Louisa Theobaldina FitzGibbon, with whom he would have two children. In 1901, using his pseudonym 'Normyx', and in collaboration with Elizabeth, his first book, Unprofessional Tales, was published. However, his marriage was now failing, and they divorced in 1903 on the grounds of Elizabeth's infidelity. He now moved to Capri to spend time at the Villa Daphne as well as also alternating with time in London. His general purpose now was to become a more committed and dedicated writer. A long career lay ahead of him but it was one filled with bohemian excess, writing of tremendous quality and also scandal after scandal. By the time of his death in Capri on 7th February 1952, apparently deliberately overdosing himself on drugs after a long illness. His last action was to hurl expletives at a group of nuns.