John Webster
John Webster's life is obscure and the dates of his birth and death are not known. His father, a carriage maker also named John Webster, married a blacksmith's daughter named Elizabeth Coates on 4 November 1577 and it is likely that Webster was born not long after, in or near London. Webster married Sara Peniall on 18 March 1605 at St Mary's Church, Islington.
Early collaboration
By 1602, Webster was working with teams of playwrights on history plays, most of which were never printed. They included a tragedy, Caesar's Fall and Christmas Comes but Once a Year. With Dekker he also wrote Sir Thomas Wyatt, which was printed in 1607 and probably first performed in 1602.
The major tragedies
Webster is best known for two brooding English tragedies based on Italian sources. The White Devil, a retelling of the intrigues involving Vittoria Accoramboni, an Italian woman assassinated at the age of 28, was a failure when staged at the Red Bull Theatre in 1612. The Duchess of Malfi, first performed by the King's Men about 1614 and published nine years later, was more successful.
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Late plays
Webster wrote one more play on his own: The Devil's Law Case (c. 1617–1619), a tragicomedy. His later plays were collaborative city comedies with Thomas Middleton and William Rowley.
Reputation
The Duchess of Malfi is presented as a figure of virtue compared with her malevolent brothers. Webster's use of a strong, virtuous woman as his main character was rare for his time and marks a deliberate reworking of some of the historical events on which the play was based.
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