Heartbreak House is a play written by George Bernard Shaw one of the truly great literary figures of our age. First published in 1919 and first played at the New York's Garrick Theatre in 1920. It is not often performed due to its complex structure. Based around a dinner party it's a mixture of farce, social manners and British Society's sad decline with their indifferent self-indulgent attitude. As the play progresses Shaw reveals each character as somewhat different to their starting position.

The New Arrival can either be read as a full-length eBook or in 3 serialised eBook-only parts. This is PART 2 of 3 (Chapters 10-21 of 30). You can read Part 2 one week ahead of release of the full-length eBook and paperback. Sarah completes her preliminary nurse training, and finds her feet with staff and patients alike, under the watchful eye of the stern matron. It’s the end of the swinging sixties, Britain is changing and the everyday life of the nurses and patients plays out against a backdrop of a failing government, strikes, immigration and women’s lib. Nurse Sarah Hill, together with her companions – the serious minded, politicised Maddox, the quick-witted Lynch, who falls in love with an upper-crust young doctor, golden girl Nursery Nurse Appleton, and ex-musical hall star turned midwife Wade – is thrown in straight at the deep end. Funny, warm and deeply moving, Sarah Beeson’s poignant memoir captures both the heartache and happiness of hospital life and 1970s London through the eyes of a gentle but determined young nurse.

Sense and Sensibility (1811) is Jane Austen's first published novel. It is a book about love and romance that follows the life of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. When their father dies and his property goes to his son and first wife, the Dashwood sisters move with their family to live in a modest cottage in Devonshire where start their romantic adventures and heartbreaks. The cottage belongs to their mother's cousin Sir John Middleton who welcomes them and presents them to his family and friends. One of John's friends, Colonel Brandon, soon falls in love with Marianne, yet the latter finds him unattractive and too old for her age. She later meets the philandering John Willoughby and becomes interested in him to be drowned in grief when he leaves to do business in London. As for Elinor, she develops a relationship with Edward Ferrars before they move to Devonshire. When the two sisters are disappointed by their lovers who go with other women, the novel depicts the different ways they react as well as their wavering between passion and reason. By the end of the novel, Edward comes to mend his relationship with Elinor and marries her while Marianne marries Colonel Brandon. We've also included a concise and informative biography of Jane's works and life at the end of the book. We hope it helps to give a little context and colour about how her life interacted with her art.

Northanger Abbey is one of Jane Austen's earliest novels which is believed to be influenced by the Gothic works of Ann Radcliffe. The story centers around Catherine Morland, a country churchman's daughter who is fond of Gothic fiction. The story starts when Catherine is invited by her wealthy family friends to visit the famous town of Bath. She soon falls in love with the young gentleman Henry Tilney whose erudition and interest in fiction and history simply enchant her. She is later invited to visit Northanger Abbey, Henry's ancient family estate and expects the Abbey to be similar to the castles she is familiar with in the Gothic novels that she reads. However, she discovers that the building is far from being Gothic save for the mysterious suite of deserted rooms belonging to Henry's dead mother. Catherine imagines that the rooms hide some secret about the woman's death, suspecting that Henry's father may have killed her. When she finally sneaks into the rooms, she finds absolutely nothing that confirms her Gothic visions. Furthermore, she is caught by Henry who, after hearing about her motivations, informs her that his parents really loved each other. Catherine is finally convinced that despite their entertaining capacity, novels are not necessarily a faithful representation of every-day life. We've also included a concise and informative biography of Jane's works and life at the end of the book. We hope it helps to give a little context and colour about how her life interacted with her art.

Thomas Middleton was born in London in April 1580 and baptised on 18th April. Middleton was aged only five when his father died. His mother remarried but this unfortunately fell apart into a fifteen year legal dispute regarding the inheritance due Thomas and his younger sister. By the time he left Oxford, at the turn of the Century, Middleton had and published Microcynicon: Six Snarling Satirese which was denounced by the Archbishop of Canterbury and publicly burned. In the early years of the 17th century, Middleton wrote topical pamphlets. One - Penniless Parliament of Threadbare Poets was reprinted several times and the subject of a parliamentary inquiry. These early years writing plays continued to attract controversy. His writing partnership with Thomas Dekker brought him into conflict with Ben Jonson and George Chapman in the so-called War of the Theatres. His finest work with Dekker was undoubtedly The Roaring Girl, a biography of the notorious Mary Frith. In the 1610s, Middleton began another playwriting partnership, this time with the actor William Rowley, producing another slew of plays including Wit at Several Weapons and A Fair Quarrel. The ever adaptable Middleton seemed at ease working with others or by himself. His solo writing credits include the comic masterpiece, A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, in 1613. In 1620 he was officially appointed as chronologer of the City of London, a post he held until his death. The 1620s saw the production of his and Rowley's tragedy, and continual favourite, The Changeling, and of several other tragicomedies. However in 1624, he reached a peak of notoriety when his dramatic allegory A Game at Chess was staged by the King's Men. Though Middleton's approach was strongly patriotic, the Privy Council silenced the play after only nine performances at the Globe theatre, having received a complaint from the Spanish ambassador. What happened next is a mystery. It is the last play recorded as having being written by Middleton. Thomas Middleton died at his home at Newington Butts in Southwark in the summer of 1627, and was buried on July 4th, in St Mary's churchyard which today survives as a public park in Elephant and Castle.

Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was born on October 16, 1888 in a hotel bedroom in what is now Times Square, New York. Much of his childhood was spent in the comfort of books at boarding schools whilst his actor father was on the road and his Mother contended with her own demons. He spent only a year at University - Princeton - and various reasons have been given for his departure. However whatever his background and education denied or added to his development it is agreed amongst all that he was a playwright of the first rank and possibly America's greatest. His introduction of realism into American drama was instrumental in its development and paved a path for many talents thereafter. Of course his winning of both the Pulitzer Prize (4 times) and the Nobel Prize are indicative of his status. His more famous and later works do side with the disillusionment and personal tragedy of those on the fringes of society but continue to build upon ideas and structures he incorporated in his early one act plays. Eugene O'Neill suffered from various health problems, mainly depression and alcoholism. In the last decade he also faced a Parkinson's like tremor in his hands which made writing increasingly difficult. But out of such difficulties came plays of the calibre of The Iceman Cometh, Long Day's Journey Into Night, and A Moon for the Misbegotten. Eugene O'Neill died in Room 401 of the Sheraton Hotel on Bay State Road in Boston, on November 27, 1953, at the age of 65. As he was dying, he whispered his last words: "e;I knew it. I knew it. Born in a hotel room and died in a hotel room."e;

Thomas Hardy (2nd June 1840 - 11th January 1928), celebrated poet and writer, was born in a modest thatched cottage near Dorchester in the West country, to a builder father. His mother came from a line of intelligent, lively and ambitious women so ensured her son had the best formal education available for their modest means although this ended when he was 16. He became a draughtsman specialising in the building of churches was able to give it up to be a full time writer and poet with the publication of Far From the Madding Crown which became a bestseller and like much of his work was serialised. His writing reflects his passionate beliefs for social reform and exposes the hypocrisy of the rules of the Victorian age which constrained many freedoms with convention and restricted the transcending of class boundaries. His novels are almost entirely set in rural Wessex which although fictional is clearly rooted in the SW counties of England where he was born and lived most of his life. Hardy's writing caused controversy in his lifetime but despite this he was highly praised and showered with honorary doctorates from many universities, a knighthood, which he refused and in 1910 the prestigious Order of the Merit. Jude the Obscure is "e;the sort of man who was born to ache a good deal."e; He is desperate to study at Christminster, the fictionalised Oxford University, and whilst self educated to a sufficient standard, his humble rural background prevents admission. Furthermore, he is distracted by the sensual Arabella and falls in love with the educated. emancipated new woman, Sue creating as Hardy states "e;a deadly war waged between flesh and spirit"e;. Whilst doomed love and unfulfilled ambition are the dominant themes, the frank criticism of marriage and fearless exploration of sexuality caused so much protest for its supposed indecency and the ensuing bitter criticism, made this Hardy's final novel and many agree also his finest. The novel continues to inspire the modern mind as the recent film directed by Michael Winterbottom and starring Christopher Eccleston and Kate Winslet as Jude and Sue attests.

Henrik Ibsen (20th March, 1828 - 23rd May, 1906) is often referred to as the father of realism and ranked just below Shakespeare as Europe's greatest ever playwright especially as his plays are performed most frequently throughout the world after Shakespeare's. He was Norwegian and although set his plays in Norway, he wrote them in Danish and lived most of his professional life in Italy and Germany. His affect on the theatre is still evident today and shapes the distinction of plays being art as opposed to entertainment since he broke down all previous traditions and explored issues, developed characterisation, revealed uncomfortable truths, challenged assumptions and brokedown facades in ourselves as well as society. These factors are clearly demonstrated in Ghosts which exposes painful and hidden past secrets that affect many of the characters. The protagonist, Mrs Alving, is a wealthy middle aged widow who was the victim of an alcoholic unfaithful husband. She searches to make sense of her life and comes to realise that her husband was suffocated by convention and is unwilling to let her life go the same way. The play tackles many taboo topics of its day like assisted suicide, premarital sex, incest, syphilis and criticism of the church and whilst these issues are no longer the hot potatoes they were, Ibsen's strong characterisation and haunting prose make this a powerful relevant drama.

John Galsworthy was born at Kingston Upon Thames in Surrey, England, on August 14th 1867 to a wealthy and well established family. His schooling was at Harrow and New College, Oxford before training as a barrister and being called to the bar in 1890. However, Law was not attractive to him and he travelled abroad becoming great friends with the novelist Joseph Conrad, then a first mate on a sailing ship. In 1895 Galsworthy began an affair with Ada Nemesis Pearson Cooper, the wife of his cousin Major Arthur Galsworthy. The affair was kept a secret for 10 years till she at last divorced and they married on 23rd September 1905. Galsworthy first published in 1897 with a collection of short stories entitled "e;The Four Winds"e;. For the next 7 years he published these and all works under his pen name John Sinjohn. It was only upon the death of his father and the publication of "e;The Island Pharisees"e; in 1904 that he published as John Galsworthy. His first play, The Silver Box in 1906 was a success and was followed by "e;The Man of Property"e; later that same year and was the first in the Forsyte trilogy. Whilst today he is far more well know as a Nobel Prize winning novelist then he was considered a playwright dealing with social issues and the class system. Here we publish Villa Rubein, a very fine story that captures Galsworthy's unique narrative and take on life of the time. He is now far better known for his novels, particularly The Forsyte Saga, his trilogy about the eponymous family of the same name. These books, as with many of his other works, deal with social class, upper-middle class lives in particular. Although always sympathetic to his characters, he reveals their insular, snobbish, and somewhat greedy attitudes and suffocating moral codes. He is now viewed as one of the first from the Edwardian era to challenge some of the ideals of society depicted in the literature of Victorian England. In his writings he campaigns for a variety of causes, including prison reform, women's rights, animal welfare, and the opposition of censorship as well as a recurring theme of an unhappy marriage from the women's side. During World War I he worked in a hospital in France as an orderly after being passed over for military service. He was appointed to the Order of Merit in 1929, after earlier turning down a knighthood, and awarded the Nobel Prize in 1932 though he was too ill to attend. John Galsworthy died from a brain tumour at his London home, Grove Lodge, Hampstead on January 31st 1933. In accordance with his will he was cremated at Woking with his ashes then being scattered over the South Downs from an aeroplane.

Lucy Maud Montgomery was born in Clifton, Prince Edward Island, Canada, on November 30, 1874. Her mother died when she was a toddler and her devastated father asked her grandparents to raise her. Her childhood years in Cavendish were very lonely. Lucy's solution at this early age was to create imaginary worlds and people them with imaginary friends. Her creativity was beginning to establish itself in her life. With her studying days over Lucy began a career as a teacher and worked at various Prince Edward Island schools. It was soon obvious to her that she did not enjoy teaching but the benefit was that it gave her time to write. That was now her real passion. Much of her early career was spent writing short stories. Indeed in the decade from 1897 magazines and newspapers published over 100 stories from the prolific young writer. In 1908, Lucy published her first book, the classic, Anne of Green Gables. It was an immediate success and quickly established her career. During her lifetime, Lucy published 20 novels, 530 short stories, 500 poems, and 30 essays. Aware of her fame, by 1920 Lucy began editing and recopying her journals, reframing her life as she wanted it remembered. Lucy Maud Montgomery died on April 24, 1942 in Toronto. A note was found beside her bed, "e;I have lost my mind by spells and I do not dare think what I may do in those spells. May God forgive me and I hope everyone else will forgive me even if they cannot understand. My position is too awful to endure and nobody realizes it. What an end to a life in which I tried always to do my best."e; The official cause of death was a coronary thrombosis.

Lorna Doone is a romance that tells the story of a seventeenth-century successful farmer, John Ridd, whose father is killed by the Doones, a clan of unruly brigands living in the wilderness. When John once accidently ventures into the clan's area, he meets the beautiful Lorna and falls in love with her. In order to rescue his beloved from the life that she hates, he has to go through a long and violent struggle with his rival Carver Doone who also claims Lorna's hand. He eventually succeeds in helping her escape from the clan to his family's home which is later attacked by Carver. Later, a family friend reveals to them that Lorna does not really belong to the Doone clan and that she was kidnapped after a raid during which her noble and extremely wealthy mother was murdered. As an heiress to her mother's fortunes, Lorna is now legally asked to leave for London and become her great-uncle's ward. Political upheaval shakes the whole kingdom and John is arrested for false accusations. After being brought to London and absolved from guilt, he meets Lorna who is still in love with him. Lorna is eventually allowed to go back to the country and marry John. In the midst of their wedding ceremony, Carver suddenly enters the church and hits Lorna. John follows him and they engage in a fight that ends in Carver's death.

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in late April 1565 and baptised there on 26th April. He was one of eight children.Little is known about his life but what is evident is the enormous contribution he has made to world literature.His writing was progressive, magnificent in scope and breathtaking in execution.Shakespeare's plays and sonnets helped enable the English language to speak with a voice unmatched by any other.William Shakespeare died on April 23rd 1616, survived by his wife and two daughters. He was buried two days after his death in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church. The epitaph on the slab which covers his grave includes the following passage.Good friend, for Jesus's sake forbear,To dig the dust enclosed here.Blessed me the man that spares these stones,And cursed be he that moves my bones.John Fletcher was born in December, 1579 in Rye, Sussex. He was baptised on December 20th.As can be imagined details of much of his life and career have not survived and, accordingly, only a very brief indication of his life and works can be given.Young Fletcher appears at the very young age of eleven to have entered Corpus Christi College at Cambridge University in 1591. There are no records that he ever took a degree but there is some small evidence that he was being prepared for a career in the church.However what is clear is that this was soon abandoned as he joined the stream of people who would leave University and decamp to the more bohemian life of commercial theatre in London.The upbringing of the now teenage Fletcher and his seven siblings now passed to his paternal uncle, the poet and minor official Giles Fletcher. Giles, who had the patronage of the Earl of Essex may have been a liability rather than an advantage to the young Fletcher. With Essex involved in the failed rebellion against Elizabeth Giles was also tainted.By 1606 John Fletcher appears to have equipped himself with the talents to become a playwright. Initially this appears to have been for the Children of the Queen's Revels, then performing at the Blackfriars Theatre.Fletcher's early career was marked by one significant failure; The Faithful Shepherdess, his adaptation of Giovanni Battista Guarini's Il Pastor Fido, which was performed by the Blackfriars Children in 1608.By 1609, however, he had found his stride. With his collaborator John Beaumont, he wrote Philaster, which became a hit for the King's Men and began a profitable association between Fletcher and that company. Philaster appears also to have begun a trend for tragicomedy. By the middle of the 1610s, Fletcher's plays had achieved a popularity that rivalled Shakespeare's and cemented the pre-eminence of the King's Men in Jacobean London. After his frequent early collaborator John Beaumont's early death in 1616, Fletcher continued working, both singly and in collaboration, until his own death in 1625. By that time, he had produced, or had been credited with, close to fifty plays.

James Shirley was born in London in September 1596.His education was through a collection of England's finest establishments: Merchant Taylors' School, London, St John's College, Oxford, and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he took his B.A. degree in approximately 1618.He first published in 1618, a poem entitled Echo, or the Unfortunate Lovers.As with many artists of this period full details of his life and career are not recorded.He wrote his first play, Love Tricks, or the School of Complement, which was licensed on February 10th, 1625.For the next two decades, he would write prolifically and with great quality, across a spectrum of thirty plays; through tragedies and comedies to tragicomedies as well as several books of poetry. Unfortunately, his talents were left to wither when Parliament passed the Puritan edict in 1642, forbidding all stage plays and closing the theatres.His death, at age seventy, along with that of his wife, in 1666, is described as one of fright and exposure due to the Great Fire of London which had raged through parts of London from September 2nd to the 5th.He was buried at St Giles in the Fields, in London, on October 29th, 1666.

Jules Verne is probably the world's first science-fiction novelist. His Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870) centers around a sea monster that keeps on menacing and damaging ships and ocean liners in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. When the US government eventually decides to destroy the monster, a group of whaling and marine biology experts from different nationalities led by Professor Arronax are invited to join the American ship Abraham Lincoln and engage in an expedition around the South American continent to search for the weird creature. After losing their first battle, the crew discover, to their surprise, that the supposed monster is rather a large metal body that travels under the water. They are soon abducted and brought inside the vessel to meet its eccentric commander Captain Nemo. The submarine's new passengers learn that Captain Nemo has built the vessel to isolate himself from world governments and to spend his lifetime exploring new worlds and conducting scientific research. Captain Nemo's treatment of his visitors is generally respectful and kind except for his radical rejection of their pleas to leave the submarine and go back home. By the end of the story, the submarine is attacked by another ship sent by Captain Nemo's enemies. Captain Nemo decides to destroy the attacking ship and to send it to the bowels of the ocean. The novel ends when the submarine encounters a very strong whirlpool named "e;Maelstrom,"e; allowing Professor Arronax to flee with the rest of his crew while the fate of Captain Nemo and his creation remains unknown.

Henrik Ibsen (20th March, 1828 - 23rd May, 1906) is often referred to as the father of realism and ranked just below Shakespeare as Europe's greatest ever playwright especially as his plays are performed most frequently throughout the world after Shakespeare's. Ibsen was Norwegian and although set his plays in Norway, he wrote them in Danish and lived mot of his professional life in Italy and Germany. His affect on the theatre is still evident today and shapes the distinction of plays being art as opposed to entertainment since he broke down all previous traditions and explored issues, developed characterisation, revealed uncomfortable truths, challenged assumptions and brokedown facades in ourselves as well as society. These factors are clearly demonstrated in the Master Builder which is about Halvard Solness, an incredibly successful builder whose success is due to a lucky series of events which he had conceived and wished for but not actually done anything to make happen. These fortuitous occurrences for him and misfortunes for his competitors makes Solness think that he is divinely blessed to allow him to build churches and that all his wishes will come true. He confides these beliefs to a young woman he originally met as a child and together they fantasise about this magic power. At the same time his wife is uninterested in his buildings but consumed with grief over the loss of her two sons. Solness is ultimately destroyed by this infatuation for the younger woman together with his belief in his own infallibility making this Ibsen work a realistic tragedy with a thought provoking moral to the tale.

Henrik Ibsen (20th March, 1828 - 23rd May, 1906) is often referred to as the father of realism and ranked just below Shakespeare as Europe's greatest ever playwright especially as his plays are performed most frequently throughout the world after Shakespeare's. Ibsen was Norwegian and although set his plays in Norway, he wrote them in Danish and lived most of his professional life in Italy and Germany. His affect on the theatre is still evident today and shapes the distinction of plays being art as opposed to entertainment since he broke down all previous traditions and explored issues, developed characterisation, revealed uncomfortable truths, challenged assumptions and broke down facades in ourselves as well as society. These factors are clearly demonstrated in Hedda Gabler where Ibsen presents one of the most interesting and elusive heroines in theatrical history. Hedda is the daughter of a deceased General and enters into a loveless marriage with the lacklustre George Tesman. Hedda's desperation is totally misunderstood by those around yet portrayed so realistically with some of his finest most memorable prose that we can empathise with her behaviour. Hedda aptly points out: "e;I think I have a natural talent for boring myself to death."e; This Ibsen work certainly does not bore and is an essential riveting read.

Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was born on October 16, 1888 in a hotel bedroom in what is now Times Square, New York. Much of his childhood was spent in the comfort of books at boarding schools whilst his actor father was on the road and his Mother contended with her own demons. He spent only a year at University - Princeton - and various reasons have been given for his departure. However whatever his background and education denied or added to his development it is agreed amongst all that he was a playwright of the first rank and possibly America's greatest. His introduction of realism into American drama was instrumental in its development and paved a path for many talents thereafter. Of course his winning of both the Pulitzer Prize (4 times) and the Nobel Prize are indicative of his status. His more famous and later works do side with the disillusionment and personal tragedy of those on the fringes of society but continue to build upon ideas and structures he incorporated in his early one act plays. Eugene O'Neill suffered from various health problems, mainly depression and alcoholism. In the last decade he also faced a Parkinson's like tremor in his hands which made writing increasingly difficult. But out of such difficulties came plays of the calibre of The Iceman Cometh, Long Day's Journey Into Night, and A Moon for the Misbegotten. Eugene O'Neill died in Room 401 of the Sheraton Hotel on Bay State Road in Boston, on November 27, 1953, at the age of 65. As he was dying, he whispered his last words: "e;I knew it. I knew it. Born in a hotel room and died in a hotel room."e;

Henrik Ibsen (20th March, 1828 - 23rd May, 1906) is often referred to as the father of realism and ranked just below Shakespeare as Europe's greatest ever playwright especially as his plays are performed most frequently throughout the world after Shakespeare's. He was Norwegian and although set his plays in Norway, he wrote them in Danish and lived most of his professional life in Italy and Germany. His affect on the theatre is still evident today and shapes the distinction of plays being art as opposed to entertainment since he broke down all previous traditions and explored issues, developed characterisation, revealed uncomfortable truths, challenged assumptions and brokedown facades in ourselves as well as society. These factors are clearly demonstrated in Little Eyolf a play that explores the complex family dynamics surrounding the Allmer family through their injured son Eyolf. Alfred, Eyolf's father decides to abandon his work to concentrate on looking after Eyolf who has lived a sheltered life due to the paralysis in one of his legs. Whilst Eyolf yearns normal boyish pursuits, Alfred wants to develop his mind so he can satisfy himself and overcome his physical restrictions with intellectual pursuits. Tragedy befalls and the ensuing exploration of grief and guilt make for a revealing and poignant drama.

It’s 1983 and best friends Vicky and Lucy swear that they will always be there for each other, that they’ll never let anyone come between them. But fast forward 4 years and life on the Canterbury Estate has gotten very messy.

Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was born on October 16, 1888 in a hotel bedroom in what is now Times Square, New York. Much of his childhood was spent in the comfort of books at boarding schools whilst his actor father was on the road and his Mother contended with her own demons. He spent only a year at University - Princeton - and various reasons have been given for his departure. However whatever his background and education denied or added to his development it is agreed amongst all that he was a playwright of the first rank and possibly America's greatest. His introduction of realism into American drama was instrumental in its development and paved a path for many talents thereafter. Of course his winning of both the Pulitzer Prize (4 times) and the Nobel Prize are indicative of his status. His more famous and later works do side with the disillusionment and personal tragedy of those on the fringes of society but continue to build upon ideas and structures he incorporated in his early one act plays. Eugene O'Neill suffered from various health problems, mainly depression and alcoholism. In the last decade he also faced a Parkinson's like tremor in his hands which made writing increasingly difficult. But out of such difficulties came plays of the calibre of The Iceman Cometh, Long Day's Journey Into Night, and A Moon for the Misbegotten. Eugene O'Neill died in Room 401 of the Sheraton Hotel on Bay State Road in Boston, on November 27, 1953, at the age of 65. As he was dying, he whispered his last words: "e;I knew it. I knew it. Born in a hotel room and died in a hotel room."e;

Philip Massinger was baptized at St. Thomas's in Salisbury on November 24th, 1583.Massinger is described in his matriculation entry at St. Alban Hall, Oxford (1602), as the son of a gentleman. His father, who had also been educated there, was a member of parliament, and attached to the household of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke. The Earl was later seen as a potential patron for Massinger.He left Oxford in 1606 without a degree. His father had died in 1603, and accounts suggest that Massinger was left with no financial support this, together with rumours that he had converted to Catholicism, meant the next stage of his career needed to provide an income.Massinger went to London to make his living as a dramatist, but he is only recorded as author some fifteen years later, when The Virgin Martyr (1621) is given as the work of Massinger and Thomas Dekker.During those early years as a playwright he wrote for the Elizabethan stage entrepreneur, Philip Henslowe. It was a difficult existence. Poverty was always close and there was constant pleading for advance payments on forthcoming works merely to survive.After Henslowe died in 1616 Massinger and John Fletcher began to write primarily for the King's Men and Massinger would write regularly for them until his death.The tone of the dedications in later plays suggests evidence of his continued poverty. In the preface of The Maid of Honour (1632) he wrote, addressing Sir Francis Foljambe and Sir Thomas Bland: "e;I had not to this time subsisted, but that I was supported by your frequent courtesies and favours."e;The prologue to The Guardian (1633) refers to two unsuccessful plays and two years of silence, when the author feared he had lost popular favour although, from the little evidence that survives, it also seems he had involved some of his plays with political characters which would have cast shadows upon England's alliances.Philip Massinger died suddenly at his house near the Globe Theatre on March 17th, 1640. He was buried the next day in the churchyard of St. Saviour's, Southwark, on March 18th, 1640. In the entry in the parish register he is described as a "e;stranger,"e; which, however, implies nothing more than that he belonged to another parish.