Very little is known about the life of John Webster. He was the son of a London carriage maker, John Webster Snr, who was a member of the Merchant Taylor's Company before being made free in 1571. His father married on Nov 4, 1577, to Elizabeth Coates. It is assumed that John Webster was born soon after, but since the parish records were destroyed the the Great Fire of London in 1666, no accurate date exists. It is possible that Webster attended the respeced Merchant Taylor's School, but there is no evidence to the same. There is a record of a John Webster entered at Middle Temple, one of the Inns of Court, in 1598, but it is not certain that he was the same person. It is, however, likely, considering Webster's connections with Templars Sir Thomas Overbury, John Marston and John Ford, as well as his knowledge of law as evidenced by his plays. Yet whoever this Webster was, he was never called to the bar.
Webster started in the theatre working for Philip Henslowe. The first mention of Webster as a writer comes in 1602 when Anthony Munday, Michael Drayton, Thomas Middleton and John Webster were paid an advance for a now lost play titles Caesar's Fall (or Two Shapes). Websters first known work dates from 1604. In 1604 Webster wrote and Induction for the revival of John Marston's The Malcontent, and collaborated with Thomas Dekker on Westward Ho, a citizen comedy, and on The Famous History of Sir Thomas Wyatt. The satire was answered by Jonson, MArston and Chapman in thier Eastwood Ho. The collaboration with Dekker continued with their retaliation, Northwood Ho, in 1605. A historical play, Appius and Virginia (1608) was probably a collaboration with Thomas Haeywood. Webster's first sole authorship play was The Devil's Law Case (1610), a tragicomedy. This was followed by his two masterpieces, The White Devil (acted 1608, printed 1612) and The Duchess of Malfi (before 1614, published 1623) among the finest of the Jacbean tragedies.
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