Background
Richard Brome was born in 1590. Nothing is known of Brome’s origins.
Richard Brome was born in 1590. Nothing is known of Brome’s origins.
As early as 1614, Brome is known to have been in Ben Jonson’s service, probably acting as Jonson’s secretary and domestic.
Brome was a prolific and inventive writer, continuing the Elizabethan dramatic tradition until the theatres were closed by order of Parliament in 1642. Filled with pictures of contemporary London and its life, his comedies present a lively and sometimes challenging criticism of their own times.
There are 15 of his comedies extant, including The City Wit; or The Woman Wears the Breeches (produced 1629; published 1653), The Sparagus Garden (produced 1635; published 1640), The Antipodes (produced 1638; published 1640), and A Mad Couple Well Match’d (produced 1639; published 1653). He was ruined by the closing of the theatres and died in the Charterhouse, a charity institution. Two volumes of his plays were edited by Alexander Brome (no relation) in 1653 and 1659.