 The play is based in part on two earlier plays by Auden alone, "The Fronny", written in 1930, and mostly lost except for a few fragments printed in the edition of Auden's "Plays" listed below; and "The Chase", written in 1934, and also printed in the edition of Auden's "Plays".Auden sent a copy of "The Chase" to Isherwood, who suggested revisions that eventually transformed the play into "The Dog Beneath the Skin".In "The Fronny" the central character (who is referred to as "Fronny" in the surviving fragments) was apparently based loosely on the archaeologist Francis Turville-Petre, but the character of Sir Francis in "The Chase" and "The Dog Beneath the Skin" has no resemblance to Turville-Petre.