 In creating the character of Sciarrha, Shirley may have been influenced by Foreste in Sir William Davenant's "The Cruel Brother" (1627).Shirley's source for the play's subplot was the account of the murder of Buondelmonte in "Le istoire fiorentine" by Niccolò Machiavelli.The play was revived during the Restoration era, in November 1660.