SOURCE: Cheatham, George. “The Date of William Rowley's A New Wonder, a Woman Never Vext.” Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 75, no. 4 (1981): 437-42.

In the following essay, Cheatham uses literary and historical clues to determine when Rowley might have written A New Wonder, A Woman Never Vext.

Aside from its licensing on 24 November 1631 there is no contemporary external mention of or allusion to A New Wonder, nor is there any record of its initial staging. Consequently, the date of composition of the play is uncertain, even though there are two solid pieces of evidence which establish definite limits for the play's composition. First, A New Wonder could have been written no earlier than May 1611. At one point in the drama Stephen says, “I will eate Cheese and Onions and buy lordships, and will not you thinke this strange?” (i.i.). Such a statement could have been made...