No direct source for the play has been identified, other than Massinger's own earlier play, A New Way to Pay Old Debts, which was modelled on Thomas Middleton's A Trick to Catch the Old One.
No direct evidence exists for the origins of the play; however, it is believed that Massinger's work, A New Way to Pay Old Debts, which emulated Thomas Middleton's A Trick to Catch the Old One, may have influenced its creation.