History and Credibility

William Painter's The Palace of Pleasure is a collection of stories, including a retelling of real events that inspired The Duchess of Malfi.  The character of the Duchess is based on Giovanna d'Aragona.  This image shows the title page of The Palace of Pleasure, as published in London in 1569.  

I find it interesting that a play that makes such strong statements against women asserting authority is rooted in fact.  It seems that Webster is attempting to draw on history in order to show the calamities that occur when women of power step beyond the boundaries placed upon them by males.  Webster's version of the Duchess could easily be far different from the historical figure, but the fact that the play resembles real events would have added weight to the messages Webster intended to send to his Elizabethan audience.  Webster certainly wasn't the only playwright of this era to base his characters on historical figures.  Shakespeare wrote many plays that utilized the same strategy, including Julius Caesar, Henry VI, and Richard III.

Source:

Painter, William.  "The Palace of Pleasure."  London, 1569.  Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery.