So this whole thing started when I was scrolling through my feed last Tuesday. Saw this wild headline about John Fletcher having a secret twin brother who actually wrote his plays. Sounded like total clickbait nonsense to me, but hey – curiosity got me. Grabbed my laptop and dug in.
First Stop: Wikipedia Rabbit Hole
Typed “John Fletcher playwright” straight into the search bar. Scrolled through his page for like twenty minutes real slow. Birth records? Nada. Family details? Zip. Just basic stuff about him collaborating with Shakespeare. Then I checked Philip Massinger’s page too since they worked together – still nothing about twins anywhere. Starting to feel like I’m chasing ghosts here.
The Deep Dive Struggle
Switched tactics and searched academic databases using my library access. Typed in every combo I could think of:
- “John Fletcher twin brother”
- “Fletcher family secrets Elizabethan”
- “Anonymous plays attributed to Fletcher”
Found exactly three papers mentioning his family. Not one single reference to a twin sibling anywhere. Most sources just talked about his dad being some bishop. Even checked old parish records from Sussex where he was born – scanned through microfiche copies till my eyes crossed. Zero evidence of twins in the Fletcher household during his birth year.
The Viral Claim Exposed
Finally backtracked that original viral post to some random history gossip site. Clicked their “sources” link – led to a 404 error page. Classic. Checked Wayback Machine and found an archived version citing some self-published ebook from 2012. Author had zero academic credentials, just conspiracy theories about Shakespeare not writing his plays. Whole thing was built on that shaky “what if” premise. No documents, no letters, no contemporary accounts – just vibes.
Bottom line? Spent hours on this goose chase. Real historical trail went absolutely nowhere. That twin brother theory? Complete fantasy cooked up for clicks. People will literally invent anything about dead writers these days. Case closed.
