of the play. Nor is it known exactly when this accusation was made, though it is likely to have been in the early period of James I's reign. However, according to Jonson expert James Loxley, "no action was taken, as far as we know". There have been several theories about what may have led to the accusation. One theory is that the fall of Sejanus was thought to mirror that of the Earl of Essex, who had been executed in 1601. Another writer, Samuel Daniel was brought before the Privy Council in 1604 because his play Philotas was thought "to be a reflection of the dangerous matter of the dead Earl of Essex". However Philip Ayres has argued that Sejanus was thought to parallel the 1603 trial of Walter Raleigh, who had been found guilty of conspiring with Spanish Catholics to murder James I in the Main Plot. This might explain how a play set in ancient Rome was suspected of promoting "Popery". It has also been suggested that the central theme of the play, the dangers of rule by royal favourites, was the problem. In the early years of his reign, 1603–05, James was especially sensitive to criticism of his supporters, given the several conspiracies against him, culminating in the 1605 Gunpowder Plot. Co-author Jonson's epistle "To the Readers" in the 1605 quarto states that an unnamed author had "good share" in the version of the play which was performed on the public stage: Lastly I would inform you that this book, in all numbers, is not the same with that which was acted on the public stage, wherein a second pen had good share; in place of which, I have rather chosen to put weaker (and no doubt less pleasing) of mine own, than to defraud so happy a genius of his right by my loathed usurpation. Jonson's reference to "happy genius" have led some to speculate that William Shakespeare—who acted in the play—was Jonson's co-author on the original version of Sejanus, which has not survived. Another candidate for co-authorship is George Chapman, who later wrote a poem praising the play. Jonson was certainly collaborating with Chapman in this period, as his next play, Eastward Ho, was co-written with Chapman and John Marston. Influence on Shakespeare John-Mark Philo has suggested that Shakespeare's experience with acting in Sejanus and its unfavourable reception may have influenced him in writing his