When You See Me You Know Me

When You See Me You Know Me is an early Jacobean history play about Henry VIII, written by Samuel Rowley and first published in 1605.

[1] A second quarto was issued in 1613, the year in which Shakespeare's and Fletcher's Henry VIII was performed,[2] and further editions appeared in 1621 and 1632.

[3] Inevitably, Rowley had to take a selective approach to the vast subject of Henry VIII's biography; he chose to emphasize the King's conflict with Cardinal Wolsey and the birth and early education of Edward VI.

The young Edward is depicted as an incipient hero of Protestantism, defending his sister Elizabeth and Thomas Cranmer when they are accused of treason.

Rowley also shows the King going out in disguise to mingle with his subjects, as in the legends surrounding Harun al-Rashid and similar figures.