In November 1753, the British author Sarah Fielding accepted half the payment for her novel The Cry and asked that the other half, when due, go to her "or to whomsoever I shall appoint," perhaps indicating that the remaining share was intended for someone else. Indeed, many think that the novel was a collaborative venture between Fielding and Jane Collier. This particular collaboration was likely enough, as the two were close friends with common interests. They wrote jointly authored letters, were both published authors with a lively interest in each other's work, and were enthusiastic supporters of didacticism and innovation in fiction – central concerns of The Cry. However, contemporaries ascribed the work solely to Fielding, and there is nothing in the novel that is incompatible with Fielding's other writings.