Also important were Mummers' plays, performed during the Christmas season, and court masques. It was a magnificent festival, with jousts, games, and masques. His own court masques were expensive, exclusive spectacles. In English masques, purely musical interludes might be accompanied by a dumbshow. After a nuptial lunch, four days of balls, masques and banquets ensued. The Nine Worthies were also a popular subject for masques in Renaissance Europe. Other activities included participation in moot court, disputation, and masques. Reconstructions of Stuart masques have been few and far between. Ben Jonson wrote many masques, often collaborating with Jones. All the masques in "The Fairy-Queen" are presented by Titania or Oberon. Ben Jonson wrote a number of masques with stage design by Inigo Jones. Court masques were particularly popular during the reign of Henry VIII. Sir Philip Sidney also wrote masques. She enjoyed dancing and took great delight in organising masques. Briggs began writing in 1990 and published her first novel "Masques" in 1993.