Alias Shakespeare

This erudite and entertaining work of literary detection sets out to solve the most puzzling mystery in all of literary history: Who wrote Shakespeare's plays? Presenting his case for a swashbuckling Elizabethan courtier, Sobran vindicates a long list of prominent skeptics, among them the great Shakespearean actors, Kenneth Branagh and Sir John Gielgud. of photos & illustrations.

The debate over the true author of the Shakespeare canon has raged for centuries. Astonishingly little evidence supports the traditional belief that Will Shakespeare, the actor and businessman from Stratford-upon-Avon, was the author. Legendary figures such as Mark Twain, Walt Whitman and Sigmund Freud have all expressed grave doubts that an uneducated man who apparently owned no books and never left England wrote plays and poems that consistently reflect a learned and well-traveled insider's perspective on royal courts and the ancient feudal nobility. Recent scholarship has turned to Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford-an Elizabethan court playwright known to have written in secret and who had ample means, motive and opportunity to in fact have assumed the "Shakespeare" disguise. "Shakespeare" by Another Name is the literary biography of Edward de Vere as "Shakespeare." This groundbreaking book tells the story of de Vere's action-packed life-as Renaissance man, spendthrift, courtier, wit, student, scoundrel, patron, military adventurer, and, above all, prolific ghostwriter-finding in it the background material for all of The Bard's works. Biographer Mark Anderson incorporates a wealth of new evidence, including de Vere's personal copy of the Bible (in which de Vere underlines scores of passages that are also prominent Shakespearean biblical references).

Shakespeare's sexuality has always been an ambiguous concept, despite the pleasant fictions of Shakespeare in Love. Now Michael Keevak examines such sources as anecdotes, imitations, forgeries, spurious works and portraits to show that this ambiguity has a long and twisted history.

An authoritative, accessible overview of history's greatest literary figure The great dramatist Ben Jonson wrote that William Shakespeare "was not of an age, but for all time." In the nearly four centuries since his death, Shakespeare's plays still have a tremendous impact on everything from the classroom to popular culture. Now you can have at your fingertips all the vital details on the most influential writer in the history of the English language--straight from one of the most trusted sources of information in the world. In Shakespeare, Encyclopedia Britannica presents a concise and balanced overview of the Bard's life, work, and legacy. From his upbringing in Stratford to his early theater career in London, from his poetry and plays to the controversy surrounding his authorship, from his contemporaries and collaborators to his critics past and present, this comprehensive guide provides the necessary background to appreciate Shakespeare's unique place in world literature. This informative volume also looks at new interpretive approaches to Shakespeare and his work and offers insights from the foremost Shakespeare scholars in the world, including David Bevington (University of Chicago), Stephen J. Greenblatt (Harvard University), and Gail Kern Paster (Folger Shakespeare Library), among others. Every concise entry--from All's Well That Ends Well to The Winter's Tale--promotes a deeper understanding of Shakespeare's life, times, writings, and influence that only Encyclopedia Britannica can provide. Since 1768, Encyclopedia Britannica has been a leading provider of learning products and one of the world's most trusted sources of information.

Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro explains when and why so many people began to question whether Shakespeare wrote his plays.

A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year A polemical, ground-breaking study of Elizabethan England that reclaims Ann Hathaway’s rightful place in history. Little is known about the wife of the world’s most famous playwright; a great deal, none of it complimentary, has been assumed. The omission of her name from Shakespeare’s will has been interpreted as evidence that she was nothing more than an unfortunate mistake from which Shakespeare did well to distance himself. Yet Shakespeare is above all the poet of marriage. Before him, there were few comedies or tragedies about wooing or wedding. And yet he explored the sacrament in all its aspects, spiritual, psychological, sexual, sociological, and was the creator of some of the most tenacious and intelligent heroines in English literature. Is it possible, therefore, that Ann, who has been mocked and vilified by scholars for centuries, was the inspiration? Until now, there has been no serious critical scholarship devoted to the life and career of the farmer’s daughter who married England’s greatest poet. Part biography, part history, Shakespeare’s Wife is a fascinating reconstruction of Ann’s life, and an illuminating look at the daily lives of Elizabethan women, from their working routines to the rituals of courtship and the minutiae of married life. In this thoroughly researched and controversial book, Greer steps off the well-trodden paths of orthodoxy, asks new questions, and begins to right the wrongs done to Ann Shakespeare.