First published 2010
For two centuries after Shakespeare died, nobody questioned his authorship. Then doubt crept in. James Shapiro traces how and why this happened. He examines the famous skeptics who joined the controversy: Sigmund Freud, Henry James, Mark Twain, and Helen Keller. The story involves forgeries and false claimants. It features ciphers, codes, and conspiracy theories. Alternative candidates include Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, and the Earl of Oxford. Shapiro argues that deeper questions drive the debate. People wonder about the connection between life and art. They ask whether the plays function as hidden autobiography. They believe great works must somehow reveal their creators. Shapiro becomes the first Shakespeare scholar to examine this controversy historically. He explains why it matters and how it survives despite evidence supporting Shakespeare's authorship. The book reveals a failure to understand how imagination works.
Genres: biography, history, literary-criticism, academic
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Period: 19th-century, 20th-century
352 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster