Shakespeare by Another Name: The Life of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, the Man Who WasShakespeare

808 Pages·2006·4.03 MB·English

by  Mark Anderson

“Shakespeare” by Another Name
The Biography of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, The Man Who Was
Shakespeare
By Mark Anderson
Copyright 2011 by Mark Kendall Anderson Cover Copyright 2011 by Dara England and Untreed Reads
Publishing Cover image of Edward de Vere bust, sculpted by Paula Slater, courtesy of Ben August The
author is hereby established as the sole holder of the copyright. Either the publisher (Untreed Reads) or
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Previously published in print in 2005.
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“Shakespeare” by Another Name
The Biography of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, The Man Who Was
Shakespeare
By Mark Anderson
FOREWORD BY SIR DEREK JACOBI
Praise for “Shakespeare” by Another Name
“Deserves serious attention.”—New York Times
“Makes a compelling case.… Especially
impressive.”—Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Quite a compelling argument.”—Chicago Sun-Times
“One of the most fascinating theatre-related books I
have ever read. An absolutely first-rate piece of sleuthing
and an absolutely first-rate read.”—Don Rubin, professor
of theatre studies, York University, Toronto; editor, World
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre
“Makes a convincing argument that the brilliant, rather
tormented Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford—not
Shakespeare—was the dramatist…draws powerful
connections between Shakespeare’s plays and the life of de
Vere.”—USA Today
“Fresh, original research.”—Boston Globe
“Shocking.” —Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
“Lively…audacious.”—The Times Literary Supplement
“Tantalizing.” —The New York Sun
“Prepare to have the earth move under your feet.” —
City Pages (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
“The battle is won. In page after page, Anderson shows
how characters and story lines in virtually every
Shakespeare play reflect people, places, and incidents in de
Vere’s life.” —Compass (Connecticut)
“An extremely well written piece of prose…and a
rewarding exploration that serves to add even more depth
to our experience of the [Shakespeare] plays.” —Against
the Grain
“A model of in-depth research, closely reasoned
argument, and fine writing.”—Don Ostrowski, lecturer in
European history, Harvard University
“‘Shakespeare’ by Another Name is a wake-up call. The
wealth of new and revelatory corroborative evidence in this
biography fleshes out Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford,
as the man behind the plays of Shakespeare, and as the
story unfolds the background to some of Shakespeare’s
most important plays springs into life. Mark Anderson’s
book will be a galvanizing force for actors and theatre
people with its richly nourishing and illuminating
information. No biography of the Stratford man is as
persuasive.”—Kristin Linklater, professor of theatre arts,
Columbia University, and co-founder of Shakespeare &
Company, Lenox, Massachusetts
“Mark Anderson has achieved the seemingly
impossible, weaving together the frayed ends of this
mystery into a shining new tapestry to delight our eyes.”—
ML Hart, author of The Art of Making Opera
“Without exaggeration, this is the most important
Shakespeare biography of the past four hundred years.
Mark Anderson brings Shakespeare out of biographical
limbo and, in fully documented and convincing detail,
shows who he was, how he fit into his time, and how he
became the genius of our culture….Anyone who claims to
have a serious interest in Shakespeare must read Mark
Anderson.”—Sarah Smith, author of Chasing Shakespeares
*
Mark Anderson has devoted nearly 20 years to researching the life of Edward de
Vere, and his publications on the subject include articles in Harper’s, The Boston
Globe, and on the PBS.org Web site. He has been a contributing writer to Wired,
a contributing producer to the WNYC/Public Radio International program
“Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen” and lives in western Massachusetts.
To my father,
George R. Anderson,
who has supported and believed in me
every step along the way.
CONTENTS
THE ARGUMENT
FOREWORD by Sir Derek Jacobi
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1: The Eye of Childhood [1550–1562]
CHAPTER 2: Evermore in Subjection [1562–1569]
CHAPTER 3: Treasons and Vile Instruments [1569–1572]
CHAPTER 4: For Making a Man [1573–1575]
CHAPTER 5: The Fable of the World [1575–1578]
IMAGES SECTION
CHAPTER 6: In Brawl Ridiculous [1577–1582]
CHAPTER 7: Fortune’s Dearest Spite [1582–1585]
CHAPTER 8: To Thy Rudder Tied by th’ Strings [1586–1589]
CHAPTER 9: Gentle Master William [1589–1593]
CHAPTER 10: The Sharp Razor of a Willing Conceit [1593–1598]
CHAPTER 11: Buried Be [1598–1604]
EPILOGUE [1604–1623]
APPENDIX A: Edward de Vere’s Geneva Bible and Shakespeare
APPENDIX B: The Shakespeare Apocrypha
APPENDIX C: “The 1604 Question”
APPENDIX D: The “Ashbourne Portrait of Shakespeare”
APPENDIX E: “Shakespeare” by Another Name’s Dramatis Personae
APPENDIX F: The “Cobbe Portrait of Shakespeare”
APPENDIX G: Anonymous & The “Prince Tudor” Theory
APPENDIX H: The Shakespeare Guide to Italy
Author’s Note
Usage Note
Photo Credits
Frequently Cited Sources
Notes
Acknowledgments
THE ARGUMENT
WHO WROTE SHAKESPEARE?
The answer to this question is not as straightforward as it might first seem.
A recent Hollywood movie, Anonymous, portrays the actor Will Shakespeare
of Stratford-upon-Avon (or Shakspere as he preferred to spell it) as a front-man
for the Elizabethan court poet and playwright Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford
(1550–1604).
And while Anonymous takes some liberties with historical fact, de Vere’s
secret life as a celebrated author is arguably not one of them. A growing number
of “Shakespeare” experts and fans today suspect de Vere was The Bard.
Here are five brief reasons why:
1. Shakspere’s and de Vere’s contemporaries blew the whistle. Some writers
from four centuries ago suggested the actor Shakspere was a fraud and
front-man. They implied de Vere was writing great works behind the scenes
and perhaps was the secretive genius behind the “Shakespeare” mask.
Shakespeare authorship questions, in other words, arguably trace back to
the earliest years of the “Shakespeare” brand itself. (See below)
2. The markings in Edward de Vere’s hand-annotated copy of the Bible reveal
a mind uniquely in sync with the many idiosyncratic biblical references
found in the “Shakespeare” plays and poems. If the Bard’s nods to scripture
are like a thumbprint at a crime scene, de Vere’s biblical annotations
constitute a strong match, one that alone should single him out as a prime
“Shakespeare” suspect. {See Appendix A}
3. By all outward signs—such as contemporary references, publication dates
and literary sources—new “Shakespeare” works stopped being written in
1604, the year de Vere died. {Appendix C}
4. The top non-British setting for “Shakespeare” plays is Italy. Although
ignorant critics claim otherwise, the author’s detailed descriptions of his
plays’ Italian settings are in fact note-perfect. Almost to a city, the Italian
locations in “Shakespeare” are ports of call on Edward de Vere’s Italian
grand tour. {Chapters 4 and 5, Appendix H}
5. The “Shakespeare” canon is autobiographical—far exceeding random
coincidence and even transforming the sprawling assortment of plays and
poems into a single, unified text. Much Ado About Nothing, for instance,