"There�s something here to amuse, infuriate and perplex even the most devout Bardolater"
--The Independent on Sunday
Thames & Hudson Web Site, May, 2001
Summary
Was Shakespeare a fraud and a plagiarist, the �upstart crow� described by Greene as strutting in borrowed feathers,
or Jonson�s �Poet-Ape� who patched plays together from others� work? Or was his name merely a pseudonym for a well-known
contemporary figure? The facts about the actor and businessman of Stratford-upon-Avon are meagre, and contrast
puzzlingly with the learned, courtly philosopher revealed in the Sonnets and plays � the universal genius and supreme
stylist. John Michell has put together an enthralling investigation of the evidence and the arguments for the various
candidates, including the lawyer Francis Bacon, the Earl of Oxford, and Marlowe, and not forgetting Shakespeare
himself. This is a fascinating, drily humorous study of the mysteries of the authorship of Shakespeare.
John Michell is the author of At the Centre of the World, Twelve-Tribe Nations and The New View Over Atlantis,
also published by Thames and Hudson.
