The Shakespeare Controversy: An Analysis of the Authorship Theories, 2d ed. - Softcover

"recommended"--Choice; "highly recommended"--Popular Culture in Libraries; "well-written and well-researched, this book is not only an entertaining, good read but also a valuable reference work...a worthy, if quite selective, survey of an immense subject"--Shakespeare Oxford Society; "even before being updated, was an invaluable primer on the history of the Shakespearean question. The present update is a must read"--Brief Chronicles; "detailed"--Reference & Research Book News; "helpful and reliable"--James Shapiro, author of Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?

Theories stating that plays attributed to Shakespeare were in fact written by other authors have existed for more than 200 years; some theories have been ridiculed and reviled while some have gained growing popular and scholarly support. The history of the Shakespeare controversy is presented in this revised edition of the 1992 work, with much new information and three additional chapters. Part I documents and critically assesses the most important theories on the authorship question. Part II is an annotated bibliography, arranged chronologically, of the many works that deal with the controversy from its vague beginnings to the present.