Sweet Swan of
Avon by
Robin P.
Williams
For more
than two hundred years, a growing number
of researchers have questioned whether
the man named William Shakespeare
actually wrote the works attributed to
him. There is no paper trail for William
Shakespeare—no record that he was ever
paid for writing, nothing in his
handwriting but a few signatures on
legal documents, no evidence of his
presence in the royal court except as an
actor in his later years, no
confirmation of his involvement in the
literary circles of the time. With so
little information about this man—and
even less evidence connecting him to the
plays and sonnets—what can and what
can’t we assume about the author of the
greatest works of the English language?
For the first time, Robin P. Williams
presents an in-depth inquiry into the
possibility that Mary Sidney Herbert,
the Countess of Pembroke, wrote the
works attributed to the man named
William Shakespeare. As well educated as
Queen Elizabeth I, this woman was at the
forefront of the literary movement in
England, yet not allowed to write for
the public stage. But that’s just the
beginning . . .
Reviews:
"The first
question I am asked by curious freshmen
in my Shakespeare course is always, “Who
wrote these plays anyway?” Now, because
of Robin Williams’ rigorous scholarship
and artful sleuthing, Mary Sidney
Herbert will forever have to be
mentioned as a possible author of the
Shakespeare canon. Sweet Swan of Avon
doesn’t pretend to put the matter to
rest, but simply shows how completely
reasonable the authorship controversy
is, and how the idea of a female
playwright surprisingly answers more
Shakespearean conundrums than it
creates..."
-Cynthia Lee Katona
Professor of Shakespeare and Women’s
Studies, Ohlone College; Author of Book
Savvy
"In a
throwback to the glory days of
bookbinding, Robin P. Williams's Sweet
Swan of Avon: Did a Woman Write
Shakespeare? (Wilton Circle, $27.95)
contains a page that folds out to four
times normal size. The publisher has
taken this trouble to display a timeline
juxtaposing Shakespeare's documented
life, the dates of his works and the
documented life of (alarums offstage)
Mary Sidney, countess of Pembroke.
Williams, an independent scholar, is
among the latest in a long line of
doubters who make much of the dearth of
hard facts about Shakespeare, not to
mention the disparity between his humble
background (the son of a man who wrote
his name by making an "X") and his
immense vocabulary and range of
knowledge. To these skeptics, "William
Shakespeare" was a cover for someone of
higher education who rubbed shoulders
with princes and nobles from an early
age but who, for some reason or other,
could not bring himself to sign his name
to "Measure for Measure," "Hamlet" and
the rest.
Sir
Francis Bacon has long been a favorite
for this role, as has Edward de Vere,
the 17th earl of Oxford. Williams,
however, suggests that the real
playwright might have been a woman. Mary
Sidney came from a noble family with
close ties to Queen Elizabeth, and
Mary's brother Philip became a famous
poet in his own right. Even if you're
inclined to say "Fie" to this theory,
Williams should be thanked for bringing
attention to a skilled and powerful
writer. In the King James version, part
of Psalm 58 reads, "Break their teeth, O
God, in their mouth; break out the great
teeth of the young lions, O Lord."
Mary's socko take on the same passage
goes: "Lord crack their teeth/ Lord
crush these lions' jaws."
Copyright 2006, The Washington Post. All
Rights Reserved.
-From The Washington Post's Book
World/washingtonpost.com
About the Author:
Robin p.
williams
is an
independent scholar, an internationally
known speaker, and an Associate Member
of the Shakespearean Authorship Trust in
London. She has authored numerous
best-selling and award-winning books.
Click to visit Robin P. Williams'
website
Buy on
Amazon |
Booksense
