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Discovering Shakespeare: A Chapter in Literary History

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A. L. Rowse, an extremely eminent student of Elizabethan history and of Shakespeare, a gentleman and a scholar, has devoted this book to a truly exciting thesis: he claims that he figured out all the "mysteries" of Shakespeare's sonnets, published the results to the world, and was rewarded with horrified silence from the "Shakespeare Establishment."

In brief, Rowse has figured out that the young man of the sonnets was Henry Wriothesley, the young Earl of Southampton; that the rival poet was Christopher Marlowe, and that the Dark Lady was Emilia Lanier (born Bassano).

What about the world-famous Mr. W.H.?? On this point, Rowse appears to be just fatally right. Have a look for yourself:

TO.THE.ONLIE.BEGETTER.OF.
THESE.INSUING.SONNETS.
Mr.W.H. ALL.HAPPINESSE.
AND.THAT.ETERNITIE.
P R O M I S E D

BY.
OVR.EVERLIVING.POET.

WISHETH.

THE.WELL-WISHING.
ADVENTVURER.IN.
SETTING.
FORTH.

T.T.

The sonnets were printed by Thomas Thorp, and written by William Shakespeare. Now who wrote this dedication?
Take a good look! The dedication is SIGNED "T.T." !! Who could "our ever-living poet" possibly be, other than
William Shakespeare? And -- if you pause to consider the quality of the English (unclear thoughts, mundane vocabulary, eccentric punctuation) -- it is trebly evident that Thomas Thorp wrote the page just cited, and that "Mr. W.H." is Thorp's man, not Shakespeare's.

Everything else comes in an easy tumble once you get this simple fact right: Mr. W.H. is Thorp's man. He's the man who found the manuscript of the sonnets and handed them to the overjoyed publisher. And he is surely Sir William Harvey, Southampton's step-father, who had just inherited the contents of the Southampton
house from his deceased, much older, wife, the young Earl's mother.

Aha! So: Southampton was Shakespeare's brilliant, wealthy, powerful and handsome patron. The young Southampton refused to marry, even though he needed to produce an heir; he preferred having a good time.
Now we understand the opening theme of the sonnets, and we can see the obvious patron-client relationship between the very attractive young lord and the brilliant poet.

There are many more fascinating revelations in this book, as is only natural -- Rowse cracked a puzzle which had frustrated everyone for four hundred years. And his reward?

Buried in oblivion! Ostracism! Ignored, despised, shut out! And this is where the book really shines. Roswe has survived to tell the tale, and, in a magnificently curmudgeonly way, to "rub it in." No one has ever
managed to find the slightest fault with his scholarship or his judgments, but, oh! do academics think in herds!

Rowse really lets them have it! Teachers and scholars have a job to do: it's called finding and disseminating the truth. When such a person actually REFUSES to deal with the truth, and prefers to continue handing falsehoods to his students, he becomes totally bankrupt, having betrayed every ideal of his chosen profession.
What kind of language does such a person deserve?

Rowse's discoveries are of course subject to modification and improvement, like ALL history. But this short book is worth more (literally) then everything else which has ever been written on the "mysteries of Shakespeare's sonnets."

Highest possible recommendation!!!