Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies
| Industry | Publishing |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Books |
Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies is a nonfiction work released in 2023 by journalist Elizabeth Winkler that delves into the Shakespeare authorship question. The book merges investigative journalism with literary analysis to assess the possibility that the plays and poems attributed to William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon might have been penned by another individual, while also charting how this subject evolved into an academic taboo.
Issued by Simon & Schuster under the full title Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies: How Doubting the Bard Became the Biggest Taboo in Literature, the volume incorporates interviews with leading Shakespeare experts such as Stanley Wells, Alexander Waugh, Marjorie Garber, Stephen Greenblatt, Ros Barber, Michael Witmore, and Mark Rylance. Winkler investigates alternative authorship theories involving figures like Edward de Vere, Mary Sidney, Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, and Emilia Bassano. Additionally, she presents correspondence between Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and Shakespeare scholar James S. Shapiro concerning the authorship debate.
Background and publication history
Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies was released in the United States by Simon & Schuster on May 9, 2023.
Elizabeth Winkler, who earned degrees in English from both Princeton and Stanford, initially addressed these topics in a 2019 article for The Atlantic entitled "Was Shakespeare a Woman?" which spotlighted poet Emilia Bassano as a possible author. The piece provoked considerable controversy, prompting The Atlantic to solicit responses from prominent Shakespeare authorities such as Mark Rylance, James S. Shapiro, and Phyllis Rackin. Shapiro denounced the article for endorsing what he viewed as conspiracy theories, while Rackin emphasized that numerous female playwrights likely remained unrecognized during the Elizabethan era.
In an April 2023 discussion with the Shakespearean Authorship Trust, Winkler revealed that her book arose as a reaction to the debate sparked by her article, seeking to explore why questioning Shakespeare’s authorship continues to be a highly sensitive and forbidden topic.
Reception
Although addressing a contentious issue, Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies has earned favorable critiques from reviewers, receiving commendations in publications such as The Guardian, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Winnipeg Free Press, and The Southern Bookseller Review. In The Guardian, critic Stephanie Merritt compared the book to a mystery novel, applauding Winkler’s journalistic method. Michael Dirda of The Washington Post praised both her investigative rigor and prose style.
Support for the book has also come from anti-Stratfordian organizations including the De Vere Society, the Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship, and the Shakespearean Authorship Trust.
On the other hand, Isaac Butler’s review in Slate acknowledged Winkler’s engaging tone and wit but contended that her arguments quickly lose strength under closer examination. Butler criticized the work for employing rhetoric reminiscent of conspiracy theories such as climate change denial and anti-vaccine movements.