Sweet Swan of Avon: Did a Woman Write Shakespeare?

While I neither profess to be a scholar on the subject of the Shakespeare authorship question, nor am I particularly well versed on the goings-on of the Elizabethan era, I have been fascinated for decades with the ongoing debate of who wrote Shakespeare. When I earned my degree in English literature, university professors young and old tenaciously voiced their opinions concerning the credibility someone other than the man William Shakespeare actually wrote the plays and sonnets that we so carelessly attribute to WS today. (I say carelessly because of the widespread disagreement that exists regarding his life and what we've been taught). In short, it was a fascinating classroom debate. Students and instructors alike would argue for and against the possibility that WS was anything more than what we can prove today: an actor and litigious property owner with illiterate daughters who divorced his wife and left her his second-best bed in his will. Robin P. Williams avoids pontificating that William Shakespeare is not the author of the works (despite the fact that no one can prove WS had a higher education, including an ability to read or write in French, Latin, and Italian--quite necessary because all but three plays are based on original literary works written in these three languages; nor does the name William Shakespeare appear in any of the extensive royal court registries, including the omission of even a single piece of handwritten manuscript!). On the contrary, in Sweet Swan of Avon: Did a Woman Write Shakespeare?, Williams provides one of the most exciting and socially volatile books ever on this subject by NOT debunking William Shakespeare, per se, but rather by EDUCATING readers about a woman who I suspect most have never heard of before, and who deserves recognition of her spectacular literary accomplishments. It is the unfolding of such historical information Williams provides regarding Mary Herbert Sidney, the Countess of Pembroke, that one must recognize that for all the missing pieces of information, including the outrageously generous speculation that WS somehow learned his wealth of knowledge embedded in the works by "meeting people who shared their stories" (which of course cannot be proven), isn't it worth merely ASKING the question: Couldn't someone else have written these works? Of course someone else could have written the works. Anyone documented in history as having spent a single day among the aristocracy... or who spoke more than one language... or who had an education that extended beyond public grade school is, in fact, more capable of having contributed the greatest works in the English language than our beloved William Shakespeare. The point is that once we examine the life of Mary Herbert Sidney, not only is her well-documented life vastly more in tune to the subject matter of the plays and sonnets than is William Shakespeare's, but also hers is a life that once copious significant facts are unveiled, one discov

Robin Williams (the writer, not the movie star) does a fine job of showing why it is very possible that Mary Sydney actually authored many of the best Shakespearean works. I was a skeptic, but the more I read, the more I began to think it quite feasible. We probably will never really know who wrote which works, but this book is very thought-provoking and interesting. Also, it is beautifully constructed, as befits a book on such a beloved topic.

I heard Robin P. Williams discuss her book on a radio show and was very intrigued. I read it and was completely convinced before the end of the first chapter. What nailed it for me? William Shakespeare's mother, father, wife and 2 of his 3 children were illiterate. There is no way that the author of Shakespeare would allow his children to sign their name with an X. The other thing that sold me was the simple fact that writers write best about what they know. The plays and sonnets are basically the life and times of Mary Herbert Sidney-- she's related to 2/3 of the characters in the history plays. But that is only the beginning. If nothing else, this book introduces you to an amazing figure in English history and literature. To think that the greatest writer of the English language is (or could be) a woman-- a mother, a sister, a daughter, a wife-- just blows me away. And as a woman reading the sonnets, for the first time they made complete sense. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Robin P. Williams is an independent scholar and author. Many of her earlier books have been on computer design and typography (and this is evident in this beautifully designed book). She has studied Shakespeare at St. John's College in Santa Fe and at Oxford University in England; and has taught Shakespeare. She has been a featured speaker at the Authorship Conference at the restored Globe Theatre in London, and will be consulting on their upcoming authorship display. She is an associate member of the Shakespearean Authorship Trust at the invitation of Mark Rylance, the Artistic Director of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London and Chairman of the Trust, which was founded in 1922. Sweet Swan of Avon sets out to prove that Mary Sidney Herbert, the Countess of Pembroke, an influential, literate, well-educated, well-connected, brilliant leader of the literary Wilton Circle, is the author of the plays and sonnets. Mary Sidney was born three years before Shakespeare and died five years after he died. There is plenty of documentary evidence that Mary Sidney was a writer--indeed she was the first woman to publish a play in English (a closet drama, meant to be performed in a small family setting, not for the public). She was trained in medicine, and had her own alchemy laboratory; she was fluent in French and Italian, and translated works in those languages. She was knowledgeable about hawking and falconry; she was able to play music, both the lute and virginal. The acting troupe the Earl of Pembroke's men, sponsored by Mary Sidney and her husband, performed three or four of the eight early anonymously published Shakespeare plays. Coincidences abound in this book--but are they proof? It is very convincing. You must read it for yourself and see what you think. Armchair Interviews says: The book is well written and enjoyable, a fascinating glimpse into the life of a great woman, whether she wrote the plays or not.

Robin P. Williams presents a wealth of research in an interesting and readable format. Whether you are interested in the Elizabethan era, Shakespeare, the history of English Literature or reading to stimulate your thought processes this story fits the "bill". Ms. Williams brings the era of Shakespeare to life in a way that makes you feel like a guest at the party - observing the myriad of *goings on* that have become history - while inviting one to question the history of the era and particularly the authorship of the works of Shakespeare. Connect the dots for yourself and enjoy an interesting process while doing so.