A new book by feminist historian Irene Coslet argues that the real author behind Shakespeare’s works was Emilia Bassano — a Tudor court poet described as a “black Jewish woman” — whose authorship was allegedly suppressed in favour of a “semi-literate” man from Stratford-upon-Avon.
WAS SHAKESPEARE REALLY A BLACK JEWISH WOMAN?
A new book is making a bold claim about the world’s most famous playwright.
Feminist historian Irene Coslet, an LSE graduate, argues in The Real Shakespeare that the genius behind the iconic plays was Emilia Bassano — a Tudor court poet of Jewish and Moorish heritage — who used “Shakespeare” as a pen name, per The Telegraph.
Coslet contends that Elizabethan society preferred attributing the works to a white male rather than acknowledge a woman of colour. She describes the Stratford man as “a semi-illiterate moneylender” unable to explain the plays’ evident erudition.
Bassano had deep theatrical connections as mistress of Henry Carey, patron of Shakespeare’s own troupe. Literary scholars have long speculated she was the mysterious “Dark Lady” of the sonnets.
This isn’t the first such claim. American novelist Jodi Picoult made similar arguments last year, suggesting Shakespeare “sold his name to people who wanted to hide themselves as writers.”
Mainstream scholarship maintains Shakespeare was born in Stratford in 1564, established himself in London’s theatre world by 1592, and died in 1616 — nearly three decades before Bassano herself.
READ MORE AT THE NEW YORK POST
NEWS NOW:
