William Shakespeare’s plays were written by a woman, a new book claims.
The bard’s classics Romeo and Juliet and Othello are apparently packed with proof they and others were penned by his 17th Century poet contemporary, Emilia Bassano. American chick-lit novelist Jodi Picoult, 58, uses her latest novel, By Any Other Name, to delve into the theory.
She also believes Bassano was only one of many writers writing under the Shakespeare “brand”. Jodi said at the Hay literary Festival: “I think that, back then, people in theatre knew that William Shakespeare was a catch-all name for a lot of different types of authors.
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“I think they expected it to be a joke that everyone would get. And we’ve all lost the punchline over 400 years… here’s the one thing we don’t know about Shakespeare: that he actually put quill to paper.”
In 1611, Bassano became the first female poet published in England, aged 42. But Jodi – who has written several issues of the Wonder Woman comic – insisted: “Writers do not magically appear when they’re in their 40s. Writers have been writing. It’s my belief she was writing – I just don’t believe she was doing it under her name.”
Jodi is convinced the fact the character of Juliet is aged 13 is proof Bessano is behind the tragedy. She says the poet was the same age when she was forced to become someone’s mistress.
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In Othello, a reference to “goats and monkeys” fits with a fresco in Bassano’s family home – the Italian town of Bassano del Grappa. Moorish military commander Othello’s wife Desdemona’s servant is also named Emilia.
Jodi also thinks Bassano was behind The Merchant Of Venice and The Taming Of The Shrew. But she says the poet had to hide her authorship as she was a woman. Some scholars think Bassano was Shakespeare’s ‘dark lady’ – a recurring woman in his sonnets, due to her black, wiry hair and “dun-coloured” skin
Jodi isn’t the first to share the conspiracy theory Shakespeare was a woman. But the belief has previously sparked outrage in literary academic circles.
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Jodi admitted her belief will spark rage, saying: “Shakespeare has gone beyond being a playwright – sometimes I think he’s a religion. There is this blind faith in Shakespeare”. Jodi’s new novel features a dual timeline.
One shows Bassano as she secretly works on ‘Shakespeare’s’ plays and sonnets. The other plotline is set today, where one of the poet’s descendants battles sexism in the theatre world on Broadway.
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