Book claims William Shakespeare was a ‘black Jewish woman’
William Shakespeare was a “black Jewish woman”, a new book has claimed.
The theory is set forth in The Real Shakespeare by feminist historian Irene Coslet, who argues that centuries of “Western-centric and Eurocentric ideology” have obscured the true author of the Shakespeare canon.
According to the book, the real Bard was Emilia Bassano, a poet with close ties to the Tudor court.
Coslet claims that Bassano, who moved in elite and cosmopolitan circles, adopted the pseudonym “Shakespeare” and wrote the plays and sonnets later attributed to the Stratford actor.
The author suggests that her work was later hijacked by an “uneducated outsider” whose rise was more acceptable to future generations than the rise of a black woman.
“If Shakespeare had been a black woman, it would have brought attention to issues of peace and justice in society,” Coslet told The Telegraph.
She added: “What if women had a pivotal role in history and a civilizing influence, but were silenced, belittled, and erased from the dominant narrative? What would a paradigm shift reveal about ourselves?”
The book states that Bassano is Jewish and Moorish and has family ties to Venice, which gives him a “multicultural identity” that better explains his breadth of knowledge in the plays.
She was also the mistress of Henry Carey, Lord Chamberlain to Elizabeth I, and patron of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, the society associated with Shakespeare’s success.
Some scholars have previously suggested that he inspired the “Dark Lady” of the sonnets.
Coslet argues that historians “have failed to explain how the man from Stratford, a semi-literate loan shark, managed to achieve such a level of erudition”, adding that Bassano’s background fits the canon much better.
The book also claims that there are hidden messages in the plays that reflect her life, and that portraits showing her with light skin were altered to fit Elizabethan ideals of beauty.
Authorship doubts are not new. Rivals such as Christopher Marlowe and nobles such as Edward de Vere have long been suggested.
However, during his lifetime, Shakespeare’s authorship was undisputed; Ben Jonson praised him as “the genius of all time”.
Mainstream scholars continue to reject alternative theories, arguing that Shakespeare was born in Stratford in 1564, was educated at primary school, was active in the London theater in 1592, and died in 1616 (nearly three decades before Bassano’s death in 1645).
Whether radical revision or historical fantasy, the book ensured once again that the question of who wrote Shakespeare would not be put aside.
