The Man Who Would Be Shakespeare

Emotionally-starved William-Henry Ireland is desperate for his Shakespeare-loving father's respect. To gain it, while working as a legal clerk and using special ink and old paper, he forges Shakespearean letters and plays. He gives them to his gullible father who shows them off to London's literary world of the 1790s. He even has one freshly discovered play, Vortigern and Rowena, staged at Drury Lane theatre. A literary storm breaks out. Some experts begin to ask awkward questions. Abusive letters appear in the press. Has William- Henry's ruse gone too far? The young forger flees the capital. Will he help to save his father's reputation? Will the experts discover the truth? (110 words)

Based on a true story, this novel shows how a determined eighteen year-old fooled the literati of London.


Genre: Historical