The best books to investigate who William Shakespeare really was

Picked by Decimus Erasmus Buglawton

Book cover of Behind the Arras: Thomas Cecil as Shakespeare

Book cover of Dee-Coding Shakespeare: The Holy Trinity Solution Series

Book cover of Shakespeare's Stanley Epitaphs in Tong Shropshire

Book cover of The Greater and Lesser Worlds of Robert Fludd: Macrocosm, Microcosm, and Medicine

Book cover of Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year

What did I love about each book?

List by Decimus Erasmus Buglawton

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Why am I passionate about this?

I am passionate about solving problems of any type. I have a long history of solving Computer problems that are known traditionally as “bugs”. After retiring, I turned my attention to other problems & mysteries, discovering I had a talent for historical detective work too! I wasn’t satisfied with the - very unconvincing - traditional “chocolate box” narrative of Shakespeare’s family and life. He must have had much more impact on the wider world than is currently known and I believe, after 450 years, I finally cracked it!

The books I picked & why

Behind the Arras: Thomas Cecil as Shakespeare

By Deborah Defoe,

Why did I love this book?

I recommend this 93-page book because Defoe provides some convincing evidence for Thomas Cecil being a contender for the role of the author of Shakespeare.

Although I believe he was just one of many aliases of the Bard, she definitely nails this one!

Another reason I enjoyed this book is that it includes a proper book index, which is becoming more rare these days. I know how long it takes to create a good index and Defoe has produced a very usable one in my opinion. It shows she cares about her readers!

Behind the Arras: Thomas Cecil as Shakespeare

By Deborah Defoe,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Behind the Arras as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This first comprehensive biography of Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, eldest son of Lord Burghley, provides a wealth of evidence that Cecil was the true author of the Shakespeare canon. Specifically his education acquired within the rarefied Cecil household, his inside knowledge of the politics of the court, his military experience, and his knowledge and application of architectural principles set him apart from all other authorship candidates.

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Dee-Coding Shakespeare: The Holy Trinity Solution Series

By Alan William Green,

Why did I love this book?

Alan Green hosts a popular Youtube channel that explores the mysteries and secret codes built into the works of Shakespeare and his decryptions are quite extraordinary in their depth.

Green has been investigating these hidden “Bard codes” for more than 15 years and his book reflects the incredible effort he has put into his work. He was at one time the musical director of The Monkees!)

Dee-Coding Shakespeare: The Holy Trinity Solution Series

By Alan William Green,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dee-Coding Shakespeare as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Six years' of intense research into Shakespeare's grave, monument, and Sonnets dedication, went into producing this ground-breaking work. Readers are taken on a fascinating journey in which they're guided to solve the codes that explain a hitherto completely unsuspected side to the greatest literary mystery ever. In a revelation of detective work, the author thoroughly documents the supporting role of Dr. John Dee, alchemist, mathematician, and leading cryptographer in the Elizabethan court.The codes predict an actual location — the Holy of Holies Altar Stone within the poet's church in Stratford-upon-Avon — where the Bard claims to have left physical evidence…

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William Shakespeare

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Biographies

Shakespeare's Stanley Epitaphs in Tong Shropshire

By Helen Moorwood,

Why did I love this book?

Helen Moorwood digs deep into the connections between “William Shakespeare” and the Stanley family whose massive marble tombs in Tong church are a sight to behold and weave a tale worthy of any detective novel.

She digs deep into the genealogy of the Stanleys and explores each and every rabbit hole to get to the truth!

Shakespeare's Stanley Epitaphs in Tong Shropshire

By Helen Moorwood,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Shakespeare's Stanley Epitaphs in Tong Shropshire as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

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The Greater and Lesser Worlds of Robert Fludd: Macrocosm, Microcosm, and Medicine

By Joscelyn Godwin,

Why did I love this book?

This book contains an incredible amount of detail and diagrams about the enigmatic “Dr Robert Fludd” who I regard as just another alias of the Bard.

Fludd, like Sir Francis Bacon was a proto scientist - way ahead of his time - with a background matching closely my own beliefs about the true origin of the polymath. It offers a whole new perspective on what the Bard actually knew in addition to writing poems and plays

The Greater and Lesser Worlds of Robert Fludd: Macrocosm, Microcosm, and Medicine

By Joscelyn Godwin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Greater and Lesser Worlds of Robert Fludd as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An illustrated reference book on a seminal figure of occult philosophy and Renaissance thought

* Explains Fludd's thoughts on cosmic harmonies, divination, the kabbalah, astrology, geomancy, alchemy, the Rosicrucians, and multiple levels of existence

* Includes more than 200 of Fludd's illustrations, representing the whole corpus of Fludd's iconography, each one accompanied by Godwin's expert commentary

* Explores Fludd's medical work as an esoteric Paracelsian physician and his theories on the macrocosm of elements, planets, stars, and subtle and divine beings and the microcosm of the human being and its creative activities, including material never before translated

One of the…

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Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year

By Allie Esiri (editor),

Why did I love this book?

This book can be glanced at just on a day to day basis, mostly for fun!

Each date of the year has a page dedicated to one particular aspect of the Bard’s works, meaning you can add to your knowledge of the Bard a day at a time. I keep it by my bedside and look at it each morning before getting up!

Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year

By Allie Esiri (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

From Allie Esiri, editor of the bestselling A Poem for Every Day of the Year and A Poem for Every Night of the Year, comes this beautiful gift anthology of Shakespeare's works.

William Shakespeare wrote at least 37 plays, 154 sonnets and a handful of longer poems and you can discover them all here. Each page of this unique collection contains an extract, which might be a famous poem, quote or scene, matched to the date. Allie Esiri's introductions give her readers a new window into the work, time and life of the greatest writer in the English language.

Shakespeare…

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Poetry

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The Nightmarchers

By J. Lincoln Fenn,

Book cover of The Nightmarchers

New book alert!

What is my book about?

In 1939, on a remote Pacific island, botanical researcher Irene Greer plunged off a waterfall to her death, leaving behind a legacy shrouded in secrets. Her great-niece Julia, a struggling journalist recovering from a divorce, seeks answers decades later.

Tasked with retrieving Dr. Greer’s discovery–a flower that could have world-changing properties–Julia unearths a story rife with hidden agendas and a missionary community unwilling to share the truth. As she confronts the eerie legends and a fellow traveler with his own motives, Julia finds that the longer she stays, the thinner the line between reality and the fantastical becomes until she…

The Nightmarchers

By J. Lincoln Fenn,

What is this book about?

From the award-winning author of Dead Souls and Poe comes an all-new bone-chilling novel where a mysterious island holds the terrifying answers to a woman's past and future.

In 1939, on a remote Pacific island, botanical researcher Irene Greer plunges off a waterfall to her death, convinced the spirits of her dead husband and daughter had joined the nightmarchers-ghosts of ancient warriors that rise from their burial sites on moonless nights. But was it suicide, or did a strange young missionary girl, Agnes, play a role in Irene's deteriorating state of mind?

It all seems like ancient family history to…

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Genres