tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23219965924141004582024-03-07T22:56:08.783-08:00The Shakespeare ConspiracyTed Bacinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532667254250120022noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2321996592414100458.post-59469487199997664892011-07-27T17:11:00.000-07:002011-07-27T17:11:50.433-07:00Welcome to the ClubThe latest fad seems to be delving into the conspiracy theories that someone other than the Bard of Stratford on Avon wrote all those Shakespearean plays.<br />
<br />
The new movie entitled <i>Anonymous</i> comes out October 8. (The opening of the film has been delayed twice to try to find a better weekend with lesser competition.) The film proposes that Edward de Verre, the 17th Earl of Oxford, wrote the works.<br />
<br />
My book, <i>The Shakespeare Conspiracy</i>, of course, proposes that Christopher Marlowe was the real author. You can check all this out on my web site: <a href="http://www.theshakespeareconspiracy.com/">www.TheShakespeareConspiracy.com</a>.<br />
<br />
For your information, the stage version of my novel will be presented October 21 in a staged reading by the Artists Ensemble Theatre company in Rockford, Illinois, west of Chicago.<br />
<br />
And they're presently preparing to shoot the movie version of the novel in Winnipeg, Canada. I wish I had more information on that, but I don't.<br />
<br />
But new conspiracy accounts seem to be formulating daily.<br />
<br />
A new book is out entitled <i>The Consequences of Anonymity and Attribution</i>. The final chapter in the book is called "The Anonymous Shakespeare: Heresy, Authorship, and the Anxiety of Orthodoxy" by Bruce Danner.<br />
<br />
Professor Danner, of St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York, is a widely published mainstream Shakespeare scholar.<br />
<br />
Danner lists some of the central problems with the legendary author. He writes, "Stratfordians have not established the chronology of the plays; they are ignorant as to the author’s political, religious, and cultural opinions; they cannot establish the authorial text for the plays. Such facts provide the foundations of literary study… and yet these are just such definitive issues that the Shakespearean profession cannot resolve."<br />
<br />
Welcome to the club, Professor Danner.Ted Bacinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532667254250120022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2321996592414100458.post-24741905513889617642011-07-18T09:47:00.000-07:002011-07-18T16:31:51.764-07:00Theater in Shakespeare's Time Was DifferentWhen we look at theater in the 21st century, we have a tendency to assume it's always been literature on a stage.<br />
<br />
It hasn't.<br />
<br />
Even our concept of productions at such cherished locations as the Globe Theatre in London convey the image of class and classic.<br />
<br />
Wrong.<br />
<br />
In Shakespeare's time, it was definitely a different ball game.<br />
<br />
Until the coronation of England’s King James I, theater in England was considered akin to prostitution, thievery and vagrancy. All theaters in London were required to be built outside the city walls along with brothels, prisons and lunatic asylums. Theaters were usually considered to be disreputable places, dens of iniquity, and definitely low class. <br />
<br />
Sure Royalty might occasionally be in the audience, but the overall image was closer to a night at a World Wrestling Association event than to a performance at the Old Vic. <br />
<br />
Another common assumption about theater was that is was a breeding ground for the plague.<br />
<br />
Consequently, whenever the plague flared up, they were the first places to be closed.<br />
<br />
The epidemic which began in London in the summer of 1592 was one of the longest closures. More than 14% of the population of the city died during this period.<br />
<br />
Whenever the theaters closed, the actors as well as all those connected with the company would be faced with two options: lose all income or begin touring the small countryside towns where the plague was not as virulent. In order to sustain at least a little income, most decided to tour.<br />
<br />
By first day of the year, 1593, the deaths had lessened enough to allow theaters to reopen. But that did not last long. On January 21, the Privy Council prohibited any more performances as the number of deaths began to rise. This time the plague wiped out an additional ten per cent of London.<br />
<br />
The only recourse that seemed to be considered was to get out of London or any big city.<br />
<br />
Even after these especially severe epidemics, the plague was virtually always present and would mysteriously flare up every few years. Whenever the death toll in London reached forty, all public gatherings except for church services were banned within seven miles of the city.<br />
<br />
Most problematic was the knowledge that the actors had no idea when the theaters would again be allowed to open. So productions were on again and then off again. <br />
<br />
No one knew for sure Romeo and Juliet would make it to the stage that day.<br />
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Want to know more? Check out the web site for my book. <a href="http://www.theshakespeareconspiracy.com/"> www.TheShakespeareConspiracy.com</a>Ted Bacinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532667254250120022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2321996592414100458.post-81107329700659380042011-06-29T13:39:00.000-07:002011-06-29T13:40:37.050-07:00The Laundry List of Conspiracy Believers<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> It is amazing when anyone sees the list of the people who believe there was some conspiracy back in 1593 and that Shakespeare didn’t actually write the plays attributed to him.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Of course not all the people on those lists believe that Marlowe was the real author. Some believe it was Francis Bacon and other believe it was Edward de Verre, the 17 Earl of Oxford. Those are the most popular candidates. But almost everyone else is on the list of possible authors of the works -- including Sir Walter Raleigh, Queen Elizabeth I, King James I,</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">and even “a team of writers” – all contributing to the total “works of William Shakespere.”</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Two prominent contemporary figures in the anti-Stratfordian camp are Derek Jacobi and Mark Rylance, both of whom, in 2007, issued a "<a href="http://doubtaboutwill.org/declaration">A Declaration of Reasonable Doubt</a>"</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> that features the signatures of several high-profile doubters, as an attempt to rally the anti-Stratfordian cause.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> In recent years the Shakespeare authorship conspiracy has gained greater mainstream interest: the fact that Rylance even served as Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre between 1995-2005 reflects this. (Jacobi and Rylance will both appear in <i>Anonymous</i>, the “other” movie coming out about “the Shakespeare conspiracy.” It opens October 8. And the movie director Roland Emmerich’s signature is also featured on the 2007 declaration.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Some of those who think Shakespeare never wrote a word are some very famous actors, many of whom earned their stripes doing Shakespeare on Broadway or London:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Mark Twain</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Orson Welles</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Charlie Chaplin</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Sir John Gielgud</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Sir Tyrone Guthrie</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Leslie Howard</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Jeremy Irons</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> And Michael York.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> And the list includes some prominent writers, like</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Charles Dickens</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Walt Whitman</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Ralph Waldo Emerson</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Henry James</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> William James</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> And John Galsworthy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> But famous is hardly the word for the list of other people who sincerely believe that Marlowe or others wrote the works:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Sigmund Freud</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Clifton Fadiman</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Cecil Beaton, (Broadway costume designer who did the movie “My Fair Lady”)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> And Mortimer J. Adler.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Even some U.S. Supreme Court judges have chimed in on their belief that Shakespeare was an actor but couldn’t have written the plays and poems:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Sandra Day O’Connor</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Henry A. lackmun</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> Lewis F. Powell, Jr.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> And John Paul Stevens.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> My question, of course, is this: “Is it possible that all those great people – and so many more on the lists – could all be wrong?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> If you’re interested in seeing a more extensive list, you can go to the website: </span><a href="http://www.theshakespeareconspiracy.com/">http//:www.TheShakespeareConspiracy.com</a>.</div><code></code><br />
<blockquote></blockquote><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></div>Ted Bacinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532667254250120022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2321996592414100458.post-64619643520200756532011-06-21T14:20:00.000-07:002011-06-22T13:08:17.553-07:00The Sudden Flurry of Conspiracy Theories<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">When I published my novel, <i>The Shakespeare Conspiracy</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, there were hardly any comments flying around about other conspiracies.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Today? Not true. The last six months have filled the air with them. And MANY of them are about Shakespeare. (Come on. Does anyone still believe that unknown actor from Stratford wrote the stuff?)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The candidates for who really wrote those plays and poems is growing and growing.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I think my novel has enough factual information to prove it was Christopher Marlowe.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>But</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">, a myriad of other names flood the field:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"> Francis Bacon</div><div class="MsoNormal"> Edward DeVerre, the 17the Earl of Oxford (Note: he’s choice de jour of the movie coming out October 8, called<i> Anonymous</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"> Sir Walter Raleigh</div><div class="MsoNormal"> Queen Elizabeth I</div><div class="MsoNormal"> Last week I read about some <i>living writer</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> added to the list. (Oh, how?)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"> And on and on…</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If you go to this site, you can watch more than dozen videos all proclaiming that Shakespeare didn’t write those plays. The site also includes my video about that: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkz_PgESqOk&">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkz_PgESqOk&</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But Shakespeare conspiracies are only part of the new flurry. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The latest one concerns Prince William and Prince Harry being related to almost every celebrity in the last four-hundred years – including the great Bard of Stratford.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There’s a web site entitled Famous Conspiracies. Here are their 2011 top ten most popular conspiracies – in rank order:</div><div class="MsoNormal"> UFOs are real.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> The Destruction of the World Trade was plotted by the U.S. government.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> Elvis is still alive. (Well, <i>we <u>all</u></i><span style="font-style: normal;"> know that.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"> Bin Ladin is not really dead.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> The moon landing was faked and filmed in New Mexico</div><div class="MsoNormal"> Paul McCartney is really dead. (I had<i> <u>never</u></i><span style="font-style: normal;"> heard that one.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"> President Obama was born in Kenya. (When will they ever get off of that?)</div><div class="MsoNormal"> Shakespeare didn’t really write those plays. (Well, <i><u>big</u> news</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, huh?)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"> The Mafia and J. Edgar Hoover had President Kennedy killed.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> There is a Zion plot to take over the world. (Has <i>anyone</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> ever heard that one before?)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And depending on which of the above theories you consider, some can appear quite stupid (Elvis) while others could really be true. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But many believer in some of these conspiracy theories are not nuts or flakey people. Some really big, big, smart names are among them.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 12pt;">Hey, that sounds like a good topic for the next blog. Why not?</span>Ted Bacinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532667254250120022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2321996592414100458.post-55251759093789686372011-06-15T04:24:00.000-07:002011-06-15T04:24:32.380-07:00Two New Movies, Two Books, and Two New Plays All Ask the Same Question: “Did Shakespeare Write Those Plays?”<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Saturday, June 4, is “National Marlowe Day” in England and the United States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this year the emphasis seems to more on Shakespeare – as in “Did Shakespeare really write those works – or did Marlowe?”</span><span style="font-family: "Old English Text MT"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><i><u>Two recently published books, two new stage plays, and two new movies</u></i></span><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> all ask that same question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And in five of the six cases, the answer is Christopher Marlowe.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;">For centuries, two questions have plagued historians:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><i>How could Christopher Marlowe, a known spy and England’s foremost playwright, be suspiciously murdered and secretly buried in unmarked grave – just days before he was to be tried for treason and probably sentenced to death?</i></span><span style="font-family: "Old English Text MT"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 14.0pt;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><i>How could William Shakespeare replace Marlowe as England’s greatest playwright virtually overnight – when Shakespeare had never written anything before and was merely an unknown actor?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></span><span style="font-family: "Old English Text MT"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The two books both try to answer those questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My book, <b><i>The Shakespeare Conspiracy,</i></b></span><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;">is a historical novel that intertwines both of the above mysteries and then put the pieces together to offer the only possible solution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The novel is a rapidly unfolding detective narrative -- filled with comedy, intrigue, murder and an illicit love story. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve billed the novel as “the greatest literary deception of all time.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The other novel, <b><i>Blood and Ink</i></b></span><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;">, by D.K. Marley, tells how Marlowe sells his soul to see the one thing he desires most: his name immortalized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By a twist of fate, he has a chance encounter with an unknown actor named William Shakespeare and this gives wing to one of England’s greatest secrets.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Marlowe also gets credit for all of Shakespeare’s works in two new plays, one in America and one in England, <i>both</i></span><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> with the same title, <b><i>The Shakespeare Conspiracy</i></b></span><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first is by Andrew Shepherd, opening June 6 at the Chelsea Theatre in London.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s billed as “a comedy-drama about Shakespearean characters running amok in modern society.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The other play is a recently completed script of my book. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wrote it in conjunction with the former chairman of the Theater Department of Rockford College in Illinois. It is scheduled for production on October 21 by the theater group “Actors’ Ensemble” in the Chicago, Illinois area.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The two movies on the theme differ as to “who” wrote Shakespeare’s works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A new film, <b><i>Anonymous</i></b></span><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;">, will be released September 30.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film, directed by Roland Emmerich of <i>2012</i> fame, credits<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Edward de Verre, the 17<sup>th</sup> Earl of Oxford, as the real author of Shakespeare’s works.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The movie stars the former artistic director of the Globe Theatre, Mark Rylance, in addition to Vanessa Redgrave, Joely Richardson and Sir Derek Jacobi.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The second movie, based on my book is scheduled for release in 2012 and, as in the book, credits Marlowe with the writings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is being produced by the Motion Picture Hall of Fame and Borone Films.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I am, of course, excited about the projects pertaining to my book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I also find it very exciting that there are – at this time – so many other projects which all seem to question if Shakespeare really wrote those works.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">More information: www.TheShakespeareConspiracy.com</span>Ted Bacinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532667254250120022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2321996592414100458.post-25773148605938980862011-06-08T13:06:00.000-07:002011-06-08T13:06:34.693-07:00Dissenting Voices Not only is there much more activity lately on the subject of who really wrote the works of Shakespeare, but those who believe in the conspiracy theory (someone other than the Bard of Avon did the writing) have some pretty impressive credentials.<br />
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Mark Rylance is presently starring on Broadway in the hit play <i>Jerusalem</i>. It opened recently and got raves from all the major reviewers.<br />
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Mr. Rylance was the artistic director of the Globe Theatre in London for ten years. (It's hard to get more "Shakespearean" than that.) He is one who (surprisingly) believes that Actor Shakespeare did not write the works. (Just a side note. Mr. Rylance sent me a very thoughtful note recently stating his appreciation for receiving a copy of my novel <i>The Shakespeare Conspiracy</i>.)<br />
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The easiest way to see the growing list of "truthers" is to go the web site for the book: www.TheShakespeareConspiracy.com. There is a section there containing the list of non-believers (though they don't all agree on who actually did write the works. They only agree that the actor named Shakespeare did not.)<br />
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Here are a few of the more famous "truthers." To see the full list, check the web site.<br />
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Sir Derek Jacobi – Shakespearian actor, who is starring in the upcoming (September 30 release) movie <i>Anonymous</i>, which deals with the theory that Edward DeVerre, the 17th Earl of Oxford, wrote the works of Shakespeare.<br />
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Jeremy Irons – American actor, presently starring in the Showtime TV series <i>The Borgias</i>.<br />
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Mark Twain (1835 – 1910) Samuel Langhorne Clemens, the famous American writer, humorist, satirist, lecturer, best known for <i>The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, </i>and<i> The Adventures of Tom Sawyer</i>.<br />
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Orson Welles, (1915 – 1985) actor, writer, director and producer best known for the landmark movie <i>Citizen Kane a</i>nd the panic-causing radio program<i> War of the Worlds</i>.<br />
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Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) — Viennese psychotherapist, commonly referred to as "the father of psychoanalysis."<br />
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Charles "Charlie" Chaplin (1889 – 1977) — silent film actor. “The Little Tramp.”<br />
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Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870) — Foremost novelist of the Victorian era, and widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language.<br />
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Sir John Gielgud (1904 – 2000) — English theatre and film actor, who starred and directed in many Royal Shakespeare Company productions at Stratford-upon-Avon.<br />
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Walt Whitman (1819 – 1892) — American Romantic poet, essayist, journalist and humanist, famous for his <i>Leaves of Grass</i>.<br />
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Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882) — American essayist, poet, and original formulator of the philosophy of Transcendentalism.<br />
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(Sir William) Tyrone Guthrie (1900 – 1971) — Tony Award-winning British theatre director who established the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota.<br />
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Henry James (1843 – 1916) — American-born author, literary critic, who wrote 22 novels, 112 tales, several plays and essays,<br />
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Leslie Howard (1893 – 1943) — English stage and film actor and Academy Award nominee, best known as Ashley Wilkes in <i>Gone with the Wind </i>and Professor Higgins in<i> Pygmalion</i>.<br />
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Harry A. Blackmun (1908 – 1999) — Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1970 to 1994<br />
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Clifton Fadiman (1904 – 1999) — Noted intellectual, author, radio and television personality, oft-quoted wit.<br />
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Lewis F. Powell, Jr. (1907 – 1998) — Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1972 to 1987.<br />
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Cecil Beaton – Famous Broadway costume and scenic designer whose works include <i>My Fair Lady</i> on Broadway and movie.<br />
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Sandra Day O’Connor – U.S. Supreme Court Justice<br />
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John Paul Stevens – U.S. Supreme Court Justice<br />
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Mortimer J. Adler -- University of Chicago Editor of “The Great Books of the Western World.”<br />
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Michael York – Actor and author of <i>A Shakespearean Actor Prepares</i><br />
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William Y. Elliott (1896 – 1979) — Harvard government professor, counselor to six presidents; a Roosevelt braintruster; a Rhodes Scholar and noted poet.<br />
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John Galsworthy (1867 – 1933) — English novelist and playwright, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1932. He is best known for <i>The Forsyte Saga</i>.Ted Bacinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532667254250120022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2321996592414100458.post-28611198941407992702011-05-31T16:18:00.000-07:002011-05-31T16:18:12.779-07:00Freud, the Supreme Court, and ShakespeareThere seems to be a lot more attention lately to the subject of who really wrote the works of Shakespeare.<br />
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My novel, <i>The Shakespeare Conspiracy</i>, of course is the story of Christopher Marlowe really having written the works. You can check the site: <a href="http://www.theshakespeareconspiracy.com/">www.TheShakespeareConspiracy.com</a>.<br />
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But items seem to be popping up all over the internet about other theories.<br />
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Brian Sweeney today wrote that "A vigorous debate continues to rage as to the true identity of the author of the Shakespearian plays and sonnets, a debate that has gone to the highest court of the land. <br />
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"A Wall Street Journal article noted that liberal Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens rendered his verdict that 'beyond a reasonable doubt' the bard of Avon was not William Shakespeare and that the works ascribed to William Shakespeare were actually written by the 17th Earl of Oxford, Edward de Vere.<br />
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"Remarkably, in rare agreement with his ideological counterpart, conservative Justice Antonin Scalia concurred with Stevens. Stevens was also enjoined in the decision by the late Harry Blackman. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who was always a swing vote on the court, stayed true to form with her nuanced opinion that Shakespeare did not write the Shakespeare plays but also did not render an opinion as to who did."<br />
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Jonathan Kay's new book <i>Among theTruthers</i>, states that "For a while, Sigmund Freud believed that Shakespeare wrote <i>Hamlet</i> after his [Shakespeare's] father died. When Freud wrote <i>The Interpretation of Dreams</i>, he cited the play as a key Oedpial work. But in 1919, historians discovered that Shakespeare wrote the play <i>before</i> his father died. How did Freud respond? He became obsessed with the conspiracy theory that the 17th Earl of Oxford had written the plays credited to "William Shakespeare."<br />
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The world seems to suddenly have become obsessed with the real author of the Shakespearean works.Ted Bacinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532667254250120022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2321996592414100458.post-36850966989038107272011-05-23T16:59:00.000-07:002011-05-23T16:59:01.538-07:00Edward De Verre, the 17th Earl of Oxford<i>The Shakespeare Conspiracy</i> isn't the only work that is concerned with the true writers of the works by "The Bard of Stratford on Avon."<br />
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Another movie, scheduled to be released this coming September 30, is entitled <i>Anonymous</i> and it deals with the same subject.<br />
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In <i>Anonymous</i>, however, the real author of the Shakespearean works is not Christopher Marlowe, but rather Edward De Verre, the 17th Earl of Oxford.<br />
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The three most popular candidates for the real authorship of the works are Christopher Marlowe, Edward De Verre and Francis Bacon. And, of course, each candidate has a myriad of followers, each more convinced than the next.<br />
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But the new movie has quite a pedigreed. It stars Vanessa Redgrave and Derek Jacobi, both big names. And the director is Roland Emmerich (who directed <i>Independence Day</i> and <i>2012</i>).<br />
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The previews are already showing in movie houses across the nation. (You can see the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBmnkk0QW3Q).<br />
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This other movie will certainly not hurt <i>The Shakespeare Conspiracy</i> motion picture, scheduled for release in 2012. Actually, there seems to be a plethora of interest lately in the real authorship of Shakespeare's works.<br />
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A book will soon be released is entitled <i>Blood and Ink</i> by D.K. Marley. It also contends that Christopher Marlowe wrote the works.<br />
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Even though the cases for Bacon and De Verre are strong, they don't compare with the proofs that Marlowe was the actual author. What has kept Marlowe's name from being the only candidate is the fact that the world thinks he was dead when Shakespeare supposedly wrote all those works. As <i>The Shakespeare Conspiracy</i> explains, Marlowe really didn't die, but instead faked his own death to avoid being tried for treason and heresy.<br />
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Yes, the conspiracy theories are flourishing.Ted Bacinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532667254250120022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2321996592414100458.post-12140296985060617042011-05-13T14:06:00.000-07:002011-05-13T14:06:27.258-07:00Writing the ScriptI just finished doing the movie script of the book. It was not easy. At one point I really ran into a dead end where transferring the book to a movie script was almost impossible. I just skipped over that part and wrote the rest. It was easier when I went back to that part.<br />
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The idea was to make the movie a historical film that intertwines both of the conspiracy theories (Marlowe's and Shakespeare's) into a mystery movie that puts the pieces together to offer the only possible solution. The novel is a little different. It's a wild romp through 16th Century Elizabethan England -- kind of a rapidly unfolding detective narrative. I had more space to fill it with comedy, intrigue, murder and an illicit love story. Although every detail in the book is based on facts and actual documents, the movie gives flesh and dialogue to all those caught in the conspiracy. <br />
The movie also exposes the scandalous real Shakespeare, with his sexual peccadilloes and mistresses, and reveals the world of Marlowe, who reveled in the gay world as did so many English kings at that time. However, Marlowe had to live his life as a fugitive while Shakespeare fronted for him and received all the glory.<br />
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Where I had plenty of space in the book to write almost anything I wanted to add, the movie script had to be shorter and so deciding what to leave out was a major problem. <br />
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Oh, well. We'll see how it plays.Ted Bacinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532667254250120022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2321996592414100458.post-54745129952193889652011-05-07T14:21:00.000-07:002011-05-07T14:21:35.240-07:00Why Marlowe?I got an email from a member of the International Marlowe Shakespeare Society of London. <br />
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The writer had some serious reservations about Marlowe having written the works of the Bard of Stratford on Avon.<br />
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"Why not Edward De Verre, the 17 Earl of Oxford or even Francis Bacon?" she asked. As a member of the society, she, of course, wanted to believe that the real author was Marlowe. But many other names get tossed into the arguments a lot.<br />
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Well, I referred her to the premise on the back of the book:<br />
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<i>For centuries, two questions have plagued historians:<br />
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--How could Christopher Marlowe, a known spy and England's foremost playwright, be suspiciously murdered and secretly buried in unmarked grave - just days before he was to be tried for treason and sentenced to death?<br />
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--How could William Shakespeare replace Marlowe as England's greatest playwright virtually overnight - when Shakespeare had never written anything before and was merely an unknown actor? Historians have noted that he was better known at that time "for holding horses for the gentry while they watched plays." </i><br />
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Actually, the easier argument is that Shakespeare, the actor did not write the plays. The harder argument is to try to prove who actually did write them.<br />
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I feel that the final third of my book <i>The Shakespeare Conspiracy</i> pretty much proves that it was Marlowe. That supplement to the book explains that though it is a novel, all the known facts in the book (except one) are accurate. That one deviation is clearly spelled out in the supplement and I explain why it was done.<br />
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But why Marlowe? For starters there are about a hundred duplicate lines in the works of Shakespeare and Marlowe. This is not true of Shakespeare and other authors of the time. Why would England's most famous playwright borrow (steal?) from a dead poet. In one case (<i>Merry Wives of Windsor</i>) Shakespeare boldly uses eight consecutive lines from Marlowe's poem ("The Passionate Shepherd to his Love") without any reference to the fact that it was from another work. It's just part of the play dialogue.<br />
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The supplement has many other things that I consider to be proofs.<br />
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I told her to read the book. She'll see.Ted Bacinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532667254250120022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2321996592414100458.post-52379756041906083062011-05-01T13:37:00.000-07:002011-05-01T13:37:07.402-07:00The Shakespeare Conspiracy: The MovieWell, good news came this week from the movie producers who have the option on the film version of my book, <i>The Shakespeare Conspiracy</i>.<br />
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They seem to feel they have the money to start pre-production work this fall and hope to be shooting the movie by this winter. The present plan is to shoot it in Winnipeg, Canada.<br />
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The two major producers are The Motion Picture Hall of Fame Corporation and Barone Films. Both of them have done some good work in feature films. Barone Films just completed filming the movie version of the stage musical <i>Forever Plaid</i>.<br />
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There's no word yet on anyone starring in the film, though they have batted around quite a few names. I, of course, have my own ideas about who would be perfect for each role, but I'm not sure the author of the book has any say.<br />
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My own thinking is that Colin Farrell would be perfect as Christopher Marlowe. And Nathan Lane would be a scream as Lord Henry Wriothesley. You'd need someone dignified and deliberate for Sir Thomas. Maybe Ben Afflect. Shakespeare (because of the way the movie is written) should be a klutz. Someone like John C. Reilly. But I imagine that's a cast that might cost more than a modern historical thriller could afford.<br />
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I'll keep you posted.<br />
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You can get the story of the movie by going to the book web site:<br />
<a href="http://www.theshakespeareconspiracy.com/">www.TheShakespeareConspiracy.com</a>Ted Bacinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13532667254250120022noreply@blogger.com1