This book presents original material which indicates that Aemilia Lanyer – female writer feminist and Shakespeare contemporary – is Shakespeare’s hidden and arguably most significant co-author. Once dismissed as the mere paramour of Shakespeare’s patron Lord Hunsdon she is demonstrated to be a most articulate forerunner of #Me Too fury. Building on previous research into the authorship of Shakespeare’s works Bradbeer offers evidence in the form of three case studies which signal Aemilia’s collaboration with Shakespeare. The first case study matches the works of George Wilkins – who is currently credited as the co-author of the feminist Shakespeare play Pericles (1608) – with Aemilia Lanyer’s writing style education feminism and knowledge of Lord Hunsdon’s secret sexual life. The second case-study recognizes Titus Andronicus (1594) a play containing the characters Aemilius and Bassianus to be a revision of the suppressed play Titus and Vespasian (1592) as authored by the unmarried pregnant Aemilia Bassano as she then was. Lastly it is argued that Shakespeare’s clowns Bottom Launce Malvolio Dromio Dogberry Jaques and Moth arise in her deeply personal war with the misogynist Thomas Nashe. Each case study reveals new aspects of Lanyer’s feminist activism and involvement in Shakespeare’s work and allows for a deeper analysis and appreciation of the plays. This research will prove provocative to students and scholars of Shakespeare studies English literature literary history and gender studies. |Aemilia Lanyer as Shakespeare’s Co-Author | Literature
