The great Shakespeare fraud : the strange, true story of William-Henry Ireland / by Patricia Pierce

Stroud : Sutton, 2004. First Edition. Hardcover. An exceptional copy; fine in an equally fine dw, now mylar-sleeved. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. Literally as new.; 273 pages; Description: xiv, 273 p., 8 p. of plates : ill. ; 23 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-265) and index. Subjects: Shakespeare, William (1564-1616) --Forgeries --Ireland, William Henry (1777-1835). Summary: William-Henry Ireland, at only nineteen, perpetrated the greatest Shakespeare forgery ever attempted. In this true crime history, Patricia Pierce uncovers drama, pathos, scandal and ultimately tragedy, in a tale which began with a 'dull-witted' youth longing for his father's love and grew to involve a host of famous names from the playwright Sheridan to the Prince of Wales, Mrs. Siddons and James Boswell. Brought up in late eighteenth-century London, William-Henry was the son of Samuel Ireland, a collector and dealer in engravings. Fed on a daily diet of Shakespeare - whom Samuel regarded as 'a divinity' - William-Henry fell upon a unique method for winning his father's love and approval - forgery. Beginning with a deed 'signed' by Shakespeare, William-Henry followed this with a rapid succession of poems, letters and even an entirely new play, Vortigern. His success was phenomenal. James Boswell knelt to kiss 'the relics of Shakespeare', eminent clergyman Dr. Joseph Warton proclaimed 'Shakespeare's Profession of Faith' to be better than anything in either the church service or the litany, and Sheridan agreed to stage Vortigern. Yet the play marked the beginning of the end for the great Shakespeare forger. Staged two days after the expert Edmond Malone irrefutably exposed the forgeries, the esteemed actors were greeted with hoots of derision during Vortigern's single performance.