Patriot Brief
- A new book claims Shakespeare’s works were written by Emilia Bassano despite no documentary evidence.
- Scholars reject the theory as speculative and unsupported by historical records.
- The argument reflects a broader trend of recasting history to fit modern identity narratives.
At some point, you almost have to admire the confidence.
According to a new book, William Shakespeare — the most studied writer in the English language — didn’t actually write his plays. Instead, we’re told the true author was Emilia Bassano, a black Jewish woman whose genius was allegedly stolen by an “uneducated interloper” from Stratford-upon-Avon.
That’s the argument advanced by feminist historian Irene Coslet in her new book, The Real Shakespeare: Emilia Bassano Willoughby. And yes, this is being treated seriously enough to warrant coverage in major outlets.
Coslet’s claim rests less on documentary evidence and more on a familiar modern instinct: if a historical figure doesn’t align neatly with today’s identity priorities, then perhaps the history itself must be wrong. Shakespeare, in this telling, becomes less a writer and more a placeholder — a convenient mask for a story we’d prefer to tell.
Coslet argues that reimagining Shakespeare as a woman of color would “draw attention to issues of peace and justice,” as though the value of Hamlet or King Lear hinges on the author’s demographic profile rather than the work itself. She suggests Bassano’s skin was deliberately lightened in portraits and concedes she lacks specifics on how Shakespeare supposedly plagiarized her writing, but maintains it is “reasonable to assume” exploitation occurred.
That phrase does a lot of heavy lifting.
Actual Shakespeare scholars have been less charitable. The director of the Shakespeare Institute at the University of Birmingham described the evidence as entirely circumstantial, with no documentary foundation — a “beautiful story,” perhaps, but a false one. And that’s putting it politely.
What’s striking here isn’t just the weakness of the argument, but the impulse behind it. This isn’t really about Shakespeare. It’s about discomfort with the idea that one of the central pillars of Western literature might belong, unapologetically, to the civilization that produced it.
Shakespeare’s authorship was not questioned in his lifetime. His rivals praised him. His contemporaries acknowledged him. His work survived not because of who he was, but because of what he wrote. And yet, centuries later, that still isn’t enough.
We’re now at a point where historical achievement is treated like a clerical error that needs correcting if it doesn’t align with modern narratives. Genius must be redistributed. Canon must be re-labeled. And if evidence doesn’t cooperate, assumption will have to do.
You don’t have to idolize Shakespeare to see the problem here. You just have to care about truth more than symbolism.
From Daily Caller:
A feminist historian argues William Shakespeare did not write his famous plays and sonnets. The real author was a black Jewish woman, she claims.
Irene Coslet makes the assertion in her new book “The Real Shakespeare: Emilia Bassano Willoughby,” published by Pen and Sword Books, according to The Telegraph. Coslet identifies Emilia Bassano as the actual writer of Shakespeare’s works. Bassano was a poet who moved in royal circles during the Tudor period. The man from Stratford-upon-Avon was an “uneducated interloper” who stole her work, Coslet argues.
“If Shakespeare was a female of colour, this would draw attention to issues of peace and justice in society,” Coslet told The Telegraph. “What if women had a pivotal role and a civilising impact in history, but they have been silenced, belittled and erased from the dominant narrative?” (Coslet describes Shakespeare as a “semi-illiterate moneylender” who could not have achieved such literary brilliance, The Daily Mail reported. She identifies Bassano as Jewish and Moorish with family ties to Venice.
Bassano served as mistress to Henry Carey, Elizabeth I’s Lord Chamberlain and patron of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men theatre troupe. The book suggests portraitists deliberately lightened Bassano’s skin to match Elizabethan beauty standards.
Coslet admits she lacks specific details on how Shakespeare allegedly plagiarized Bassano’s work, The College Fix reported. The author concedes it is only “reasonable to assume” he exploited the situation.
Photo Credit: JACQUES DEMARTHON/AFP via Getty Images)