Shakespearean Collections

These collections, donated to the University by the Shakespearean Authorship Trust, De Vere Society, and Jean Holmes, wife of Edward Holmes, comprise minutes and correspondence, books, plays, poetry, and journals written by and about Shakespeare and his time.

The Shakespeare authorship question has a long history.  The question, as we know it, was first posed by Joseph C Hart in ‘The Romance of Yachting’ in 1848, in which he argued that the plays contained evidence that many different authors had worked on them.  The debate continues, with many scholars today convinced that the plays of Shakespeare are definitely the work of many hands written over time.

Holdings in brief

• Minutes and correspondence of the Shakespearean Authorship Trust
• Minutes and correspondence of the De Vere Society
• Printed sources such as monologues, articles, plays and books about the authorship question and the candidates, as well as the Elizabethan period
• Manuscripts and working notes of Edward Holmes’ research and examinations of Shakespearean plays, poems and theatre.