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Sweet Swan of Avon: Did a Woman Write Shakespeare?

Robin Williams

Peachpit Press

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A different perspective

The book puts forward an interesting theory but beyond the controversial idea of a woman being the real author of the plays of william shakespeare, this book catalogues in a very thorough, well written and easily understandable way all the historical evidence that actually exists on William Shakespeare. It attempts, quite successfully I think, to separate what is opinion and what is provable and verifiable fact. I was very glad to have read it and would recommend it to anyone interested in understanding the plays of shakespeare.

A Real Eye Opener

Williams provides stimulating evidence and inference that Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke, surviving sister of poet Philip Sidney and mother of two very powerful men in the Court of James I, MAY have written works attributed to Shakespeare. She makes an expecially strong case for Mary Sidney's authorship of the Sonnets, addressed--in her view--to her brother, to her lover in later life, and then to the "dark lady," a person she suspected had an affair with her own companion. Sound crazy that a woman was Shakespeare? Well, just look and see the portrait of Mary Sydney with a swan motif, of a woman who had been addressed as a "sweet swan" along the river "Avon" in her lifetime. The Shakespeare First Folio of 1623 was dedicated to her two sons, William and Philip, who may have bankrolled its publication.

An unsolved mystery's prime suspect

Many people scoff at the Authorship Question, considering it absurd. Afterall, we don't doubt the authorship of Ben Jonson or Christopher Marlowe, "ordinary" men from humble backgrounds (though in contrast to W.S., both men have educational backgrounds that are documented, with Marlowe receiving a master's degree from Cambridge, and Jonson attending the prestigious Westminster School where he was mentored by William Camden, an eminent scholar, and continued this mentor relationship until Camden's death). Of course Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare, opines the likes of Stephen Greenblatt and Bill Bryson. In fact to doubt as much makes you either eccentric or elitist, at least according to Bryson, the author of Shakespeare: The World as Stage. The problem with the Strafordian biographers' allegiance to the status quo is that we really don't know. Greenblatt and Bryson's biographies are so filled with speculation; Greenblatt's in particular is an exercise in conjecture and a refresher course in catechism.

Was William Shakepeare so modest as to publish his first eight plays anonymously, then, becoming slightly bold, claim "well actually, I augmented and corrected" "Love's Labor's Lost"? Initially, he didn't claim authorship of "Love's Labor's Lost," just textual emendation. The title pages of the first eight plays, while bearing no authorship, state "they have been played by the Earl of Pembroke's Men," the acting troupe sponsored by Mary Sidney and her husband (Williams 185). Other plays which scholars do not attribute to William Shakepeare have claimed Shakepeare as author, including A Yorkshire Tragedy, The Puritan, and The Life of Sir John Oldcastle.

If Shakepeare is "our English Terence," then does that equate him with plagiarism? Terence was an ancient Roman writer who took credit for works he did not write. Mary Sidney's secretary, John Davies of Hereford, addresses Mr. Will. Shake-speare with this non-flattering allusion. Did the historical actor claim other plays were penned by him, though their authors less talented than the author of the plays we now attribute to him? Ben Jonson also mentions Terence in a eulogy to Shakepeare; however, his reference to Terence is in a different manner, saying we have tired of these ancient writers, "Neat Terence, witty Plautus..." and Shakepeare is a fit replacement. Yet this eulogy is cryptic and much has been speculated about it, including Jonson's sincerity in relation to his praise of the historical man, not the works attributed to him.

Robin P. Williams questions if Jonson's phrase, "Sweet Swan of Avon," was really a cladestine nod to Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke. Mary preferred her maiden name, Sidney to Herbert. Sidney sounds similar to the French word for Swan (cygne), and the English cognate, cygnet, baby swan. Her brother, Philip Sidney, was good-naturedly called Swan by his French friends. Mary took on the swan as her personal symbol. Ms. Williams says that the Stratford-upon-Avon interpretation may be erroneous. There are several rivers in England named Avon. Mary Sidney's estate has the Wiltshire Avon river passing through its 14,000 acres. The Wilton House, the site of Mary Sidney's self-made university of the arts, has a branch of the Avon flowing past it. And the final Avon connection: Mary Sidney is interred at "Salisbury Cathedral, located directly on the Avon River" (202). The historical William Shakepeare was never referred to as "Swan," if you exclude Jonson's unclear eulogy.

The Swan Mary did have access to the source materials for the plays. It is a point of contention how the historical actor gained access to restricted and even unpublished materials that the works attributed to him used as references. There were no public libraries at that time; university and private libraries housed expensive books. How then, did Will in the World circumvent this source materials obstacle? Not only is there abundant evidence that Mary Sidney had access to the sources of the plays (and some of these sources were untranslated), she is also a direct descendant to many of the characters in the history plays. Williams notes that some of the characters who are closely related to Mary are cast in a more flattering light in the plays than was merited by their historical actions, or they are cast a larger role than they really played historically. For example, in Richard II, Henry Percy, the 1st Earl of Northumberland is not only "more prominent in the play than the original source material," he is spared committing one of his worst mistakes, "his perjury at Conway" (137). Northumberland was Mary's great-great (seven times great) uncle, and her grandfather held the title of Duke of Northumberland. Likewise, Mary's great-great (six time great) grandfather, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, was written a prophetic dying speech that any actor worth his salt would relish performing. The source for Richard II and the other history plays was Raphael Holinshed's book written in 1587. Holinshed's book never recorded history with such an apotheosizing bent towards Mary's ancestors. It should also be noted that the history plays were written before Shakepeare "hit the big time," meaning before he was allowed at court or had any first-hand familiarity with court life.

Not only do the history plays (a genre which Mary herself helped to popularize with her translation of Garnier's Marc Antoine--translations were one of the few sanctioned forms of writing for women, that and religious writings) reek of Mary's personal and familial history, so do the trajedies. I'm thinking of King Lear in particular. If Regan and Goneril broke King Lear's heart with "Ingratitude! Thou marble-hearted fiend," then Mary Sidney's own sons similarly broke her heart. Mary and her oldest son were estranged for ten years; the causes for the estrangement were most probably a combination of William Herbert impregnating one of Elizabeth's ladies-in-waiting and then refusing to marry the woman, and the widow Mary's romantic relationship with Dr. Matthew Lister, a man ten years her junior. William Herbert was an ambitious man and after Elizabeth's death, ingratiated himself with King James (his brother Philip did so as well, but in a different way). He not only became the 3rd Earl of Pembroke, but the Lord Chamberlain, a position that granted him final control over the publication of plays for the public theater, beginning in 1615. If he was aware that his mother had written plays for public performance, this self-serving, ambitious man would do all that he could to suppress that information, as public playwrighting was not an acceptable role for a lady. Under these circumstances, it would be easy for an "English Terence" to commandeer credit for plays which he did not write.

This book does not definitively solve the Authorship riddle, of course. However, it does make a very good case for Mary Sidney Herbert, the Countess of Pembroke, as the unsung author of the greatest works of English literature. After her brother Philip died, it became Mary's life mission to continue her brother's literary work and enhance English literature--making this tongue comparable to other European literature. Mary modeled herself after Marguerite de Navarre, the "amiable mother of the French Renaissance," who developed her own palace academy (a blueprint for Wilton House). Did she contain herself to the legally permitted writings for women, i.e., translations, religious writings, and closet dramas, or did she expand upon those limits and anonymously publish plays which someone else would receive credit for?

I was blown away when I read the samples of her Psalms translations and compared them to the then-existing Geneva Bible. Her translation captures a sense of urgency and drama that completely eludes the Geneva version. What she was allowed to publish under her own name is simply breathtaking.

As for the Stratford candidate, let's consider a few things. Even Bill Bryson in his ode to the common man rant concedes that plebeian Marlowe never wrote strong, well-developed female characters to the extent that Shakepeare did (lest I be misunderstood, of course ordinary people from non-patrician backgrounds can do extraordinary things--yet in this Elizabethan time and place, ordinary people wouldn't have had access to restricted source materials--just like most of us today aren't privy to top-secret government documents). Before that, women weren't written as the intellectual equals of men; instead women were relegated to mostly unflattering stereotypes. Was the historical actor so ahead of his time and immune to his own culture that he wrote these great, unprecedented parts for female characters? Considering that the historical man didn't even ensure that his surviving daughters were literate, I'm not so sure. It seems more likely that a brilliant woman who was tired of the lack of opportunity for women (that she experienced firsthand) and sympathetic towards her own sex would create these dynamic roles.

I think it's ignorant to scoff at the Authorship question and dismiss it as elitist or eccentric. We really don't know. There is a cloud of mystery, a host of inexplicable circumstances, surrounding this body of literature, and a lack of certainty as to who really wrote it.

Interesting, but contains contradictions.

I purchased this book for my wife who is studying Shakespeare as part of her English degree. This review is a quick summary of her comments on the book, while and after reading it.

It was an interesting read that contained several useful comparison and reference charts that provided a wealth of information regarding the authorship question. The author contradicted herself more than once which detracted from her credibility. The book was written in a style that was apparently designed for short reads, included a lot of repetition and hindered smooth reading form cover to cover. The Countess of Pembroke is clearly a fascinating figure, however a different book would be more appropriate for her life story as this one is written focusing on the authorship question.

Overall my wife is happy to have read the book and own it for future reference, however she is not 100% confident in all the information presented as facts.

If want to be educated, truly educated pick up this book. I challenge you to do it!

You will be opened in such a delightful way as a flower dawns from the winter....

"Strong but not conclusive"??? That's what the previous reviewer on Amazon.com just wrote as his title of his review. Well, the person did give this book 5 STARS. It deserves 20 or 100!! This book is the most thrilling novel!

If you want intrigue and drama out of the wazooo, READ THIS BOOK!! Its utterly fascinating, mystifying AND DE-MYSTIFYING!

Ms. Williams puts the most compelling FACTS together with such thorough research of the life of Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke, and presents this proposal: DID A WOMAN WRITE SHAKESPEARE? with such integrity that after giving ALL THE EVIDENCE, she let's YOU DECIDE!! The author in fact, NEVER states that MARY SIDNEY is the actual true author of the SHAKESPEARE WORKs because she has way too much integrity as opposed to all the other books out there boasting of having the answer to this question WITHOUT ANY REAL EVIDENCE!

Most books on this topics are filled with "must have's" and "certainly's" and "probably's" and come to some conclusion about who really wrote Shakespeare with the kind of arguments that wouldn't stand up in a court of law... in fact, other books on the topic's evidence would be LAUGHED AT IN A COURT OF LAW!! NOT Robin P. Williams' book: SWEET SWAN OF AVON! THIS book is filled with the kind of EVIDENCE that PROVES CASES!! BUT, as a good lawyer does, Williams presents the FACTS, THE EVIDENCE & then poses the QUESTION.

Again and again, the question is there for YOU TO ANSWER! I have ONLY CERTAINTY in my mind that if this case was presented in a court of law, the winning verdict decided by the jury, not the lawyer whose job it is to PRESENT the case, would MOST CERTAINLY be that MARY SIDNEY, COUNTESS OF PEMBROKE IS MOST DEFINATELY the REAL AUTHOR of the plays and sonnets currently attributed to the one known as Shakespeare.

Have an opinion? Doubt it? Curious? Want to know more? READ the BOOK! Its DELICIOUS and will excite you as much as the plays have excited millions for centuries!

Don't be fooled by your own resistance to the idea. Take any page in Shakespeare right now, just open up a book with the writing of the one currently called Shakespeare, and you'll be inspired to defile your own arrogance and reach into a deeper place calling forth a true humility that resides in us all! Out of this inspiration, this openness to love, to life, pick up SWEET SWAN OF AVON and be truly educated about the life that reflects these times and learn so exquisitely and intricately of the times past, about a life of human being that is so extraordinary that you will be brought to your knees.

Mary Sidney's story told so impeccably in SWEET SWAN OF AVON will inspire anyone by her grace and power and her very resilience and brilliance! She was a being that existed on this earth who fought wars so harsh that most would have broken.

SWEET SWAN OF AVON opens you to a world that was pivotal in our history. Some of the most tumultuous times the effects of which have given us the world we live in. Freedoms were fought and won during this era that give us the freedoms we have now.

Learn about a life, a human, a woman who in her time -- for whom it was illegal for her to publish any original thought only because she was of the fairer sex -- is so worthy of being known as herself!

Whether you want to know her as the real pen behind Shakespeare or for who she was known in her day: a great and acknowledged teacher, writer, acclaimed translator, supporter of the arts and mentor to many of the great known authors of her day through her famed Wilton Circle which she established which still meets to this day -- and so much more!

She was hero. She is a her. She. She is one to be known in her own right for what is absolutely known of her.

Coming to know so much of her through Robin P. Williams, you will want to find her writings penned in her name attributed to her in her day and reach further still to other's writings of her and by those who surrounded her, like Lady Mary Wroth, her stellar brother Sir Phillip Sidney and the magnificent Ben Johnson and so many others. The Sidney family reads like the who's who of English literature filled with family dramas that fill the plays and sonnets of what we call Shakespeare.

Embarking on this journey of who is Mary Sidney will open doors within doors of fascinating history and arts that will carry you through your whole life bringing such richness elaborating and enunciating all that you already know with so much greater detail and depth bringing your own humanity into a fullness that you'll thank God for AND Mary Sidney, The Sweet Swan of Avon.

Do it for what ever reason you can muster even if you have great resistance and opposition to the idea. Do it any way. You owe it yourself. You will be opened in such a delightful way as a flower dawns from the winter. Why not awaken something new in you? Perhaps it is just what you've been waiting for...

Your Grace, Sarah West

Sanctuary
~~ author of Beloved, I Have Searched for You & CDs available on amazon.com SANCTUARY, THE SACRED PYRAMID & VOICES OF ETERNITY