Lady of the Play
For the past 100 years, Elizabeth Trentham has been best known as the second wife of Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford. He has been the leading candidate to answer the Shakespeare authorship question, even though many of the plays clearly show strong female roles, contrary to the culture of the time. Common sense tells us a woman had to be involved in authorship. The major problem Oxfordians face is explaining why new plays were written and produced for eight years after Edward died in 1604.In the historical novel Lady of the Play, the mystery of those eight years is solved by revealing evidence that shows Elizabeth (Ely) and Edward collaborated, with her continuing to write plays until she died in 1612, the same year Shakespeare retired.
In Lady of the Play, Ely's genius is revealed from her childhood in Rocester, Staffordshire, England, wherein her experiences and the love of poetry and music as found in the Psalms, along with her fascination with Greek and Roman mythology, form the basis for the comedies such as A Midsummers Night's Dream, Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, and more. At the age of nineteen, Ely is accepted as a maid of honor at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, and for ten years she continues her education and tutors younger maids of honor. On her own, she seeks knowledge in palace libraries, which, in turn, provide the basis for the history plays of England's Kings. Because of the threat of war with Spain, Ely suggests, the first historical play of Henry VI was written for propaganda purposes.
It is here that the collaboration between Ely and Edward begins, with other historical plays to follow. Out of devotion to her Queen, Ely refuses numerous marriage proposals until the Queen arranges Ely's marriage to Oxford. Their son Henry was born a year later. Throughout their marriage, more plays are written, but the Queen is adamant that Ely's name be protected so she can remain involved with the stage and the lower-class players. Arrangements are made for William Shaksper, an actor, to be hired as the broker for Edward and Ely's plays and later allowed to take credit as the playwright.
When Queen Elizabeth dies in 1603 and Edward the following year, along with Ely's anxiety over her son's misbehavior, a certain psychosis takes hold of Ely, which becomes a theme in many tragedies, such as King Lear.
In Ely's will, she leaves money to her "dumb" man to assure Shaksper's silence. Also included is her involvement in translating the Psalms for the King James Version of the Bible. Ely leaves behind evidence of her and Edward's pseudonym, Shake-Spear, which will not be unraveled until a history teacher discovers the truth as to who actually was Shakespeare, over four hundred years later.
Interwoven with the history chapters is the modern story of a history teacher, Cynthia Parsons, who, with the help of a librarian friend and an attorney, and with romance and intrigue along the way, conducts research into the life of Elizabeth Trentham. Together, they find the evidence left by Ely to prove Elizabeth and Edward Vere were writing partners. However, some will use any means to steal Cynthia's historical documents and thwart her from telling the true story of how "Shakespeare" came to be recognized as the renowned playwright.
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