The Real Shakespeare: Emilia Bassano Willoughby

By Irene Coslet

Argues Shakespeare was a dark-skinned Jewish woman, Emilia Bassano, challenging the traditional authorship and gender perceptions.

Was Shakespeare a white man from Stratford? Debate still rages over the identity of the most beloved poet of all time and 'father' of the English-speaking world. Generations of researchers have tried to dismantle the myth of the Stratford man. Now, in this intriguing and well-documented book, Irene Coslet conclusively demonstrates that Shakespeare was a not a man, but a woman: a dark-skinned lady, of Jewish origin, born into a family of Court musicians from Venice, and the mother of the English-speaking world. Her name was Emilia Bassano.

Based on a re-examination of often-overlooked historical documents, shrewd, chilling, and profound, this volume offers extensive evidence that Emilia was the author of the canon. This is not just a book about the authorship debate: it is about the condition of women at the time Shakespeare was writing. It explains that feminism already existed in Elizabethan and Jacobean England. It reveals not only that Shakespeare was a woman, but also that she defended women. It reintegrates Emilia in the context of the time, for example, by exploring the relationship between Emilia and Queen Elizabeth I. The reader will leave this book with a sense of wonder, transformation, and will experience a paradigm shift. Be prepared to meet the next feminist icon.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1399035371
• ISBN13: 9781399035378
• Release Date: April 2026
• Publisher: Pen and Sword History
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.2" x 9.3"