The Mysterious Shakespeare

In 2002, the BBC placed the playwright fifth in its Top 100 Greatest Britons, positioning him between Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton, but there are still doubts about whether this man actually existed. In the 19th century, scholars first suggested that Shakespeare was not the author of the works attributed to him and tried to prove the joint authorship of several writers of that time. Due to the lack of completely preserved documentation from the 16th century, as well as the reverence for this master of words, the figure of William Shakespeare is shrouded in myths and speculations that, while widespread, are not always truthful. There are hundreds of biographies of him – longer, weightier, more thorough, and undoubtedly more accurate regarding facts – however, the biography written by Row deserves serious consideration even three centuries after its publication. The first biographer and one of the first editors of his plays reveals the mystery of Shakespeare's life. About the author. Row, Nicholas 1674—1718. An English poet and playwright who held the office of Poet Laureate. As the most successful playwright of his time, Row also became Shakespeare's first editor. In 1709, he published the first collected works in six volumes, which began with the first biographical essay. The tragedy Jane Shore 1714, one of Row's most popular plays, was, by his own admission, based on imitating Shakespeare's style.