In 2002, the BBC placed the playwright fifth in the 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 creator of the works attributed to him, and attempted to prove the co-authorship of several writers of that time. Due to the lack of fully 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 conjectures, which, although widely spread, are not always true. There are hundreds of biographies of him – longer, weighty, substantial, and undoubtedly more accurate regarding facts – however, the biography written by Row deserves serious consideration even three centuries after its appearance. The first biographer and one of the first editors of his plays uncovers the mystery of Shakespeare's life. About the author. Row Nicholas 1674–1718. An English poet, playwright, who held the position of poet laureate. Being the most successful playwright of his time, Row also became the first editor of Shakespeare. In 1709, he published the first collected works in six volumes, which was also opened by the first biographical essay. The tragedy Jane Shore 1714, one of Row's most popular plays, was, by his own admission, based on imitation of the Shakespearean style.
