
Shakespeare may not have abandoned wife, previously ‘ignored' letter reveals
William Shakespeare may not have abandoned his wife, a previously 'ignored' 17th century letter has revealed, undermining a centuries-old consensus among scholars.
For more than 200 years, it has been assumed that the playwright had an unhappy relationship with his wife, Anne Hathaway, and that he left her in Stratford-upon-Avon to pursue a writing career in London.
But new research by an academic at the University of Bristol has revealed that the true dynamics of the bard's relationship may have been different.
Matthew Steggle, a professor of early modern English, analysed a fragment of a 17th century letter addressed to 'good Mrs Shakespeare', which appears to show the couple living together in London between 1600 and 1610.
The letter, which had been preserved by chance in a book binding in Hereford Cathedral library, is the first piece of evidence that has been found pointing to Anne living in London with her husband.
Professor Steggle told the PA news agency: 'When I first came across it I was a bit puzzled, wondering why it (the letter) wasn't better known and why there wasn't much more of a debate about it.'
He added: 'It's just sort of been ignored by most Shakespeare scholars.'
The letter documents a financial dispute between Shakespeare and an orphan boy called John Butts, with the letter's author requesting that Mrs Shakespeare pay the boy a sum of money which her husband allegedly owes.
In response, Mrs Shakespeare appears to stand by her husband and to tell the author to find the money elsewhere.
'The Romantic poets, people who were interested in Shakespeare in the early 19th century, came up with this narrative that really appealed to them of a Shakespeare trapped into marrying this kind of country yokel,' Professor Steggle continued.
'Then he goes away and makes his fortune in London and forgets her and has lots of interesting adventures in London before coming back and retiring to Stratford.'
'All he gives her in his will is the 'second best bed'!'
But according to Prof Steggle, the new research suggests that 'maybe Anne Hathaway is a more interesting figure than has been thought'.
While the letter was discovered in 1978, it remained stitched into the book binding until more recently, concealing one side of its text.
Professor Steggle's research saw him pore through old records, looking for an apprentice matching the boy's description, before he eventually found one likely match.
Over centuries of combing the archives, historians have found records of only four married couples with the 'Shakespeare' surname in London in the correct date range.
With the information on the apprentice, Professor Steggle narrowed those four down to one couple who could have resided in Trinity Lane, a relatively wealthy part of London at the time to the south of St Paul's Cathedral.
Discussing the attention his research has attracted, Professor Steggle said: 'It's nice, because people are all doing this really cool work in English studies and you do all this research and by and large … I wouldn't say nobody cares, but it normally doesn't come to media attention.'
Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Glasgow Times
5 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Colin Keane familiarises himself with Lead Artist ahead of Queen Anne
The opening contest of the 2025 fixture is one of the highlights of the week, with the John and Thady Gosden-trained Lead Artist set to clash again with Newbury second Dancing Gemini, third-placed Rosallion and the fourth Notable Speech. Both Notable Speech and Rosallion were Classic winners last year, taking the English and Irish 2000 Guineas respectively, and while John Gosden expects the pair to improve for their seasonal bows, he is backing Lead Artist to again make his presence felt. He said: 'Rosallion and Notable Speech are both going to come on for that Lockinge run and it is as good a Queen Anne as I have seen in a long time. Now those two have a race under their belt, it's quite a humdinger to start the meeting with. 'Lead Artist has matured a lot mentally, which some of us do as we get older, and I like his enthusiasm as you can put him anywhere in a race, even though handy is where we would all like to be.' Lead Artist has not run since that neck defeat of Roger Teal's Dancing Gemini, but enjoyed a racecourse gallop at Newmarket on Wednesday morning under owner Juddmonte's new retained rider Colin Keane. Oisin Murphy was in the saddle for last month's Lockinge and Gosden felt it was a worthwhile exercise for Keane to get a feel for his mount ahead of the Group One. He added: 'It's been a long time since the Lockinge so it's great to come here and of course there has been not much rain, so we have been pretty much stuck on the all-weather all spring. 'Colin hasn't ridden him before and maybe hasn't seen him before, so it was good he could come here and get a feel for him. 'He does hold his condition really well and he's a well-covered, powerful horse. But that comes from the sire line and they do hold their condition incredibly well. 'We've been pleased with him and he's had a nice blow here which should set him up nicely for next Tuesday.' The Gosden team has a powerful second string in Sardinian Warrior, who was just denied in the Prix d'Ispahan last time out while last year's second Docklands, the supplemented Carl Spackler, Lake Forest, Diego Velazquez, Quddwah and Cairo are also in the mix

Rhyl Journal
5 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
Colin Keane familiarises himself with Lead Artist ahead of Queen Anne
The opening contest of the 2025 fixture is one of the highlights of the week, with the John and Thady Gosden-trained Lead Artist set to clash again with Newbury second Dancing Gemini, third-placed Rosallion and the fourth Notable Speech. Both Notable Speech and Rosallion were Classic winners last year, taking the English and Irish 2000 Guineas respectively, and while John Gosden expects the pair to improve for their seasonal bows, he is backing Lead Artist to again make his presence felt. He said: 'Rosallion and Notable Speech are both going to come on for that Lockinge run and it is as good a Queen Anne as I have seen in a long time. Now those two have a race under their belt, it's quite a humdinger to start the meeting with. 'Lead Artist has matured a lot mentally, which some of us do as we get older, and I like his enthusiasm as you can put him anywhere in a race, even though handy is where we would all like to be.' Lead Artist has not run since that neck defeat of Roger Teal's Dancing Gemini, but enjoyed a racecourse gallop at Newmarket on Wednesday morning under owner Juddmonte's new retained rider Colin Keane. Oisin Murphy was in the saddle for last month's Lockinge and Gosden felt it was a worthwhile exercise for Keane to get a feel for his mount ahead of the Group One. He added: 'It's been a long time since the Lockinge so it's great to come here and of course there has been not much rain, so we have been pretty much stuck on the all-weather all spring. 'Colin hasn't ridden him before and maybe hasn't seen him before, so it was good he could come here and get a feel for him. 'He does hold his condition really well and he's a well-covered, powerful horse. But that comes from the sire line and they do hold their condition incredibly well. 'We've been pleased with him and he's had a nice blow here which should set him up nicely for next Tuesday.' The Gosden team has a powerful second string in Sardinian Warrior, who was just denied in the Prix d'Ispahan last time out while last year's second Docklands, the supplemented Carl Spackler, Lake Forest, Diego Velazquez, Quddwah and Cairo are also in the mix


The Guardian
6 hours ago
- The Guardian
Jim Royle's take on Tracey Emin ‘masterpiece'
Jonathan Jones, in his review of the Royal Academy's summer exhibition (Letters, 10 June), describes Tracey Emin's The Crucifixion as a 'masterpiece … the greatest new painting that's been seen since Lucian Freud died'. Spare us this spurious hyperbole! The art critic Robert Hughes will be turning in his grave. Or as Jim, the grumpy philosopher in The Royle Family, would say: 'Masterpiece my arse!'John RattiganDoveridge, Derbyshire Re Iain Fenton's racked brain (Letters, 9 June), yes, Shakespeare did use 'worser', multiple times in a dozen different plays. Cleopatra: 'I cannot hate thee worser than I do.' Juliet: 'Some word worser than Tybalt's death.' Gloucester to King Lear: 'Let not my worser spirit tempt me again.'Sally SmithRedruth, Cornwall Youth hostelling taught me many things: love of landscape; friendship with strangers; how to jump from a top bunk on to a cushioned rucksack (If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a youth hostel to give their parents a break, 8 June).Joan BakewellLondon If Uber are to replace London cabs with driverless taxis, as you report10 June), who is going to dictate populist policy? Nigel Farage will need a new NashChild Okeford, Dorset The most egregious Americanism is 'guys' for people who manifestly are not (Letters, 9 June).Ted WoodgateBillericay, Essex Outage!Martin SmithGuildford, Surrey Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.