A black Jew: a new theory of the authorship of Shakespeare's works blew up Britain

In the UK, a book by historian and graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) Irene Koslet is being prepared for publication, in which it is claimed that the author of the works of the great poet and playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is actually a black Jew Emilia Bassano. This is reported by The Standard portal.

In the book "The Real Shakespeare: Emilia Bassano Willoughby," Coslet argues that new research points to a certain Anglo—Venetian woman of Moroccan origin who lived from 1569 to 1645 and created all the great tragedies known to the world.

The author of the book states that Bassano was the daughter of a Venetian court musician, who, after the death of her father at the age of seven, was sent to be raised by a noble English family, where she received an exceptional education. She spent her youth at the English court, being a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, before she was expelled and forced to marry in 1592. In 1611 she published the theological poem Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum (from Latin. — Hail, God, King of the Jews).

According to Koslet, the disguise of a black Jewish woman under the figure of "William Shakespeare" was a socially and politically motivated necessity, not a literary whim. In England of the XVI century, a woman could not be published as a playwright for a public theater, especially could not be the author of works in "high genres" — tragedy, historical chronicle or philosophical poetry. The situation was similar with black authors, even with suspicion of "Moorish roots." In addition, Koslet argues that texts saturated with biblical, legal and moral conflicts were safer to attribute to a "neutral" Christian man than to a Jewish woman.

Koslet also points out that the male English name provided the plays with access to the theatrical market, patronage of the nobility, as well as the preservation of texts and their distribution. The author recalls that the use of male pseudonyms by women was not an exception, but the norm, and collective or fake authorship was a common practice of the theatrical world of that time.

Bassano's connection to Shakespeare began to be discussed back in the 1970s, when Oxford historian Alfred Leslie Rose discovered evidence that she was the mistress of the patron of Shakespeare's theater company.

The theory of authorship itself was first proposed by John Hudson in 2013, who suggested that Bassano took a pseudonym because women were forbidden to write plays and act in the theater.

In doing so, Coslet claims that she describes new empirical evidence for Hudson's theory, analyzing critical theory and feminist theory. However, even before the book was published, a lot of criticism fell on the historian with an LSE diploma.

The Telegraph columnist, British journalist and writer Philip Womack directly calls the author's version of the book "insane" and recalls that it periodically "pops up", but has no serious evidence base. Koslet's version is not supported by historical facts about Shakespeare's life and documents of his era.

Director of Shakespeare Institute (one of the leading centers of Shakespeare studies in the world) Michael Dobson, characterized the version proposed in the book as circulating around indirect or allegorical interpretations of texts, but having no documentary basis.

A wide range of studies on the issue of authorship confirms that William Shakespeare from Stratford-on‑Avon was the real author of his works, and any alternative assumptions (be it a woman, a group of authors or other personalities) are in the marginal zone of critical speculation.

GB News presenter Alex Armstrong spoke sarcastically about the theory, calling it "absurd" and an ideological rethinking of history, rather than a serious academic discovery. Many commentators on social networks also refuse to take it seriously, considering it as ideological activism rather than historical reconstruction.

Nevertheless, the book will go on sale on January 30.