William Shakespeare New Light and Old Evidence By The Countess de Chambrun Illustrated UNIV. OF G. P. Putnam's Sons IN REVERENTIAL MEMORY OF MY GRANDFATHER JOSEPH LONGWORTH BORN IN CINCINNATI OCTOBER 2ND, 1813 DIED AT ROOKWOOD DECEMBER 29TH, 1883 THIS BOOK IS WRITTEN 300358 A PREFACE NY writer who offers new ideas to the public on such a well-worn theme as the "Shakespeare problem," so called, is sure to encounter criticism, merely for writing on Shakespeare; because, so runs the stock phrase, "such a number of books have already been made on this subject." Like many platitudes, this one contains only a half-truth. Though good books on the sonnets exist, the best being probably by Gerald Massey and Professor Tyler, these works have been out of print for twenty years. It is even difficult to obtain a casual reading of either, owing to the scarcity of copies in the public libraries. The earliest published biography of Shakespeare, Rowe's Life, is even more difficult to obtain, and, being the chief source from which we draw our knowledge of the poet and his works, I have appended it, in extenso, to this volume. Largely owing to the efforts of Mr. Gerald |