382:
40:
225:, was a successful publisher of travelogues, collector of antiquities and collector of Shakespearian plays and "relics". There was at the time, and still is, a great scarcity of writing in the hand of Shakespeare. Of his 37 plays, there is not one copy in his own writing, not a scrap of correspondence from Shakespeare to a friend, fellow writer, patron, producer or publisher. Forgery would fill this void.
250:, which was often read aloud in the Ireland house, and which contained large sections on Chatterton and Macpherson. When he was apprenticed to a mortgage lawyer, Ireland began to experiment with blank, genuinely old papers and forged signatures on them. Eventually he forged several documents until he was ready to present them to his father.
393:—but many critics could not believe a young man could have forged them all by himself. One paper published a caricature in which William Henry is awed by the findings when the rest of the family forges more of them (as opposed to what was really going on). Samuel Ireland's reputation did not recover before his death in 1800.
372:
opened on 2 April 1796, just two days after Malone's book appeared. Contemporary accounts differ in details, but most agree the first three acts went smoothly, and the audience listened respectfully. Late in the play, though, Kemble used the chance to hint at his opinion by repeating
Vortigern's line
264:
In
December 1794 William told his father that he had discovered a cache of old documents belonging to an acquaintance who wanted to remain unnamed, and that one of them was a deed with a signature of Shakespeare in it. He gave the document—which he had of course made himself—to his overjoyed father,
366:, about the supposed papers. His attack on the papers, stretching to more than 400 densely printed pages, showed convincingly that the papers could be nothing other than modern forgeries. Although believers tried to hold their ground, scholars were convinced by Malone's arguments.
212:
and histories. Although he was apparently christened
William-Henry, he was known as Samuel through much of his life (apparently after a brother who died in childhood), and many sources list his name as Samuel William Henry Ireland.
373:"and when this solemn mockery is o'er." Malone's supporters had filled the theatre, and the play was greeted with the audience's catcalls. The play had only one performance, and was not revived until 2008.
287:—all supposedly in Shakespeare's hand. He claimed that all came from the chest of the anonymous friend. He "found" books with Shakespeare's notes in the margins and "original" manuscripts for
423:, and was constantly forced to borrow money from friends and strangers. When he died, his widow and daughters applied to the Literary Fund for relief. They received only token amounts.
303:
On 24 December 1795, Samuel
Ireland published his own book about the papers, a lavishly illustrated and expensively produced set of facsimiles and transcriptions of the papers called
189:
94:
221:
Although
Ireland claimed throughout his life that he was born in London in 1777, the Ireland family Bible puts his birth two years earlier, on 2 August 1775. His father,
400:, but confession did not help his reputation. He took on a number of miscellaneous jobs as a hack writer, but always found himself short of money. In 1814 he moved to
888:
1250:
228:
William Henry also became a collector of books. In many later recollections
Ireland described his fascination with the works and the glorious death of the forger
947:
The Poetry Of W.H. Ireland (1801–1815) Including The Poet's
Imitations, Satires, Romantic Verses, And Commentaries On Coleridge, Wordsworth, Southey, And Others
1211:
432:
748:
854:
454:
408:, continuing to publish books in London all the while. When he returned in 1823, he resumed his life of penury. In 1832 he published his own edition of
721:
1060:
808:
942:
916:
343:, actor and manager of Drury Lane Theatre, later claimed he had serious doubts about its authenticity; he also suggested that the play appear on
1102:
836:
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were popular, so to say that
Ireland died in obscurity is probably not correct. He was, however, perpetually impoverished; he spent time in
358:
approached, the press was filled with arguments over whether the papers were genuine or forgeries. On 31 March 1796, Shakespearean scholar
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52:
1014:
Lynch, Jack (2007). "The
Picaresque Biography: William Henry Ireland". In Ehland, Christoph; Fajen, Robert (eds.).
405:
307:(the book bears the publication date 1796). More people took interest in the matter and the plot began to unravel.
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Ireland first forged a letter, that he claimed was written by
Shakespeare expressing gratitude towards the
381:
339:
Sheridan read the play and noticed it was relatively simplistic compared to Shakespeare's other works.
333:
329:
415:
There has been recent scholarly interest in his later Gothic novels and his poetry. His illustrated
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Becoming Shakespeare: The Unlikely Afterlife That Turned a Provincial Playwright into the Bard
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When critics closed in and accused Samuel Ireland of forgery, his son published a confession—
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412:(his father had originally published it in 1799) as his own play with very little success.
323:
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Miscellaneous Papers and Legal Instruments under the Hand and Seal of William Shakespeare
205:
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have no basis in the historical record, and Ackroyd took many liberties with the story.
1128:
780:
Banvard's Folly: Thirteen Tales of Renowned Obscurity, Famous Anonymity and Rotten Luck
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340:
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An Inquiry into the Authenticity of Certain Miscellaneous Papers and Legal Instruments
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Ireland went on to make more findings—a promissory note, a written declaration of
480:, 1800. (Gothic novel. Reprinted in 2005, (Jeffrey Kahan, editor), Zittaw Press
757:
222:
183:
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1229:
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Verso - The Blog of the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
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The Great Shakespeare Fraud: The Strange, True Story of William-Henry Ireland
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The Man Who Would Be Shakespeare: The Enigmatic Tale of William-Henry Ireland
427:
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39:
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347:, though Samuel Ireland objected, and the play was moved to the next day.
496:
1805. (Gothic, reprinted in 2005, (Jeffrey Kahan, editor), Zittaw Press
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803:
462:
276:
516:
Scribbleomania: or the Printer's Devil's Polichronicon: a Sublime Poem
441:
295:
987:
Lynch, Jack (2004). "William Henry Ireland's Authentic Forgeries".
543:
350:
Although the Shakespeare papers had prominent believers (including
1173:"A Real Fake: The Shakespeare Forgeries of William Henry Ireland"
332:
acquired rights for the first production of the play at London's
1212:
W. H. Ireland, The Online Books Page, University of Pennsylvania
336:
for ÂŁ300, and a promise of half of all profits to the Irelands.
265:
who had been looking for just that kind of signature for years.
208:
documents and plays. He is less well known as a poet, writer of
401:
289:
233:
1150:
The Boy Who Would Be Shakespeare: A Tale of Forgery and Folly
321:
In 1795, Ireland became bolder and produced a whole new play—
1091:"The Ireland Forgeries: An Unpublished Contemporary Account"
746:
Baines, Paul (2011) . "Ireland, William Henry (1775–1835)".
466:(4 volumes), 1799. (Gothic novel. reprinted in 1975, Ayer.
385:
A forgery of Shakespeare's signature by Ireland, circa 1795
827:(1981). "Shakespeare Forgeries: Ireland and Collier". In
579:, 18xx. (Reprinted in 2002, Local History Publications.
1022:]. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag. pp. 147–57.
921:
Reforging Shakespeare: The Story of a Theatrical Scandal
686:
698:
571:
Vortigern: an Historical Play, with an Original Preface
532:
Memoirs of Jeanne d'Arc, surnamed La Pucelle d'Orleans
555:(4 volumes), 1829–31. (Page images at Google Books:
534:, 1824 (two volumes). (Page images at Google Books:
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658:
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648:
492:
Gondez the Monk: A Romance of the Thirteenth Century
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An Authentic Account of the Shaksperian Manuscripts
391:
An Authentic Account of the Shaksperian Manuscripts
19:For the Ontario merchant and political figure, see
1064:
892:
777:
310:
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16:English forger of Shakespeare writings, 1775–1835
1227:
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591:A New and Complete History of the Isle of Thanet
553:A New and Complete History of the County of Kent
1251:18th-century British dramatists and playwrights
328:After extensive negotiations, Irish playwright
300:The experts of the day authenticated them all.
240:. He was strongly influenced by the 1780 novel
152:unknown Ireland, née Bayly, née Pepper (1804–?)
204:(1775–1835) was an English forger of would-be
1199:William Henry Ireland's Shakespeare Forgeries
1217:Inside the Collection: A Shakespeare Forgery
853:
752:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
704:
1037:Lynch, Jack (2009). "Forging Shakespeare".
823:
692:
38:
426:Ireland is one of the main characters in
509:The Confessions of William Henry Ireland
398:The Confessions of William Henry Ireland
380:
833:William Shakespeare: Records and Images
749:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
283:(with a lock of hair attached), and to
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990:Princeton University Library Chronicle
745:
668:
577:Ireland's History of the Isle of Grain
798:
680:
47:, hand-coloured stipple engraving by
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362:published his own exhaustive study,
149:Alice Crudge (4 July 1796–her death)
1007:10.25290/prinunivlibrchro.66.1.0079
478:Rimualdo: Or, The Castle of Badajos
13:
880:
253:
21:William Henry Ireland (politician)
14:
1297:
1192:
1171:Wilkie, Vanessa (22 April 2020).
567:; reprinted 1919, London: Virtue)
53:National Portrait Gallery, London
615:Ireland's History of Chislehurst
396:In 1805 William Henry published
1286:Publishers (people) from London
447:
1261:18th-century English criminals
1256:19th-century English novelists
1246:18th-century English novelists
1020:The Paradigm of the Picaresque
710:
627:Ireland's History of Gravesend
573:, 1832, London: Joseph Thomas.
1:
895:The Great Shakespeare Forgery
639:
603:Ireland's History of Woolwich
260:Ireland Shakespeare forgeries
216:
190:Anna Maria de Burgh Coppinger
123:Ireland Shakespeare forgeries
1016:Das Paradigma des Pikaresken
999:Princeton University Library
766:UK public library membership
51:after Unknown artist, 1818,
7:
1133:. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
968:Lawrence-Young, D. (2014).
436:, though the contacts with
10:
1302:
738:
314:
257:
114:clerk, writer, illustrator
18:
1276:Writers of Gothic fiction
526:Henry Fielding's Proverbs
330:Richard Brinsley Sheridan
176:
159:
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128:
118:
110:
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95:St George's-in-the-Fields
79:
60:
37:
30:
923:(illustrated ed.).
901:W. W. Norton and Company
232:, and probably knew the
925:Lehigh University Press
406:French national library
1148:Stewart, Doug (2010).
1099:Shakespeare and Others
758:10.1093/ref:odnb/14451
386:
1281:Criminals from London
463:The Abbess: A Romance
384:
311:"This Solemn Mockery"
202:William Henry Ireland
45:William Henry Ireland
32:William Henry Ireland
1206:Vortigern and Rowena
857:(20 November 2008).
718:"Review of Rimualdo"
410:Vortigern and Rowena
370:Vortigern and Rowena
324:Vortigern and Rowena
317:Vortigern and Rowena
136:Vortigern and Rowena
1271:Writers from London
1130:Shakespeare's Lives
1045:. pp. 204–38.
839:. pp. 117–54.
542:) a translation of
433:The Lambs of London
272:for his patronage.
270:Earl of Southampton
166:Anna Maria de Burgh
49:Frederick Mackenzie
1125:Schoenbaum, Samuel
1095:Schoenbaum, Samuel
1087:Schoenbaum, Samuel
889:Grebanier, Bernard
855:Winterbotham, Alex
829:Schoenbaum, Samuel
825:Schoenbaum, Samuel
404:and worked in the
387:
341:John Philip Kemble
334:Drury Lane Theatre
279:faith, letters to
960:978-0-7734-6269-4
802:(6 August 2003).
764:(Subscription or
705:Winterbotham 2008
377:Forgeries exposed
230:Thomas Chatterton
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345:April Fool's Day
243:Love and Madness
238:James Macpherson
169:another daughter
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945:, ed. (2004).
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71:2 August 1775
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1180:. Retrieved
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899:. New York:
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868:. Retrieved
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837:Scolar Press
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725:. Retrieved
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130:Notable work
91:Sussex Place
85:(1835-04-17)
44:
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1241:1835 deaths
1236:1775 births
1105:. pp.
859:"Vortigern"
784:. Picador.
669:Baines 2011
520:Page images
103:Nationality
1230:Categories
1204:A text of
1182:26 October
1140:0198186185
1071:. Sutton.
835:. London:
768:required.)
727:30 October
681:Lundy 2003
640:References
277:Protestant
217:Early life
67:1775-08-02
1001:: 79–96.
870:9 October
815:9 October
518:, 1815. (
442:Mary Lamb
417:Histories
356:Vortigern
296:King Lear
236:poems of
1127:(1991).
1089:(1985).
1063:(2004).
919:(1998).
891:(1965).
776:(2001).
565:Volume 4
561:Volume 3
557:Volume 2
544:Voltaire
540:Volume 2
536:Volume 1
192:(mother)
186:(father)
160:Children
97:, London
1266:Forgers
1097:(ed.).
864:Varsity
831:(ed.).
739:Sources
548:Pucelle
438:Charles
177:Parents
143:Spouses
106:English
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458:(1796)
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