Member-Only Login JOIN NOW | RENEW
0 items | £0.00

No products in the basket.

0 items | £0.00

No products in the basket.

Welcome to The de Vere Society

‘We all love Shakespeare, whoever he was.’ – Sir Derek Jacobi, Patron

The de Vere Society is a registered charity promoting knowledge of the life of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, a Tudor playwright praised by Queen Elizabeth I for his ‘outstanding mind and virtue’ and hailed by King James I as ‘Great Oxford’. His contemporaries awarded the ‘highest prize’ to his works, but what has become of them? If you are interested in the proposition that de Vere’s ‘lost’ plays are those which now bear the name ‘William Shakespeare’, please join us, participate, investigate and celebrate – new members and enquirers are very welcome!  –  Alexander Waugh, Chairman

 

De Vere Society Large Colour Block Burgundy logo

About Us

Read More
De Vere Society large Colour Block gold logo

Edward de Vere

Read More
De Vere Society large Colour Block grey

Shakespeare Authorship Question

Read More

“For all your Writers do consent, that ipse is he:
now you are not ipse, for I am he.”
Touchstone to William in As You Like It, V. i.

Quotes from Famous Sceptics

Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin

“In the work of the greatest geniuses, humble beginnings will reveal themselves somewhere but one cannot trace the slightest sign of them in Shakespeare … Whoever wrote [Shakespeare] had an aristocratic attitude.” Charlie Chaplin Biography Chaplin’s early life was marked by hardship and poverty. His parents....
Read more
Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)

Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)

“How curious and interesting is the parallel – as far as poverty of biographical details is concerned – between Satan and Shakespeare … They are the best-known unknown persons that have ever drawn breath upon the planet.” Samuel Clemens Biography Samuel Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was bo....
Read more
Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud

“I no longer believe that … the actor from Stratford was the author of the works that have been ascribed to him … I am almost convinced that the assumed name conceals the personality of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford … The man of Stratford seems to have nothing at all to justify his […]....
Read more
Henry James

Henry James

“I am sort of haunted by the conviction that the divine William is the biggest and most successful fraud ever practiced on a patient world.”  Henry James Biography Henry James, a renowned American writer, was born on April 15, 1843, in New York City. He came from a prominent and intellectually inclined family.....
Read more
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“… he was a jovial actor and manager. I cannot marry this fact to his verse … but that this man of men, he who gave to the science of mind a new and larger subject than had ever existed … that he should not be wise for himself;—it must even go into the world’s […]....
Read more
Malcolm X

Malcolm X

“The King James translation of the Bible is considered the greatest piece of literature in English … They say that from 1604 to 1611, King James got poets to translate, to write the Bible. Well, if Shakespeare existed, he was then the top poet around. But Shakespeare is nowhere reported connected with the Bible. If....
Read more
Orson Welles

Orson Welles

“I think Oxford wrote Shakespeare. If you don’t, there are some awfully funny coincidences to explain away …”  Orson Welles Biography Orson Welles, born George Orson Welles on May 6, 1915, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was an American actor, director, writer, and producer whose innovative work in theater, radio, ....
Read more
Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman

“ … only one of the ‘wolfish earls’ so plenteous in the plays themselves, or some born descendant and knower, might seem to be the true author of those amazing works — works in some respects greater than anything else in recorded history … I am firm against Shaksper. I mean the Avon man, the […]....
Read more
Daphne du Maurier

Daphne du Maurier

(Letter dated 4th January 1956): “Are you interested in the opening up of Walsingham’s tomb, to look for Shakespeare’s MS? I wish they would find something, if only to irritate the Stratford people!”  Daphne du Maurier Biography Daphne du Maurier was a celebrated British author known for her captivating novels....
Read more
Sir Derek Jacobi

Sir Derek Jacobi

“Where did this Shakespeare come from? Where did all that knowledge and eloquence and truth come from? … I believe Edward de Vere and not William Shakespeare [of Stratford] wrote Richard II and, in fact, all the plays attributed to the man from Stratford.”  Sir Derek Jacobi Biography Sir Derek Jacobi, bo....
Read more
Sir Mark Rylance

Sir Mark Rylance

“Any friend of ‘Shakespeare’ is a friend of ours! In signing the Declaration of Reasonable Doubt along with over 4,500 others to date, we merely want to set the record straight about why some of us have our doubts.”  Sir mark Rylance Biography Sir Mark Rylance, born on January 18, 1960, in Ashford, Kent, is [&....
Read more
Anne Rice

Anne Rice

“I’m falling in love with this idea that the real Shakespeare was Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford … It is astonishing what the Edward de Vere camp has turned up in the way of research to explain all kinds of mysteries of the plays and the life of the so-called Shakespeare. Very, very […]....
Read more
Robin Williams

Robin Williams

“You think about William Shakespeare, you think a man basically with a second grade education wrote some of the greatest poetry of all times? I think maybe not.”  Robin Williams Biography Robin Williams, born on July 21, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois, was an immensely talented American actor and comedian known fo....
Read more
Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves

“I’ve always wanted to know since I was growing up who really wrote the plays of Shakespeare. So I want to be there at that moment when ‘Shakespeare’ – because I don’t think it was William Shakespeare, I’m an Edward de Vere-ian, so the Earl of Oxford – so I’d like to be there 1600’s […]....
Read more
John Paul Stevens (US Supreme Court Justice)

John Paul Stevens (US Supreme ...

“I have lingering concerns about some of the gaps in the evidence … You can’t help but have these gnawing doubts that this author may, perhaps, have been someone else … Shakespeare is a pseudonym for an exceptionally well-educated person of noble birth who was close to the English throne.” John Paul Stevens B....
Read more
Sir Roger Penrose

Sir Roger Penrose

The winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize for Physics: “The [Looney] book made a very strong case – I think I am rather persuaded that … it was Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford … I went to see The Tempest … and that seemed to me very clearly a play where the author […]....
Read more

Media

YOUTUBE: Alexander Waugh
YOUTUBE: DVS Videos
FILM & VIDEOS
PODCASTS

Oxfordian News

GREAT OXFORD BOX SET I-III – Limited Edition

GREAT OXFORD BOX SET I-III –...

Oxfordian News
“Who seeks and will not take, when once ’tis offer’d, Shall never find it more” Antony & Cleopatra Act II scene 7. GREAT OXFORD BOX SET I-III – Limited Edition The de Vere Society is proud to announce the arrival of Great Oxford I-III, a beautiful boxed-set of three hardback volumes celebrating over twen....
Read more
Rosemary Loughlin’s interview with Frank Tynan on WED Kilkenny

Rosemary Loughlin’s inte...

Oxfordian News
In the run up to the performance of her one woman show A Rose by Any Other Name at Rothe House, Kilkenny on Saturday 5 August as part of the Alternative Kilkenny Arts Festival, Rosemary Loughlin was interviewed by Frank Tynan on WED Kilkenny Today (interview from 31:15). Frank chatted with Rose about how she […]....
Read more

Become a Member

JOIN THE DE VERE SOCIETY
De vere society Meeting combined

The de Vere Society always welcomes new members, whether you have been an Oxfordian for years and would like to share your enthusiasm with others, or are new to the Authorship Question and wish to discover more. You need only a love of Shakespeare’s works and an open interest in the Authorship Question to join.

Make a Donation

If you would like to make a donation of any amount towards the de Vere Society’s ongoing research and educational activities, please click the Donate Now button.
paypal
Annual Membership
£30.00 or $60.00
ANNUALLY
  • Click the Join Now button below
  • Pay via PayPal, credit or debit card
  • Complete the registration form
  • Other payment options possible
  • Await your welcome pack!
Join Now
Lifetime Membership
£300.00 or $600.00
ONE-OFF PAYMENT
  • Click the Join Now button below
  • Pay via PayPal, credit or debit card
  • Complete the registration form
  • Other payment options possible
  • Await your welcome pack!
Join Now

Among many benefits, as a member of the de Vere Society you will:

  • Receive a welcome pack and de Vere Society membership card.
  • Receive four de Vere Society newsletters a year (for members only).
  • Have access to the Member-Only area of the website (with additional material not publicly available).
  • Be able to join the de Vere Society Members’ Forum.
  • Have the opportunity to meet fellow Oxfordians from all over the world at our regular member meetings. These are held at least twice a year, one usually near central London. Additional meetings and special Society events are also organised for members in interesting de Vere-related locations.
  • Be better able to conduct research. We can help with your studies by commenting on your ideas, offering the opportunity to present your work at a meeting and/or publishing it in the de Vere Society newsletter. We also have a research fund for expenses incurred.
  • Be able to use our substantial de Vere Society library at Brunel University, west London.
  • Have access to de Vere Society YouTube presentations, videos and podcasts on our website (some for members only).
  • Be among the first to know about an array of de Vere Society related events and research going on around the country and around the world in the field of Shakespeare and Authorship Studies.
  • And finally … de Vere Society branded merchandise will soon be available to buy from our online shop!

De Vere Society Events

UPCOMING & PAST EVENTS

De Vere Society Library

Books & Journals
Articles & Reviews
Film, TV & Theatre
Online Sources
SAQ Organisations
Websites & Blogs