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DVS Reviews
reviews by members of the de vere society showing the range of our research
Reviews 2025
Shakespeare’s Greater Greek: An Exploration of Greek Drama, Epic & History in the Works of Shakespeare
by Earl Showerman Published by Greater Greek Group, June 2025
To quote Eddi Jolly's review, ‘Earl Showerman has found his exploration of the plays a “life-changing experience”, and this sensation leaps from every page. For all Oxfordians it is a treat to have Showerman’s body of work presented in one volume... ‘
Warren Thomas Hope’s Is that True? Shakespearean Explorations
Editor Gary Goldstein Publisher: Laugwitz Verlag
To quote Jan Scheffer’s review. ‘Is That True? is a compilation of fifty years of scholarship and research by a seasoned professor of English, meticulously selected and edited by Gary Goldstein. It is an absolute pleasure to read.’
Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet at the Globe in June 2025 Directed by Sean Holmes
Reviewed by Maritza Léger and Amanda Hinds (Summer 2025)
Sadly, the reviewers ‘found this production disappointing, even though it was reasonably true to the text. ... It was neither Shakespeare’s version nor a convincing ‘transposition’. The Globe should do better than this.
The Taming of the Shrew performed by Shakespeare in the Squares Directed by Toby Gordon
Reviewed by Tony Herbert (Summer 2025)
As Tony says, ‘Another knock-about, funny, musical take on Shakespeare, out in the open air, from the wonderful Shakespeare in the Squares. It’s often thought to be misogynist, so modern directors shy away from it. Not our very talented director, Toby Gordon.’
William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing
Reviewer: Jessica Lee (Spring 2025)
In this review, Jessica Lee reflects on Jamie Lloyd’s vibrant production of Much Ado About Nothing at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. She considers how its bold, modern staging made the play accessible, comic, and thoroughly enjoyable for a broad audience.
William Shakespeare’s Richard II
Reviewer: Maritza Léger (Spring 2025)
In this review, Maritza Léger reflects on Nicholas Hytner’s production of Richard II at the Bridge Theatre. She highlights the compelling central performance and the production’s ability to bring fresh energy and immediacy to this powerful history play.
The Bard and the Gunpowder Plot: On the 400th anniversary of the greatest literary hoax of all time
Reviewer: Jack Shuttleworth (Winter 2025)
Nick Kollerstrom reports collaboration between Oxford and Derby as ‘twin souls’ – Oxford with the ‘mind of the master’; and Gunpowder Plot as ‘state-fabricated’.
Reviews 2024
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Reviewer: Jessica Lee (Autumn 2024)
Jessica describes an extraordinarily production of Macbeth at the Harold Pinter Theatre. The audience listens to the text through headphones, with the actors dressed in black and white behind a screen. The actors speaking to them personally made the ‘disintegrating passion between the Macbeths palpable’. Jessica concluded that ‘de Vere would have been delighted’.
The Earl’s Stage: Celebrating the Magic of Theatre & Performance
Reviewer: Amanda Hinds (Autumn 2024)
Amanda Hinds reviews the DVS webinar The Earl’s Stage Celebrating the Theatre & Performance in which Cheryl Egan-Donovan describes Edward de Vere’s theatrical career as a ‘subversive force of misrule’, Rosemary Loughlin her ‘magic moments’ while following his travels and Richard Clifford his fascination with autobiographical aspects of the plays.
Shakespeare’s French Connection: How the History, Literature and Culture of France Permeate the Plays
Reviewer: Elizabeth Imlay (Autumn 2024)
Elizabeth Imlay explains this book as a sequel to work by Margarethe, better known to us as Eddi, on Belleforest in The First Two Quartos of Hamlet and shows that ‘Almost every play has a French connection’. This book results from painstaking sleuthing through the works – and their links with the career of the 17th Earl of Oxford.
Shakespeare's French Connection by Margrethe Jolly
Reviewer: Richard Malim (Autumn 2024)
How the history, literature and culture of France permeate the plays. This book analyses the extensive French influences in William Shakespeare 's work. Although he locates many of his plays in Italy and England, he frequently uses a variety of settings in France and is so comfortable in French that he includes puns, scatological jokes, and other remarks in the language.
All's Well that Ends Well by Shakespeare in the Squares
Reviewer: Tony Herbert (Summer 2024)
All's Well That Ends Well, produced by Shakespeare in the Squares.
Elizabeth Winkler and Sir Derek Jacobi interviewed by Stephanie Merrittat the London Library
Reviewer: Rosemary Loughlin (Summer 2024)
Elizabeth Winkler and Sir Derek Jacobi interviewed by Stephanie Merrittat the London Library
Metametamorphoses by Ned Devere
Reviewer: Rosemary Loughlin (Summer 2024)
Metametamorphoses, by Ned Devere
Merchant of Venice at the Criterion Theatre
Reviewer: Jack Shuttleworth (Spring 2024)
This Merchant features Shylock ‘as a female moneylender of London’s East End in 1936’. Our reviewer believes that de Vere ‘would applaud with the audience’ and that the production confirms that Shakespeare ‘was not for an age but for all time’.
The Shakespearean Hand of Edward de Vere by Tony Hosking
Reviewer: Richard Malim (Spring 2024)
‘This is a truly wonderful book, the product of years of research’. But the ‘fly in the ointment’ was that the author was ‘still in hock to the Malone concoction play dating’.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth produced at Dock X, Canada Water Retail Park
Reviewer: Jessica Lee (Spring 2024)
A well-received production in an out-of-the-way venue with technical problems that did not help – although the lines were ‘clearly and beautifully delivered’
The Shakespeare Problem Restated and other books by Sir George Greenwood
Reviewer: Jack Shuttleworth (Winter 2024)
Review of the entertaining and important works of a remarkable President of the Shakespeare Fellowship in the early 20th century who refused to name an authorship candidate to replace the ‘Stratford rustic’ – and infuriated the Stratfordian establishment
Shakespeare, Elizabeth and Ivan: The Role of English Russian Relations in Love’s Labours Lost by Rima Greenhill
Reviewer: Phoebe Nir (Winter 2024)
A new form of review of an important book throwing new light on historical aspects of Love’s Labours Lost
Reviews 2023
The True Tragedy of Richard III: An Early Play by the True William Shakespeare, Edward de Vere, seventeenth Earl of Oxford edited by Ramon Jiménez
Reviewer: Richard Malim (October 2023)
'Jiménez confirms his reputation as a leading scholar of Shakespeare’s juvenilia, and the overall editors of the series are also to be congratulated on this first-rate production'.
The Tudors in Love by Sara Gristwood
Reviewer: Mike Gansecki (October 2023)
'Framed around the concept of courtly love and especially how it was
employed by the Tudor dynasty, [ … ] this is one of very few histories by a Stratfordian that acknowledge de Vere as a major courtier in Elizabeth’s early reign.'
The Seventeenth Earl of Oxford (1550-1604) by Bernard M. Ward, a new edition edited by James A. Warren
Reviewer: Amanda Hinds (July 2023)
Jim Warren’s excellent 30-page introduction is an important reason for buying this edition because it provides the context in which the book was published, ... and explains why it is still worth reading today.'
Behind the Mask of William Shakespeare by Abel Lefranc, newly translated by Frank Lawler
Reviewer: Michael Delahoyde (July 2023)
This detailed and valuable review concludes that Frank Lawler’s new edition ‘… is not just a translation, the thing is an encyclopaedia.’.
Shakespeare was a Woman and Other Heresies
By Elizabeth Winkler (July 2023)
Reviewer: Brigadier General Jack Shuttleworth
Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare presented at the Sam Wanamaker Theatre at London’s Globe
Reviewer: Jack Shuttleworth (April 2023)
‘For a traditionalist, Titus at the Wanamaker was wondrously strange and surprisingly successful.’
Educating Shakespeare by Stephanie Hopkins Hughes
Reviewer: Jonathan Foss (April 2023)
Quoting Ellen Winner, Hughes concludes ‘Few children break through and change the world. These ‘creators’ have interesting qualities’, providing, as Foss says, ... ‘a perfect description of Shakespeare’.
The Tempest by William Shakespeare, presented in 2022 at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and in London at the Globe
Reviewer: Jack Shuttleworth (January 2023)
The title of this review ‘The Oregon Roaring Tempest and the Globe’s speedo Tempest’ sums up these performances, which the reviewer hopes ‘... are aberrations and not the norm’.
Reviews 2022
Oxford Voices
Comprehensive review making it easier to navigate this fascinating online publication
Reviewer: Jonathan Foss
The Secret Shakespeare Sex Scandals: Bisexuality and Bastardy by John Hamill
Reviewer: Eddi Jolly
The Secret Shakespeare Sex Scandals: Bisexuality and Bastardy by John Hamill
Reviewer, Eddi Jolly
‘An excellent review of this ‘thought-provoking’ book. Hamill’s ‘exploration of this subject is wide-ranging’.
Shakespearean Authorship Trust Conference 2022
SAT conference held online via Zoom - ‘Volumes that I prize above my dukedom: Shakespeare’s Sources’
Reviewer: Amanda Hinds
The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth
An Early Play by the Real Shakespeare, Edward de Vere, seventeenth Earl of Oxford
Reviewer: Richard Malim
The Living Record
Book by Hank Whittemore. This review concludes that the book is ‘a must-read for those looking for new developments in the life of Shakespeare and as food for thought for any Shakespeare enthusiast.
Reviewer: Jennifer Pommer
Shakespeare’s Revolution
The author’s previous book The Making of Shakespeare is greatly expanded to include Oxford’s juvenilia, the aftermath of his career and his posthumous reputation.
Reviewer: Elizabeth Imlay
Shakespeare’s Revolution
Appreciation by Geoffrey Eyre, with the conclusion: ‘It is a worthy addition to the worldwide authorship quest for truth. It is a delight to read and repays careful study
Reviewer: Geoffrey Eyre
Thomas North
Dennis McCarthy presents the gripping story of Sir Thomas North
Reviewer: Richard Malim
Shakespeare and Religio Mentis
A Study of Christian Hermetism in Four Plays by Jane Nelson A detailed ‘preview’ of limited information available that should ‘generate huge interest amongst both its professional and lay readership.
Reviewer: Robert Baxter
Reviews 2021
Hamlet
Theatre performance starring Sir Ian McKellen at the Theatre Royal, Windsor
Reviewer: Richard Vaughan Davies (October 2021)
Shakespeare Revolutionized
Book by James A. Warren (2021)
Reviewer: Heward Wilkinson (October 2021)
North by Shakespeare: A Rogue Scholar’s Quest for the Truth Behind the Bard’s Work
Book by Michael Blanding (March 2021)
Reviewer: Patrick O'Brien (July 2021)
Renaissance Man: The World of Thomas Watson
Book by Ian Johnson (July 2020)
Reviewer: Kevin Gilvary (January 2021)
Reviews 2020
Who Wrote That? Authorship Controversies from Moses to Sholokhov
By Donald Ostrowski (June 2020)
Reviewer: Kevin Gilvary (October 2020)
The case for Edward de Vere as the real William Shakespeare: A Challenge to Conventional Wisdom
By John Milnes Baker (2020)
Reviewer: Alice Crampin (April 2020)
Shakespeare and the Resistance: The Earl of Southampton, the Essex Rebellion, and the Poems that Challenged Tudor Tyranny
By Clare Asquith (2018)
Reviewer: Tony Herbert (April 2020)
The Upstart Crow
Theatre play by Ben Elton (2020)
Reviewer: Tony Herbert (April 2020)
A Question of Will
By Lynne Kositsky (2001/2019)
Reviewer: Alice Crampin (January 2020)
Reviews 2019
Early Shakespeare Authorship Doubts
By Bryan Wildenthal (2019)
Reviewer: Alice Crampin (October 2019)
Nothing Truer Than Truth
Play by Darrol Blake (2019)
Reviewer: Eddi Jolly (October 2019)
Nothing is Truer Than Truth
Film by Cheryl Eagan-Donovan / Controversy Films (2019)
Reviewer: Tony Herbert (July 2019)
All is True
Film by Kenneth Branagh (2019)
Reviewer: Amanda Hinds (July 2019)
Hamlet’s Elsinore Revisited
By Sven F. Vedi and Gerold Wagner (2018)
Reviewer: Eddi Jolly (April 2019)
Francis Bacon’s Contribution to Shakespeare
By Barry R. Clarke (2019)
Reviewer: Eddi Jolly (April 2019)
Necessary Mischief: Exploring the Shakespeare Authorship Question
By Bonner Miller Cutting (2019)
Reviewer: Richard Malim (April 2019)
Elizabethan Treasures: Miniatures by Hilliard and Oliver
National Portrait Gallery, London (21 February – 19 May 2019)
Reviewer: James Alexander (April 2019)
Shakespeare’s Dark Lady
By John Hudson (2014)
Reviewer: James Alexander (January 2019)
Shakespeare’s Apprentice
By Ramon Jiménez (2018)
Reviewer: Amanda Hinds (January 2019)
Reviews 2018
Shakespeare’s Secrets
Novel by Aaron Tatum (2018)
Reviewer: Evans Donnell (October 2018)
Shakespeare’s Wilderness
By David Rains Wallace (2017)
Reviewer: Patricia Keeney (July 2018)
The Fictional Lives of Shakespeare
By Kevin Gilvary (2018)
Reviewer: Eddi Jolly (April 2018)
Reviews 2017
Reflections on the True Shakespeare
By Gary Goldstein (2016)
Reviewer: Alexander Waugh (January 2017)
The Great Debate: Who Wrote Shakespeare?
Alexander Waugh vs. Jonathan Bate
Reviewers: Julia Cleave and Kevin Gilvary (October 2017)
Reviews 2016
Shakespeare’s Money – How much did he make and what did this mean?
By Robert Bearman (Oxford U.P., 2016)
Reviewer: Richard Malim
The Case for Edward de Vere
By Geoffrey Eyre (2015)
Reviewer: Richard Malim (January 2016)
Reviews 2014
Mr. William Shakespeare and Others: Collaborative Plays
By Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen (eds.)
Reviewer: Richard Malim
Shakespeare and the Countess
The Battle that Gave Birth to the Globe. Dr. C. Laoutaris
Reviewer: Richard Malim
Reviews 2013
Shakespeare Beyond Doubt
By Paul Edmondson and Stanley Wells
Reviewer: Richard Malim
The Truth about William Shakespeare
By David Ellis
Reviewer: Richard Malim
Reviews 2012
The Man Who Was Never Shakespeare
By A. J. Pointon
Reviewer: Kevin Gilvary
Who Wrote Shakespeare’s Plays?
By William D. Rubinstein
Reviewer: Kevin Gilvary
The Shakespeare Guide to Italy: Retracing the Bard’s Unknown Travels
By Richard Paul Roe
Reviewer: Christopher Dams
Reviews 2011
James Shapiro’s TV series ‘The King and the Playwright’
Reviewer: Richard Malim
The Man Who Was Hamlet
George Dillon’s one-man show
Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?
By James Shapiro
Reviewer: DVS
‘Anonymous’ film release
Director: Roland Emmerich
Reviewer: DVS
The Oxfordian Edition of Othello
Edited by Prof. Ren Draya and Richard F. Whalen
Reviewer: Christopher Dams
Shakespeare: The concealed poet
By Robert Detobel
Reviewers: Jan Scheffer and Elke Brackmann
The Man Who Was Never Shakespeare
By A. J. Pointon
Reviewer: Alexander Waugh in the Wall Street Journal Review of Books
Reviews 2010
The Lame Storyteller, Poor and Despised: Studies in Shakespeare
By Peter R. Moore
Reviewer: Richard Malim
Shakespeare and his authors: Critical perspectives on the Authorship Question (Ed: William Leahy)
Reviewer: Richard Malim
Reviews 2009
Soul of the Age – The Life, Mind and World of William Shakespeare
By Jonathan Bate
Reviewer: Richard Malim
The Muse as Therapist: A New Poetic Paradigm for Psychotherapy
By Heward Wilkinson
Reviewer: Richard M. Waugaman
Reviews 2008
Shakespeare Revealed
By Rene Weis
Reviewer: Richard Malim
Reviews 2007
Shakespeare & Co.
By Stanley Wells
Reviewer: Richard Malim
Shakespeare Marlowe Jonson: New Directions in Biography (Eds. Mulryne and Kozuka)
Reviewer: Richard Malim
Reviewer’s note: With a bit more space I would have pointed out more clearly that ‘Sparrow’ in Guy of Warwick and ‘Shaxberd’ in the Court Revels record looks like the same sort of denigration: that Buc’s ‘teste’ reference is to a ‘minister’ (a Churchman) acting in a play, a suggestion so ludicrous as to render the suggested Stratford connection a joke (which it was, and whose?).
The Wonder Mind: Shakespeare the Thinker
By Prof A. D. Nuttall
Reviewer: Richard Malim
I Am Shakespeare
By Mark Rylance
Reviewer: John Gill
Reviews 2006
1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare
By James Shapiro
Reviewer: Richard Malim
Shakespeare’s Invention of the Human
By Harold Bloom
Reviewer: Richard Malim
Fletcher – The ‘Poet-Ape’: Shadowplay
By Claire Asquith
Reviewer: Richard Malim
Pseudonymous Shakespeare
By Penny McCarthy
Reviewer: Richard Malim
Reviews 2005
Will in the World: How Shakespeare became Shakespeare
By Stephen Greenblatt
Reviewer: Richard Malim
Shakespeare: The Biography, an analysis of the book
By Peter Ackroyd
Reviewer: Richard Malim
Reviews 2004
Monstrous Adversary
By Alan Nelson
Observations by Kevin Gilvary, Philip Johnson and Eddi Jolly. “Since 1920, Oxford has been touted by amateur historians and conspiracy theorists as the true author of the poems and plays of William Shakespeare. It has become a matter of urgency to measure the real Oxford against the myth created by his apologists, and uncritically embraced by television documentaries, by playwrights and by the popular press …” Quoted by the publishers on the back cover from the author’s introduction (omitting the final ‘even by justices of the United States Supreme Court’).
Demonography 101
By Peter Moore
[An extended Critique taken from pages 288-311 of The Lame Storyteller, Poor and Despised – see Publications “WE RECOMMEND” – by kind permission of Verlag Uwe Laugwitz.]
The Elizabethan Courtier Poets: Their Poems and their Contexts
By Stephen May
Reviewer: Tom Veal
Reviews 2003
In Search of Shakespeare
Michael Wood; London, BBC (2003)
Reviewer: Kevin Gilvary –
The answers may be correct but the questions are wrong.
Reviews 2001
Shakespeare: A Life
By Park Honan
Reviewer: Richard Malim