Bristol Academic Examines New Shakespeare Evidence

Shakespeare’s marriage might not have been as bitter as believed

A Bristol academic has uncovered evidence that Shakespeare’s marriage to Anne Hathaway might not be as unhappy as we believe.

Professor Matthew Steggle from the University of Bristol’s Department of English, has analysed a letter fragment revealing new details about the playwright’s marriage.

Scholars have believed that the marriage wasn’t great because the couple lived apart – with Shakespeare living in London. For 200 years, the belief remained that Anne stayed in Stratford-upon-Avon because she was ‘illiterate and uncultured’. The fact he left her nothing in his will other than the ‘second-best bed’ cemented the beliefs that there was bitterness between them.

But Professor Steggle has been investigating a fragment of letter accidentally preserved in the binding of a book in Hereford. It’s addressed to “good Mrs Shakespeare” which shows the pair were actually living together in central London at some point between 1600 – 1610.

Until now, there was no written evidence to put Anne in London with Shakespeare, so the discovery has been an exciting one.

The letter suggests that Shakespeare has withheld money from an orphan – John Butts. Someone wrote to Mrs Shakespeare asking for money. But, she stood by her husband’s decision, telling them that it is their problem to find the money.

“First discovered in 1978, the letter’s been known for a while, but no-one could identify the names or places involved or see any reason to think that the Mr Shakespeare in the letter was necessarily William rather than anyone else of the same name in the general period,” Professor Steggle explains. 

 “So, it’s a story about the Shakespeares’ marriage, really, as well as about Shakespeare’s London contacts.  And if the writing of the back of the letter is a reply, then it’s also a story about the first ever bit of writing which can be attributed to Anne Hathaway.”

After searching historical records, Professor Steggle was able to authenticate the details, which are published in the journal Shakespeare.

The letter was used to bind a book in the printing shop of Richard Field – who was friends with Shakespeare.

Now academics are wondering what other letter ‘waste’ might be in other books printed and bound by Field.

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