New book on Mary Sidney as author!

A new book has just come out about Mary Sidney as author of the Shakespearean works! Fred Faulkes, a librarian in Vancouver, has just published the first of fifteen volumes, called Tiger's Heart in Woman's Hide. I'm part way through the book, and I'm impressed with his work. His entire collection of fifteen volumes will take him a while to produce in its entirety, but will, I believe, be a most invaluable contribution to this Shakespearean authorship question.

"After an exhaustive trawl through the Elizabethan archives, [Fred Faulkes] is surprised to discover that the question of Shakespeare’s authorship was alive right from the very beginning and would thereafter feature regularly in the satirical press. Yes, there was an actor by the name of William Shakspere but behind him, doing the writing, there appears to have been a woman." And that woman, of course, is Mary Sidney.

It is so exciting, and very confirming, that others have independently come to the same conclusion. Fred is actively encouraging others to pursue this possibility, and so are we all at the Mary Sidney Society. I'll be posting a list of things that would be good starting points for further inquiry.

The Understanders

Well, our 13-week line-by-line discussion of The Merchant of Venice is drawing to a close. It was a grand adventure -- we all thought we knew what the play was about, we thought we understood it. But going through it line-by-line and making sure we understood every word, every nuance, every implication, made us realize the play is deeper and richer and more magnificent than we originally thought -- and we already thought very highly!

The next Understanders is a 17-week discussion of King Lear. If you're in the Santa Fe area, please join us! Check The Understanders web site for more info about what The Understanders is all about, what we've been learning, or to sign up for the next class.

Shakespeare at Sea

Well, this is a hoot! Neil Bauman of Geek Cruises is putting together several non-geek cruises -- one on opera, one on chess, and a ten-day cruise to the Panama Canal called Shakespeare at Sea! It leaves from Ft. Lauderdale and wanders around the Caribbean, goes into the Panama Canal and turns around in that big lake, then heads on back. The cruise is co-sponsored with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. There's quite a nice line-up of presentations, films, discussions, performances. I'll be giving four or five talks, plus I'll be the emcee for a really great quiz show. And I'm working on creating pages of "Shakespeare" games that will be slipped under your door every morning, games that test your knowledge of the works. Oh, it's much more fun to do this than to work for a living.

I will bring along a presentation about Mary Sidney and her role in the authorship question, just in case anyone is interested in hearing more about the possibility. But nothing will be pre-publicized about that talk because there are those who are afraid it might make some people refuse to show up! ;-) Which is true. sigh.

The cruise-plus-conference is rather expensive (depending on the room you choose), but Neil has kindly offered a "Friends of Robin" discount of $300 per person if you sign up before Thanksgiving. It would be great if I wasn't the only MarySidneian on board!

The Cygnet, a journal of inquiry

The Mary Sidney Society has published its first journal, called The Cygnet. The journal is dedicated to publishing articles relating to all aspects of Mary Sidney, her relationship to the authorship question, pertinent information about the Shakespearean works, as well as articles about other unsung women. The journal is sent to members of the Mary Sidney Society, but when our redesigned web site is up, we'll have a shopping cart where the limited number of extra copies will be available. It's not only an interesting journal, it's beautiful!

Sidney Supper 2006

The Fourth Annual Sidney Supper celebrating Mary Sidney's birthday was a Grand Success! We had a pageant full of earnest volunteers, a feast, Falstaff's Photo Op, an Elizabethan dance lesson! People came from California, Texas, Kentucky, and Ohio. Dana Evans showed her eleven-minute trailer with which she's applying for funds for a documentary.

The Cygnet Award to honor unsung women was presented to Beatrice Ntuba of Cameroon, accepted by Barbara Riley. The Bard-Buster Award for the person who has spent inordinate time and energy toward the authorship question and Mary Sidney was awarded by Jim’Bo Norrena to Dana Evans -- she was presented with a plaster bust of William Shakespeare, which she can decorate as she likes over the next year; at the Sidney supper 2007, she will present the award to the next worthy winner.

There are a few photos posted on our iWeb site. We hope you can either join us next year or start your own tradition of Sidney Suppers in your hometown! This event was sponsored by the Mary Sidney Society.

Breakfast with Mark Rylance

Mark Rylance was the original Artistic Director of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London from the time it opened in 1996 until this 2006 season. He's also the Director of the Shakespearean Authorship Trust in London, which was started in 1922 to support research into the authorship. He's also one of the greatest Shakespearean actors today. Mark's adorable wife, Claire van Kampen, also recently stepped down as the Musical Director at the Globe. They were both staying with friends in Santa Fe for a week and we had breakfast together.

Since Mark and Claire left the Globe, they've been pretty closed about what future options they're exploring. I do know that Mark is writing several plays, including one about the authorship. In it, Mark gets visited by William Shakespeare; Sir Francis Bacon; Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford; and Mary Sidney. Each one talks about their authorship of the plays and sonnets, and Mark goes into the audience with a microphone so they can ask questions of the candidates. He's asked me to go to London for a month to help train the actress to "be" Mary Sidney. Gosh darn, I'll have to live in London for a month. ;-) The play will open in Chichester sometime in early 2007.

My SwanMobile!

Okay, I will bet that I have the only Toyota Matrix in the world with a chrome-plated swan hood ornament. I bought it on eBay for $9. Tommy Segura, my dear friend and one of the greatest guys in the world, shined it up and put it on for me.
 
Now my car—with its license plate holder that says “Mary Sidney” and its bumper sticker that says “Who is Mary Sidney” and now its swan hood ornament—is a traveling commercial. The things one must do to sell books.