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Ireland Shakespeare forgeries
The Ireland Shakespeare forgeries were a cause célèbre in 1790s London, when author and engraver Samuel Ireland announced the discovery of a treasure-trove of Shakespearean manuscripts by his son William Henry Ireland. Among them were the manuscripts of four plays, two of them previously unknown. Such respected literary figures as James Boswell (biographer of Samuel Johnson) and poet-laureate Henry James Pye pronounced them genuine, as did various antiquarian experts. Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the leading theatre manager of his day, agreed to present one of the newly discovered plays with John Philip Kemble in the starring rôle. Excitement over the biographical and literary significance of the find turned to acrimony when it was charged that the documents were forgeries. Edmond Malone, the greatest Shakespeare scholar of his time, showed conclusively that the language, orthography, and handwriting were not those of the times and persons to which they were credited, and William Henry Ireland, the supposed discoverer, confessed to the fraud.
==Background==
Although Shakespeare's works were readily available in versions both for the learned and for the general public, no satisfactory biography could be constructed. In spite of an intensive search by would-be Shakespeare biographers from Nicholas Rowe to Edmond Malone, only scraps and legends turned up. There was an intense hope and expectation that some documents would surface to fill the gap.
Samuel Ireland was an eager collector of antique relics—his collection included a piece of Charles II's cloak, Oliver Cromwell's leather jacket, and Joseph Addison's fruit knife〔Bernard Grebanier, ''The Great Shakespeare Hoax'', pp. 42–43.〕—as well as a Shakespeare enthusiast. While gathering material for a forthcoming book, ''Picturesque Tours of the Upper, or Warwickshire Avon'', he passed through Stratford on Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace, by then already capitalising on this claim to fame, and made inquiries about the life of the dramatist. Although he had the satisfaction of being the first to introduce Shakespeare's crabtree and Anne Hathaway's cottage to the general public, Shakespeare documents eluded him.〔Schoenbaum, ''Shakespeare's Lives'', pp. 191–192.〕
His son William Henry Ireland had a fascination with forgery. He was heavily influenced by the novel ''Love and Madness'' by Herbert Croft which contained lengthy passages on the forger Thomas Chatterton. William witnessed his father's frustration first-hand. One moment, in particular, struck him forcibly. Knowing that the furniture and papers from New Place, Shakespeare's last residence, had been moved to Clopton house when New Place was demolished, Samuel Ireland reasoned that Shakespearean manuscripts might well be found there.〔Samuel Ireland, ''Picturesque Views on the Upper, or Warwickshire, Avon'' (London 1796), p. 204; William Henry says that old residents told them papers had been moved there at the time of the Stratford fire.〕 Upon visiting however, he was informed by the current tenant that all the old papers—many of them Shakespeare's—had recently been burned. Samuel Ireland's distress at this news made a strong impression on the young man—even though it later turned out that this story was a nothing more than a joke at Ireland's expense.〔William Henry Ireland related this story in the ''Authentic Account'' (pp.5–6), the ''Confessions'' (pp. 30–33), and the unpublished ''Full and Explanatory Account'' (according to Schoenbaum, p. 192). Edmond Malone investigated the incident, writing to the owner about the propriety of a tenant destroying his landlord's papers; the tenant denied the incident and admitted it was a practical joke. Mair, pp. 19–20, and Schoenbaum, p. 193, have brief accounts of the subsequent investigation of the incident.〕 According to the younger Ireland's confessions, it was to please his father that he embarked on the career of literary forgery that would ultimately ruin them both.〔''Confessions'', p. 302.〕
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