J. Stirling Coyne
London: National Acting Drama Office, 1847?
Written in the 1840s, during the controversy over the sale of Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford, this play imagines the ghost of the playwright haunting the new owner, a nouveau riche fishmonger who, like the English public, no longer appreciates him and his works. This is an example of the use of Shakespeare as a mouthpiece for a cause, in this case, the preservation of historic buildings in Stratford-upon-Avon. —VH