Hyperlinked Subject Index 1: Shakespeare's Family.

Susan Herbert née de Vere, Countess of Montgomery, and her family.

Introduction:

After some 13 years, it feels like time to begin to tie my various writings on Shakespeare and the Shakespeare Authorship Question together highlighting key themes and directing the reader to the essays and books (monographs) in which they can find the full range of information on each. Together, those posted over the years, in my Virtual Grub Street family of blogs, can be considered chapters of free or in-progress monographs.

The indexes will be just what the name implies as regards my books. They will provide a road map, with descriptions, to more developed information in my various paper and digital books. The citations will be to paragraph numbers rather than page numbers such that they will match between both paper and digital editions.

I am what is generally referred to as an “Oxfordian”. I state outright, here, that my works taken together more than suffice to prove that Edward de Vere, the 17^th Earl of Oxford, was the man behind the pen-name Shakespeare. The evidence is compelling. None depends at all on ciphers, codes or conspiracies.

The reader will find that I often write about the works of Shakespeare without reference to the Authorship Question. I do not consider this wasted time in the least. Not everything is directly related to that question but there is little that is not at least indirectly related. Sources, tone, style, plots and sub-plots, all of these are potential evidence. Considering these not only reminds us of the pleasure of reading or watching the works — the ultimate reason for studying them — but it also gives essential context for the question at hand. It is important not to throw out the Shakespeare with the bathwater.

I will, of course, continue writing essays and books on the topic and linking to them from the appropriate Subject Index page. There is vastly more unknown and little-known information, stashed in one or another file, still to be revealed. The Authorship Question is a jigsaw puzzle with thousands of pieces. It is a challenging puzzle but as the picture comes together the position of the remaining pieces becomes ever clearer. As I watch the image of Edward de Vere emerge ever more clearly the gratification of patiently assembling it, with the help of others (most of whom had no conscious knowledge, much less intention, of helping), is immense.

Shakespeare's Family:

On the general principle that it is best to start a work with something light, the following entries relate to the family of Edward de Vere.

Edward de Vere was Shakespeare: at Long Last the Proof. (Digital, 2013. Paper, 2017)

Each of Edward de Vere's children appear in this short biography, including in-laws William Herbert, the 3^rd Earl of Pembroke, and brother of Susan's husband, Philip Herbert, the 1^st Earl of Montgomery. The Shakespeare First Folio was dedicated to the Herbert brothers. The argument is presented for William Herbert as the “Mr. W.H.” to whom Shake-speares Sonnets (1509) were dedicated. Elizabeth and her husband, William Stanley, the Earl of Derby, also play important roles regarding at least two of Shakespeare's plays.

Beyond his three daughters — Elizabeth, Susan and Brigit — Vere also had three sons. One died within hours of birth. One was illegitimate and got him exiled for a number of years from Queen Elizabeth's presence. One was legitimate and lived long enough to inherit the Earldom of Oxford but died soon after. All the legitimate children were born to him and his two wives — Anne and Elizabeth.

“Edward de Vere's Memorial For His Son, Who Died at Birth May 1583.” Virtual Grub Street, July 05, 2017.

This four page essay begins with an account of the birth of Edward de Vere's first wife, Anne de Vere née Cecil, Countess of Oxford, and their deeply troubled marriage. After an extended separation, Edward agreed to reconstitute a household together in 1583. A son was born soon after who died in a matter of hours. Anne wrote numerous poems in her grief. Edward wrote at least one that is known as the 33^rd sonnet of Shakespeare.

“Desperately Seeking Brigit De Vere.” Virtual Grub Street, August 24, 2014. 

This essay follows the life of Edward de Vere's youngest daughter, Brigit, and her striking relationship to William Herbert, the 3^rd Earl of Pembroke, to whom the Shakespeare First Folio was dedicated, and to William Basse, who wrote the first known epitaph on the death of Shakespeare well before the appearance of the First Folio. The details of the epitaph do not match the monument at Trinity Church, in Stratford, but are consistent with the purported tomb of Edward de Vere (which no longer exists). There is scads of court intrigue, here, surrounding the long life of Brigit.

Shakespeare's The Tempest: a Wedding Masque for Susan de Vere. (Digital, 2024)

This monograph provides very considerable information about Vere's middle daughter, Susan Herbert, née De Vere, the Countess of Montgomery. Also on the Herbert brothers. Also about the book she co-authored, together with William Herbert's mistress, that borrows at some length from Shakespeare's The Tempest and The Winter's Tale.

"Sir Edward Vere to Sir William Browne. August 14, 1603." Virtual Grub Street,  April 30, 2022.

A letter from Sir Edward — the illegitimate son of Edward de Vere and Anne Vavasour — serving in the English army in the Netherlands, in which he promises full repayment of an outstanding debt, complains that the general of his forces is too cautious to engage the enemy and describes the maneuvering of the various forces.

“The Death of Sir Edward Vere, son of the 17th Earl of Oxford and Anne Vavasour.” Virtual Grub Street, May 08, 2022. 

Sir Edward Vere, the illegitimate son of Edward de Vere and Anne Vavasour, lived a modest life divided between study and soldiering. He seems to have been a companionable guy. He died in a shocking way.