UK
William Shakespeare was a ‘Jewish woman of north African descent’, new book claims
Emilia Bassano, England’s first published female poet, has long been associated with the Bard
January 26, 2026 14:03
Emilia Bassano, England’s first published female poet, has long been associated with the Bard
January 26, 2026 14:03Mistaken identity is the classic device deployed in some of the Bard’s most celebrated plays – but now, in what could be seen as one of the biggest plot twists in history – a new book claims that the creative genius responsible for the likes of Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Othello was not William Shakespeare but a Sephardic Jewish woman.
The true author of the plays attributed to Shakespeare was in fact the far lesser known writer, Emilia Bassano – England’s first published female poet. That is the argument laid out by Irene Coslet a feminist scholar and author of The Real Shakespeare.
In the book, Coslet contends that “Western-centric and Eurocentric ideology” of meant that, Bassano – also known by her married name, Emilia Lanier – was overlooked in favour of William Shakespeare, and that the apparent misattribution endured because the idea of a white genius was more palatable than that of a multi-ethnic female polymath.
“In the case of Emilia Bassano, the problem is not only historiographical misogyny, but also historiographical racism,” Coslet claims.
"Emilia Bassano was a Moor. She was a Jew. Modern historians failed to give credit to these identities for their role and contribution in Western history.”
Bassano has long been associated with Shakespeare, with some scholars speculating the two were lovers, and that she was the inspiration for the “Dark Lady” described in some of his sonnets.
In 2019, Bassano was the subject of Emilia, an all-female production at The Globe and in 2024, her life was explored in Jodi Picoult’s historical novel By Any Other Name.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Coslet said: “If Shakespeare was a female of colour, this would draw attention to issues of peace and justice in society.
“What if women had a pivotal role and a civilising impact in history, but they have been silenced, belittled and erased from the dominant narrative?
“What would a paradigm shift reveal about ourselves? Such a reflection challenges us to reconsider our understanding of society.”
Dr Sarah Dustagheer, a Shakespearean scholar and head of the school of humanities at the University of Kent, cast doubt on Coslet’s theory, saying: "There are always new claims of candidates who ‘secretly’ wrote Shakespeare … [But] Shakespeare’s plays demonstrate a thorough and engaged knowledge of the realities of the early modern theatre industry – its actors, its dramatic techniques, stage technology, props and costume, as well as audiences. That could only come from someone immersed in that industry and Shakespeare, we know, was an actor and a shareholder in the King’s Men’s theatre company. Many, if not all, alternative candidates just don’t have those connections.”
Dustagheer added: “Thinking about figures such as Emilia Bassano, a Moor and a Jew, I wonder what she and others from her community made of characters such as Shakespeare’s Othello and Shylock from The Merchant of Venice, and in what ways the plays engage with ideas about racial politics and religion circulating at the time."
To get more news, click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter.