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The Holy Grail of the Shakespeare World: an Original Manuscript of a Shakespeare play corrected in the Hand of its Secret Concealed author Francis Bacon


A Phoenix

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3 hours ago, A Phoenix said:

Certainly in the 1590's Bacon's "Project Shakespeare" hits the ground running. According to Peter Dawkins' Bacon-Shakespeare Timeline, there was a frenzy of theatrical activity - the simultaneous production of numerous plays - in an astonishingly short time. Extracts below.

https://www.fbrt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Bacon-Shakespeare_Timeline.pdf

To what extent did Twickenham Park enable this spectacular flourish of literary activity? I was surprised to learn on Twickenham Museum's website that Francis Bacon had occupancy of Twickenham Park from the early 1580s, long before he became the lease holder. Perhaps his Twickenham residence had become 'Shakespeare HQ' even before the 1590s?

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Perhaps Twickenham Park could be seen as a possible location of the scriptorium, with additional literary workshops at Gray's Inn and Gorhambury. Has everything already been said about SFB's life at Twickenham House, or do you think it bears further investigation?

 

 

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Hi Eric,

Just been having a look at Twickenham Park for another project and it’s clear that FB used Twickenham as a scriptorium hiring many scribes for his written works. Also it was used for his scientific works and had laboratories for experimentation and had the most amazing gardens full of exotic imported plants that were used for the study of poisons and medicines in finding cures for diseases. As well as botany he also studied minerals and undertook other experiments for his ‘reformation of the whole wide world for the betterment of mankind.’ There is nothing left now of TP except the lake that would have been on the land and also some huge cedar trees in this area thought to have been planted by FB.

The history of Twickenham Park is interesting and Alice Chambers Bunten writes an excellent work on the subject entitled Twickenham Park and Old Richmond Palace. Twickenham Park was directly over the river from Richmond Palace (Elizabeth’s favourite Palace and where Henry VIII and she herself both died). Bacon described Twickenham as ‘my pleasure and my dwelling’ and he writes several letters from here and he also mentions it in his Promus notebook. It was crown property but Elizabeth leased it to Edward Bacon (FB’s elder half-brother) in 1574 so FB would have probably visited it from a very early age. In 1581 Edward married and went to live at Shrubland Hall with his wife. Provided that FB carried on his law studies at Gray’s Inn it would seem FB was allowed by the Queen to use Twickenham (out of term time) as his base for his scientific studies, his scriptorium and of course the writing of his Shakespeare plays. Twickenham Park had advantages in that the air was clean and healthy, it was leafy and quiet and far from prying eyes, when engaged in secret works.

By 1608 following mounting debts partly amassed due to him privately having to fund his research and works he left Twickenham Park and would eventually, after Lady Anne Bacon’s death in 1610, use Gorhambury as his country residence.

Many of the Shakespeare plays and poems before 1608 were likely written here in the place he considered ‘his pleasure and his dwelling’.

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12 hours ago, A Phoenix said:

Hi Eric,

Just been having a look at Twickenham Park for another project and it’s clear that FB used Twickenham as a scriptorium hiring many scribes for his written works. Also it was used for his scientific works and had laboratories for experimentation and had the most amazing gardens full of exotic imported plants that were used for the study of poisons and medicines in finding cures for diseases. As well as botany he also studied minerals and undertook other experiments for his ‘reformation of the whole wide world for the betterment of mankind.’ There is nothing left now of TP except the lake that would have been on the land and also some huge cedar trees in this area thought to have been planted by FB.

The history of Twickenham Park is interesting and Alice Chambers Bunten writes an excellent work on the subject entitled Twickenham Park and Old Richmond Palace. Twickenham Park was directly over the river from Richmond Palace (Elizabeth’s favourite Palace and where Henry VIII and she herself both died). Bacon described Twickenham as ‘my pleasure and my dwelling’ and he writes several letters from here and he also mentions it in his Promus notebook. It was crown property but Elizabeth leased it to Edward Bacon (FB’s elder half-brother) in 1574 so FB would have probably visited it from a very early age. In 1581 Edward married and went to live at Shrubland Hall with his wife. Provided that FB carried on his law studies at Gray’s Inn it would seem FB was allowed by the Queen to use Twickenham (out of term time) as his base for his scientific studies, his scriptorium and of course the writing of his Shakespeare plays. Twickenham Park had advantages in that the air was clean and healthy, it was leafy and quiet and far from prying eyes, when engaged in secret works.

By 1608 following mounting debts partly amassed due to him privately having to fund his research and works he left Twickenham Park and would eventually, after Lady Anne Bacon’s death in 1610, use Gorhambury as his country residence.

Many of the Shakespeare plays and poems before 1608 were likely written here in the place he considered ‘his pleasure and his dwelling’.

Dear A.P.

What a vivid picture you paint of Twickenham Park House in the late-1500s! A 'bee hive" of intellectual industry in the midst of tranquility. Thank you so much for helping me to better understand how so many timeless plays were written in such a short time. I've only done a quick search for Alice Chambers Bunton's book without success but I'll keep looking. Francis's relationship with his "half brother" Edward came up in the research for the provenance of Ella Horsey's portrait of SFB. Do you think Edward was in on the secret, i.e. a Knight of the Helmet?

You mentioned Bacon's experiments with minerals, which reminded me that SFB was a leaseholder (or did he inherit it?) in a tin mine, in Cornwall was it, or somewhere in Wales? I'm sure you will have read Cesare Pastorino's "The Mine and the Furnace". Just from the abstract (attached) it gives us an insight into the energy and scope of "Bacon Enterprises". To juggle so many major projects he must have had extraordinary charisma. I forget which contemporary of his observed that he charmed people from all walks of life by adapting to their interests and personalities. Stratfordians don't know what  they're missing!

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Twickenham Park House in the late-1700s. The view on the right is said to be more architecturally accurate.

Credit: https://www.twickenhampark.co.uk/a-brief-history.html

 

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https://www.jstor.org/stable/20617821

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Eric Roberts
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Does anybody really know the extent of the vast resources contained on sir bacon.org? Here is one I've just stumbled on:

Martin Pares' "Francis Bacon and the Knights of the Helmet" (1964) Just in case, like me, you haven't come across it

before, it contains links to the full facsimile of the Northumberland Manuscript. Thank you so much Mr Gerald!

https://sirbacon.org/knightmp.htm

https://sirbacon.org/ResearchMaterial/NM-PRT1.pdf

https://sirbacon.org/ResearchMaterial/NM-PRT2.pdf

Edited by Eric Roberts
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Hi Eric,

We have often pondered who was privy to the secret life and writings of Lord Bacon, including his concealed authorship of the Shakespeare works and those published behind other literary masks. Some are easy of course, Hall and Marston, the poets John Davies and John Davies of Hereford, Sir Tobie Matthew, Ben Jonson, his secretary and literary editor Dr Rawley and many of the contibutors to the Memoriae. On the specific point of what Edward Bacon knew I think he would have known some aspects about FB's secret life and writings on account that FB was writing poetry and drama from a very early age that he published in the name of others, but what Edward knew about his later secret life can only remain guesswork.

On the matter of tin mines and his experiments with minerals the vague information we have is piecemeal and sketchy so thank you for drawing attention to this article which we will read with some interest in due course.

Love

The Phoenixes.👍♥️🙂

 

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4 hours ago, A Phoenix said:

Hi Eric,

We have often pondered who was privy to the secret life and writings of Lord Bacon, including his concealed authorship of the Shakespeare works and those published behind other literary masks. Some are easy of course, Hall and Marston, the poets John Davies and John Davies of Hereford, Sir Tobie Matthew, Ben Jonson, his secretary and literary editor Dr Rawley and many of the contibutors to the Memoriae. On the specific point of what Edward Bacon knew I think he would have known some aspects about FB's secret life and writings on account that FB was writing poetry and drama from a very early age that he published in the name of others, but what Edward knew about his later secret life can only remain guesswork.

On the matter of tin mines and his experiments with minerals the vague information we have is piecemeal and sketchy so thank you for drawing attention to this article which we will read with some interest in due course.

Love

The Phoenixes.👍♥️🙂

 

https://www.academia.edu/1040095/The_Mine_and_the_Furnace_Francis_Bacon_Thomas_Russell_and_Early_Stuart_Mining_Culture

Here is the link to academia.org's free download version of "The Mine and the Furnace".

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5 hours ago, A Phoenix said:

The So-called 'Dering' Manuscript Published by The Folger Shakespeare Library

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xgj88m02w8nbxxz/HENRY IV TRAILER.mp4?dl=0

https://aphoenix1.academia.edu/research

https://youtu.be/-7nzkrGEKeI

ORIGINAL MS43.png

 

Dear A.P.

I just want to congratulate you on the trailer "Writing's on the wall for Shakespeare". Very well done. It's very powerful, even without the soundtrack. This will set the cat amongst the pigeons!

 

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Dering's Known Handwriting does not Remotely Resemble the Handwriting in the                                                 So-called 'Dering' Manuscript

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xgj88m02w8nbxxz/HENRY IV TRAILER.mp4?dl=0

https://aphoenix1.academia.edu/research

https://youtu.be/-7nzkrGEKeI

ORIGINAL MS46.png

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The 'Dering' and Northumberland Manuscript Originating from Bacon's Literary Workshop

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xgj88m02w8nbxxz/HENRY IV TRAILER.mp4?dl=0

https://aphoenix1.academia.edu/research

https://youtu.be/-7nzkrGEKeI

ORIGINAL MS49.png

Edited by A Phoenix
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