Christina Waldman
Christina G. Waldman’s Essays, Reviews, & Commentary on All Things Bacon & Shakespeare For SirBacon.org
- Essays, “Francis Bacon, Shakespeare, and the “Secrets of Nature”: Violence, Violins, and—One Day—Vindication?” May 21, 2021 (updated version), https://sirbacon.org/waldman/Waldman Violence Violins Vindication final 5-21-21.pdf
- Preface and chapter one, Francis Bacon’s Hidden Hand in Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice’: A Study of Law, Rhetoric, and Authorship, pp. 1‒4, 15‒32. New York: Algora Publishing, 2018. May 2, 2021. https://sirbacon.org/francis-bacons-hidden-hand.html.
- Review of The Martyrdom of Francis Bacon by Alfred Dodd (London: Rider, 1946), August 24, 2021, https://www.sirbacon.org/Review_The%20Martyrdom%20of%20Francis%20Bacon%20by%20Alfred%20Dodd_Christina%20G%20Waldman%208-24-21.pdf
- “The Cure for Bacon-Shakespeare Skepticism: Read This Book!” Review of The Shakespeare Conspiracies: A 400-Year Web of Myth and Deceit, by Brian McClinton. December 6, 2020. https://sirbacon.org/McClinton%20Review%20Final%20for%20SirBacon%2012-6-2020.pdf.
- Essay, “If Bacon is Shakespeare, What Questions Does that Answer?” November 27, 2020 (revised from March 8, 2019). https://sirbacon.org/If%20Bacon%20is%20Shakespeare%20revised%20final%2011-27-2020%20fr%203-8-19.pdf.
- “Points of note,” comments on Francis Bacon’s Cryptic Rhymes and the Truth They Reveal, by Edward Bormann. Translated by Harry Brett. October 22, 2020. https://sirbacon.org/Edwin-Bormann-Francis-Bacons-Cryptic-Rymes-CGW-for-SirBacon10-22-2020.pdf.
- Review of Law Sports at Gray’s Inn (1594), by Basil Brown [Mrs. Isabel Kittson Brown]. September 29, 2020. https://sirbacon.org/Basil%20Brown%20review%20for%20SirBacon%209-17-20.pdf.
- Essay, “Bacon’s Maiden Speech to Parliament and His Royal Birth,” June 15, 2020. https://sirbacon.org/archives/Bacons%20Maiden%20Speech%20to%20Parliament%20&%20His%20Royal%20Birth%20June%2015%202020-1.pdf.
- Review of Second-Seeing Shakespeare: “Stay Passenger, why goest thou by so fast?” by Peter Dawkins. April 24, 2020. https://sirbacon.org/Review%20of%20Peter%20Dawkins%20Second-Seeing%20Shakespeare%20by%20CGW%204-24-20.pdf.
- Review of Francis Bacon’s Contribution to Shakespeare: A New Attribution Method, by Barry R. Clarke. October 1, 2019. https://sirbacon.org/Review%20of%20Barry%20Clarke%20FB%20Contrib%20to%20SH%20Final%20Final%2010-1-19.pdf.
Visit: ChristinaGWaldman.com
What Francis Bacon Means to Me
What Francis Bacon Means to Me
By Christina G. Waldman
October 4, 2022
Francis Bacon knew the power of a metaphor, the ability of a story to teach and convey truths. A visionary, he saw through time and attempted to steer the course of history from his “helm” four hundred years ago. My interest in Shakespeare authorship ties in with an interest in legal history that began for me around 1980 with reading Mark Edwin Andrews’ book, Law versus Equity in The Merchant of Venice: A Legalization of Act IV, Scene 1 (Boulder: University of Colorado Press, 1965). The concept of equity as a component of law is one that truly concerned Francis Bacon and should concern all who care about a definition of justice that includes fairness.
Although planted years earlier, my interest in legal history started to bloom when I began researching for my book, Francis Bacon’s Hidden Hand in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice: A Study of Law, Rhetoric, and Authorship (New York: Algora Publishing, 2018). This research began as a book review at Lawrence Gerald’s suggestion. The historical relationship between rhetoric and equity is fascinating. It can be traced back to the ancient Romans, at least. Like the Roman God Janus which faces forwards and backwards, prudence going forward requires a knowledge of past events and accumulated wisdom. These concepts Bacon taught, for example, in his “Wisdom of the Ancients.”
I believe part of the significance of “Plus Ultra” is that, like a ship’s captain adjusts course in response to new information, so, too, must researchers be willing to consider each “fact” a hypothesis subject to modification by new evidence. That is the major problem I see with considering the case closed in favor of William Shaxpere of Stratford (to whom the works of the poet dramatist published under the name of “William Shakespeare” have been traditionally attributed). While humanity exists, the case for knowledge and truth can never be closed.
Bacon was also interested in the interpretation of dreams, in ways of knowing which cannot be explained logically that involve the unconscious. “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” He himself had had the prophetic dream of his father’s house being plastered over in black mortar, at the time of his father Sir Nicholas Bacon’s death, while he was overseas in France in his youth.
Francis Bacon tried to show humanity the way to think clearly, to recognize the “four idols,” and to know the difference between fact and fiction, between appearance and reality, and to learn to read between the lines. Poetry is an important tool in stimulating the full use of human capabilities. Bacon was big on contrasting opposites. In the juxtaposition of two opposites, one may see each thing being compared more clearly in contradistinction. The theatre is a good example of a juxtaposition of the opposites of appearance and reality (stage and audience). Bacon realized the teaching value of the theatre. He praised the Jesuits’ use of it.
My interest in Shakespeare authorship has led me into a desire to better understand Bacon’s teachings and wisdom. It has also given me a way into understanding the Shakespeare plays better.
Bacon’s writing is eloquent, beautiful in the way that the King James Version of the Bible is beautiful. The English language is what it is today because of Bacon, “Shakespeare,” and the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. In fact, there is evidence that King James did give the KJV over to Bacon for final editing before it saw publication.
The past holds many secrets. Some might argue, what possible good can come of unearthing some of these secrets? But I would say, we should be building history upon a solid foundation of truth, not on shifting sands (as Jesus taught by parable in the Bible). Bacon also recognized that to enter the Kingdom of Heaven one must become as a little child (as Jesus also taught in the Bible).
I am extremely grateful to all at SirBacon.org for giving me the tools and encouragement to start out on an adventure of Baconian exploration that has greatly enriched my life. Plus Ultra!
The Oxfraudian “Prima Facie Case for Shakespeare”–“Hoist with its Own Petard?”
Christina G. Waldman
The “Oxfraudians” at Oxfraud.com claim to have stated a “prima facie case” establishing the authorship of William Shaxpere of Stratford to the plays and poems of “William Shakespeare,” the name appearing on the title page of the First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays in 1623. The Oxfraud.com page, “The Prima Facie Case for Shakespeare,” claims, “The prima facie case does not offer absolute, 100% certainty—it does establish a presumption in support of the conclusion. This conclusion admits only one hypothesis. Shakespeare of Stratford is the author. It may be overcome, but only if there is contrary factual evidence that serves to rebut the conclusion. Supposition, speculation and guesswork are not acceptable. Claiming the evidence has been suppressed or destroyed by a conspiracy is not acceptable.”
Reports of the Death of the Case for Francis Bacon’s Authorship of Shakespeare Have Been Greatly Exaggerated!
by Christina G. Waldman
Dedicated to the memory of Brian McClinton, author of
The Shakespeare Conspiracies Part One: Thirteen Points of Evidence
A Dedicated Sleuth Finds Picture-Puzzles Long Buried: A Review of Russell Storrs Hall, Bacon Shakespeare Conundrum: Direct Evidence of Francis Bacon’s Shakespeare Authorship (posthumously published, 2012)
By Christina G. Waldman. 9-29-2021
“Bacon Shakespeare Conundrum was published posthumously by the author’s daughter, Janice Gold-Orland. Researching for this book was her father’s lifetime passion, she says. It is obvious from his book that Hall has studied the Bacon-Shakespeare authorship question in some depth. One of his main points is that “The only way out of the authorship enigma is to be found in the Shakespeare Folio of 1623″ (p. 12). There is a great deal of other evidence, of course, but that is the course he sets for himself in this book.” Read more:
Francis Bacon, Shakespeare, and Tortured Secrets: Violence, Violins, and–One Day–Vindication?
(updated version) by Christina G. Waldman
Francis Bacon, Shakespeare, and Tortured Secrets: Violence, Violins, and–One Day–Vindication? by Christina G. Waldman
https://sirbacon.org/waldman/Waldman Violence Violins Vindication final 5-21-21.pdf
Francis Bacon’s Hidden Hand in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice
A Study of Law, Rhetoric, and Authorship
Francis Bacon’s Hidden Hand in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice
Christina G. Waldman comments on Edwin Bormann’s “Francis Bacon’s Cryptic Rhymes and the Truth They Reveal”
Read Christina G. Waldman comments on Edwin Bormann’s “Francis Bacon’s Cryptic Rhymes and the Truth They Reveal” on SirBacon.org
Review of “Law Sports at Gray’s Inn” by Basil Brown
Christina Waldman offers a Brief Review of “Law Sports at Gray’s Inn” by Basil Brown
Bacon’s Maiden Speech to Parliament & His Royal Birth
In his 1958 article, “Francis Bacon and His Father,” Paul H. Kocher describes an incident that took place during Francis Bacon’s maiden speech to Parliament. This was in November, 1584, when Bacon was twenty-three years old. He had just been elected a member of the House of Commons for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis…
Bacon’s Maiden Speech to Parliament & His Royal Birth by Christina Waldman
Christina Waldman reviews Peter Dawkins new book “Second Seeing Shakespeare”
In his new book, Second-Seeing Shakespeare: “Stay Passenger, why goest thou by so fast?”, Peter Dawkins, respected teacher, author, and founder-principal of the Francis Bacon Research Trust, explains how the art adorning the Shakespeare Monument in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon (ca. 1616-1623) corresponds beautifully with the enigmatic language and Shakespeare “portrait” (Droeshout engraving) in the front matter to the First Folio of 1623, the first comprehensive publication of Shakespeare’s plays.
Review of Second-Seeing Shakespeare: “Stay Passenger, why goest thou by so fast?” by Peter Dawkins
Francis Bacon’s Hidden Hand in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice: A Study in Law, Rhetoric and Authorship
Christina Waldman’s book, Francis Bacon’s Hidden Hand in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice: A Study in Law, Rhetoric and Authorship is being published in July 2018 by Algora Publishing with a foreword by Simon Miles. The book explores the function and identity of Bellario, the old Italian jurist whose hand guides Portia’s courtroom performance, although he never actually “appears” in the play. Is Bellario’s identity linked to Francis Bacon, as Mark Edwin Andrews proposed in Law v. Equity in The Merchant of Venice: a Legalization of Act IV, Scene I (Boulder: University of Colorado Press, 1965)?
Appendix IV of the book includes Maureen Ward-Gandy’s 1992 forensic handwriting comparison of the handwriting in a fragment of manuscript, found in binder’s waste, which is clearly a scene variation of The Play of Henry IV, Part One, with the handwriting of Francis Bacon and other contemporaries. In her report, Ms. Ward-Gandy concluded that the handwriting in that drafted scene matched that of Francis Bacon.
Hidden Hand is available from the publisher, https://www.algora.com/545/book/details.html, Amazon, and other sources.
Ms. Waldman would also like to draw your attention to Mather Walker’s essay, “The Symbolic AA, Secrets of the Shakespeare First Folio.” Under the heading “The Secret of Old Eleusis: Plucking Out the Heart of His Mystery,” and under the picture from the Rosicrucian Digest 2000 (about 7/8 down on the scroll bar), there is an acrostic in the opening lines of the poem, “The Rape of Lucrece,” written in 1594. The first letters spell FBLAWAO, with the word “law” spelled in the middle. She had not seen this most likely explanation of the name “Bellario” until the book was already published, but has no doubt that the timing is exactly as it should be.
Bacon is Bellario with “Just Deserts for All”
Christina G. Waldman has contributed a new essay, Bacon is Bellario with “Just Deserts for All”:
An explanation of Mark Edwin Andrews’ Second Argument in “Law v Equity” in “The Merchant of Venice’s Legalization of Act IV, Scene I “
What Francis Bacon Means to Me
What Francis Bacon Means to Me
By Christina G. Waldman
October 4, 2022
Francis Bacon knew the power of a metaphor, the ability of a story to teach and convey truths. A visionary, he saw through time and attempted to steer the course of history from his “helm” four hundred years ago. My interest in Shakespeare authorship ties in with an interest in legal history that began for me around 1980 with reading Mark Edwin Andrews’ book, Law versus Equity in The Merchant of Venice: A Legalization of Act IV, Scene 1 (Boulder: University of Colorado Press, 1965). The concept of equity as a component of law is one that truly concerned Francis Bacon and should concern all who care about a definition of justice that includes fairness.
Although planted years earlier, my interest in legal history started to bloom when I began researching for my book, Francis Bacon’s Hidden Hand in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice: A Study of Law, Rhetoric, and Authorship (New York: Algora Publishing, 2018). This research began as a book review at Lawrence Gerald’s suggestion. The historical relationship between rhetoric and equity is fascinating. It can be traced back to the ancient Romans, at least. Like the Roman God Janus which faces forwards and backwards, prudence going forward requires a knowledge of past events and accumulated wisdom. These concepts Bacon taught, for example, in his “Wisdom of the Ancients.”
I believe part of the significance of “Plus Ultra” is that, like a ship’s captain adjusts course in response to new information, so, too, must researchers be willing to consider each “fact” a hypothesis subject to modification by new evidence. That is the major problem I see with considering the case closed in favor of William Shaxpere of Stratford (to whom the works of the poet dramatist published under the name of “William Shakespeare” have been traditionally attributed). While humanity exists, the case for knowledge and truth can never be closed.
Bacon was also interested in the interpretation of dreams, in ways of knowing which cannot be explained logically that involve the unconscious. “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” He himself had had the prophetic dream of his father’s house being plastered over in black mortar, at the time of his father Sir Nicholas Bacon’s death, while he was overseas in France in his youth.
Francis Bacon tried to show humanity the way to think clearly, to recognize the “four idols,” and to know the difference between fact and fiction, between appearance and reality, and to learn to read between the lines. Poetry is an important tool in stimulating the full use of human capabilities. Bacon was big on contrasting opposites. In the juxtaposition of two opposites, one may see each thing being compared more clearly in contradistinction. The theatre is a good example of a juxtaposition of the opposites of appearance and reality (stage and audience). Bacon realized the teaching value of the theatre. He praised the Jesuits’ use of it.
My interest in Shakespeare authorship has led me into a desire to better understand Bacon’s teachings and wisdom. It has also given me a way into understanding the Shakespeare plays better.
Bacon’s writing is eloquent, beautiful in the way that the King James Version of the Bible is beautiful. The English language is what it is today because of Bacon, “Shakespeare,” and the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. In fact, there is evidence that King James did give the KJV over to Bacon for final editing before it saw publication.
The past holds many secrets. Some might argue, what possible good can come of unearthing some of these secrets? But I would say, we should be building history upon a solid foundation of truth, not on shifting sands (as Jesus taught by parable in the Bible). Bacon also recognized that to enter the Kingdom of Heaven one must become as a little child (as Jesus also taught in the Bible).
I am extremely grateful to all at SirBacon.org for giving me the tools and encouragement to start out on an adventure of Baconian exploration that has greatly enriched my life. Plus Ultra!
The Oxfraudian “Prima Facie Case for Shakespeare”–“Hoist with its Own Petard?”
Christina G. Waldman
The “Oxfraudians” at Oxfraud.com claim to have stated a “prima facie case” establishing the authorship of William Shaxpere of Stratford to the plays and poems of “William Shakespeare,” the name appearing on the title page of the First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays in 1623. The Oxfraud.com page, “The Prima Facie Case for Shakespeare,” claims, “The prima facie case does not offer absolute, 100% certainty—it does establish a presumption in support of the conclusion. This conclusion admits only one hypothesis. Shakespeare of Stratford is the author. It may be overcome, but only if there is contrary factual evidence that serves to rebut the conclusion. Supposition, speculation and guesswork are not acceptable. Claiming the evidence has been suppressed or destroyed by a conspiracy is not acceptable.”
Reports of the Death of the Case for Francis Bacon’s Authorship of Shakespeare Have Been Greatly Exaggerated!
by Christina G. Waldman
Dedicated to the memory of Brian McClinton, author of
The Shakespeare Conspiracies Part One: Thirteen Points of Evidence
A Dedicated Sleuth Finds Picture-Puzzles Long Buried: A Review of Russell Storrs Hall, Bacon Shakespeare Conundrum: Direct Evidence of Francis Bacon’s Shakespeare Authorship (posthumously published, 2012)
By Christina G. Waldman. 9-29-2021
“Bacon Shakespeare Conundrum was published posthumously by the author’s daughter, Janice Gold-Orland. Researching for this book was her father’s lifetime passion, she says. It is obvious from his book that Hall has studied the Bacon-Shakespeare authorship question in some depth. One of his main points is that “The only way out of the authorship enigma is to be found in the Shakespeare Folio of 1623″ (p. 12). There is a great deal of other evidence, of course, but that is the course he sets for himself in this book.” Read more:
Francis Bacon, Shakespeare, and Tortured Secrets: Violence, Violins, and–One Day–Vindication?
(updated version) by Christina G. Waldman
Francis Bacon, Shakespeare, and Tortured Secrets: Violence, Violins, and–One Day–Vindication? by Christina G. Waldman
https://sirbacon.org/waldman/Waldman Violence Violins Vindication final 5-21-21.pdf
Francis Bacon’s Hidden Hand in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice
A Study of Law, Rhetoric, and Authorship
Francis Bacon’s Hidden Hand in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice
Christina G. Waldman comments on Edwin Bormann’s “Francis Bacon’s Cryptic Rhymes and the Truth They Reveal”
Read Christina G. Waldman comments on Edwin Bormann’s “Francis Bacon’s Cryptic Rhymes and the Truth They Reveal” on SirBacon.org
Review of “Law Sports at Gray’s Inn” by Basil Brown
Christina Waldman offers a Brief Review of “Law Sports at Gray’s Inn” by Basil Brown
Bacon’s Maiden Speech to Parliament & His Royal Birth
In his 1958 article, “Francis Bacon and His Father,” Paul H. Kocher describes an incident that took place during Francis Bacon’s maiden speech to Parliament. This was in November, 1584, when Bacon was twenty-three years old. He had just been elected a member of the House of Commons for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis…
Bacon’s Maiden Speech to Parliament & His Royal Birth by Christina Waldman
Christina Waldman reviews Peter Dawkins new book “Second Seeing Shakespeare”
In his new book, Second-Seeing Shakespeare: “Stay Passenger, why goest thou by so fast?”, Peter Dawkins, respected teacher, author, and founder-principal of the Francis Bacon Research Trust, explains how the art adorning the Shakespeare Monument in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon (ca. 1616-1623) corresponds beautifully with the enigmatic language and Shakespeare “portrait” (Droeshout engraving) in the front matter to the First Folio of 1623, the first comprehensive publication of Shakespeare’s plays.
Review of Second-Seeing Shakespeare: “Stay Passenger, why goest thou by so fast?” by Peter Dawkins
Francis Bacon’s Hidden Hand in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice: A Study in Law, Rhetoric and Authorship
Christina Waldman’s book, Francis Bacon’s Hidden Hand in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice: A Study in Law, Rhetoric and Authorship is being published in July 2018 by Algora Publishing with a foreword by Simon Miles. The book explores the function and identity of Bellario, the old Italian jurist whose hand guides Portia’s courtroom performance, although he never actually “appears” in the play. Is Bellario’s identity linked to Francis Bacon, as Mark Edwin Andrews proposed in Law v. Equity in The Merchant of Venice: a Legalization of Act IV, Scene I (Boulder: University of Colorado Press, 1965)?
Appendix IV of the book includes Maureen Ward-Gandy’s 1992 forensic handwriting comparison of the handwriting in a fragment of manuscript, found in binder’s waste, which is clearly a scene variation of The Play of Henry IV, Part One, with the handwriting of Francis Bacon and other contemporaries. In her report, Ms. Ward-Gandy concluded that the handwriting in that drafted scene matched that of Francis Bacon.
Hidden Hand is available from the publisher, https://www.algora.com/545/book/details.html, Amazon, and other sources.
Ms. Waldman would also like to draw your attention to Mather Walker’s essay, “The Symbolic AA, Secrets of the Shakespeare First Folio.” Under the heading “The Secret of Old Eleusis: Plucking Out the Heart of His Mystery,” and under the picture from the Rosicrucian Digest 2000 (about 7/8 down on the scroll bar), there is an acrostic in the opening lines of the poem, “The Rape of Lucrece,” written in 1594. The first letters spell FBLAWAO, with the word “law” spelled in the middle. She had not seen this most likely explanation of the name “Bellario” until the book was already published, but has no doubt that the timing is exactly as it should be.
Bacon is Bellario with “Just Deserts for All”
Christina G. Waldman has contributed a new essay, Bacon is Bellario with “Just Deserts for All”:
An explanation of Mark Edwin Andrews’ Second Argument in “Law v Equity” in “The Merchant of Venice’s Legalization of Act IV, Scene I “
