by Christina G. Waldman
June 1, 2026
Review of Alfred Dodd, Francis Bacon’s Personal Life-Story, 2 vols in 1 (London: Rider, 1986 [vol 1, The Age of Elizabeth, (London: Rider, 1949 [1910]); vol 2, The Age of James, [London: Century Hutchinson, 1986]). 580 pp.
The first duty of a biographer is to get his facts right, not merely the facts he wishes to be known, but all the facts, to suppress none and to slur over nothing; and not to be afraid lest an untoward discovery might falsify his prepossessions.
Alfred Dodd, Francis Bacon’s Personal Life-Story, p. 10
A stated goal of Alfred Dodd (1879‒1953), an English man of letters, in writing Francis Bacon’s Personal Life-Story, was to provide a truer, more personal portrait of Bacon than previously provided. “I have found more than sufficient evidence to satisfy me personally that Francis Bacon’s actual achievements were wider and deeper than traditional scholarship is disposed to admit.” (13) By 1949, Dodd had already published extensively on Bacon-Shakespeare topics. His Shakespeare’s Sonnet-Diary would see ten printings (Liverpool: Daily Post Printers, first pub. 1931). The first edition of Life Story was published in 1910. For the 1949 edition, Dodd had intended to add a second volume, The Age of James. However, he suffered a severe stroke in 1949, necessitating the postponement of the publication of volume 2 until 1986 (see Irene Rowland’s note, front matter, and Edward D. Johnson’s foreword to volume 2).
