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The Play That Solves The Shakespeare Authorship Mystery
Elfenbein, Donald, The Play That Solves The Shakespeare Authorship Mystery: The Allegory of Francis Bacon's Natural Philosophy in The Tempest, Lulu Press, 2023, pp.125.
The Play That Solves the Shakespeare Authorship Mystery by Donald Elfenbein gathers together and documents a number of incontrovertible but little-noticed facts that speak Shakespeare's true name loudly and clearly. Written for general readers and scholars alike, it systematizes and extends the investigations of the pioneering researchers who first published, more than a century ago, the provocative contention that Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST contains an allegory of Francis Bacon's natural philosophy. The essay demonstrates that fourteen elements of this play having to do with the magus Prospero, the spirit Ariel, and the witch Sycorax resemble and represent fourteen Baconian ideas, several of which are peculiar to Bacon. Those ideas include not only the general methodological prescriptions for which he is famous but also his unique and largely forgotten conjectures about the inner workings of nature. These numerous and striking parallels between elements of the play and elements of Bacon's philosophy, the author argues, together constitute persuasive proof that Bacon wrote this celebrated drama.
Biography of Donald Elfenbein
Don Elfenbein was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Harrisburg. He earned an A.B. magna cum laude in developmental psychology & anthropology at Harvard College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and won a Detur Prize for academic excellence. He also holds a J.D. from the same university.
For several years, Don was a lecturer and professor at American law schools, including Northwestern and the University of Pittsburgh, teaching legal philosophy, constitutional theory, criminal law, torts, analysis, and writing. He has also been employed as a freelance editor and consultant. As such, he has helped attorneys and scholars to improve their briefs, articles, and books.
From time to time, he has worked as a ghostwriter of nonfiction. In addition, he has studied screenwriting and written a number of screenplays. However, his law studies did not lead him to Bacon, as might have been expected. While browsing in used-book shops, in New York, Boston, and Chicago, he came upon and bought some of the classic books written by the great Baconian researchers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, people like Alfred Dodd and Edwin Reed. Their highly probative evidence quickly convinced him that Bacon and Shakespeare were indeed the same person.
Since the 1970s, Don has been deeply involved in the investigation of esoteric, mysterious, and controversial subjects. One he has found to be extraordinarily absorbing is the Shakespeare authorship question. He lives with his wife Anna, an American literature and film professor at West Virginia University, in Morgantown, West Virginia.