New research examining a fragment of a 17th century letter addressed to “good Mrs Shakspaire” suggests that William Shakespeare’s marriage to Anne Hathaway was happier than previously thought.
Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in 1582, when he was 18 and she was about 26 and pregnant. The couple had three children: Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith.
For more than 200 years, it has been assumed that the English playwright left his wife in his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon to pursue his career in London.
The belief even inspired writer Maggie O’Farrell, who chronicled the unhappy relationship in her 2020 novel "Hamnet", about the death of Shakespeare’s only son Hamnet at 11 years old.
The forgotten letter, preserved by accident in the binding of a book in Hereford, England, appears to show that the couple lived together in London at some point between 1600 and 1610. It is the first written evidence supporting this claim.
It alleges that Shakespeare was withholding money from a fatherless apprentice named John Butts. The author of the letter then asks Mrs Shakespeare herself for money.
“First discovered in 1978, the letter’s been known for a while, but no-one could identify the names or places involved or see any reason to think that the Mr Shakespeare in the letter was necessarily William rather than anyone else of the same name in the general period”, said Professor Matthew Steggle of the University of Bristol, who published the research in Shakespeare, the journal of the British Shakespeare association.
The scholar tracked down people and addresses mentioned in the letter to find out if the playwright and his wife could possibly have been in London at that time.
“In short - it's two steps”, Professor Steggle explained. “You identify the boy involved, and given that it's him and that fixes the date, then Shakespeare is much the best recorded candidate to be the London-based “Mr Shakspaire.”
The letter gives Shakespeare a previously unknown address in Trinity Lane, in central London.
It also casts new light on Anne Hathaway’s life. “It seems to show her being involved with her husband's money affairs and social networks. So, it's a game-changer in terms of thinking about the Shakespeares' marriage”, Professor Steggle said.
The back of the fragment also contains a reply from Mrs Shakespeare, which would be the first ever recorded words from Anne Hathaway.
The fragment of the letter is held at Hereford Cathedral Library.
