Don't worry. The Rosenbach knows it's a forgery. In fact, they acquired it because it was a known forgery... one of the most famous forgeries of all time.
The item in question is a supposed love letter by William Shakespeare to his mistress, Anne Hathaway, whom he later married. Obviously, it's not authentic. It was penned in the 1790s, not the 1500s, and not by William Shakespeare, but William-Henry Ireland.
Ireland fooled some of the best minds in England into thinking he had uncovered previously unknown writings by Shakespeare. These included letters, a profession of faith (conveniently confirming that the Bard held conventional religious beliefs and belonged to the official Church of England), and even a new play called Vortigern and Rowena.
That play had a rather infamous opening (and closing) night at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on April 2, 1796, just one day late to be an April Fool's joke. The premiere was no laughing matter, though. It starred the famed actor John Philip Kemble as the ancient King of Britain, Vortigern. The comedic actress Dorothea Jordan, mistress to the future King William IV, took on the minor role of Flavia.
Together with screenwriter Matt Bird, I wrote a play about Ireland's forgeries. The piece is called Shakespeare or the Devil, and it was named a finalist for the Shakespeare's New Contemporaries program at the American Shakespeare Center. The play has a flexible cast of 5-10 actors playing multiple characters.
If you'd like to read the script with an eye for future production, please contact me. I would love to see it performed!
