This time it is some written works –
From The Telegraph:
Academic ‘discovers’ six works by William Shakespeare
An academic claims to have discovered six previously unrecognised works by William Shakespeare.
Dr John Casson claims to have unearthed Shakespeare’s first published poem, the Phaeton sonnet, his first comedy, Mucedorus, and his first tragedies, Locrine and Arden of Faversham.
He also explores the plays Thomas of Woodstock and A Yorkshire Tragedy, and claims to prove that a ‘lost play’ called Cardenio is a genuine work by Shakespeare and fellow playwright John Fletcher.
Dr Casson spent three years studying writings thought to be connected to Shakespeare and poring over the life and letters of aristocrat Sir Henry Neville, considered by some academics to be the latest candidate for the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays.
He has published his findings in a book, titled Enter Pursued by a Bear.
“Some people have said, ‘we don’t know if this is by William Shakespeare’, so I’ve been able to study them and say ‘yes, here’s the evidence for Shakespeare but here’s also the evidence for Neville,’ so I’ve been able to link the two,” Dr Casson said.
“I started off looking at works where we weren’t sure whether they were by Shakespeare or not and I tested them to see if there was any evidence for Henry Neville.
“I’ve found evidence pouring out and I’ve been able to show Shakespeare’s development from his early days.”
…
Dr Casson, an independent researcher and psychotherapist, said: “The folio on display contains what many think are the complete works of Shakespeare, but I have discovered six new plays that are all by the Bard, but which never made it into this 400-year-old collection.”He added: “What we thought were the first plays by Shakespeare appeared anonymously in the early 1590s.
And for anyone interested in getting the book, here are the Amazon links from my affiliate store:
I saw an article on this in the newspaper the other day, and I’m highly unimpressed.
The plays he mentions aren’t “new” finds. They been listed for decades as Shakespeare apocrypha. In most cases, the main reason they are thought to be by Shakespeare (either in whole or in part) is that somebody thinks they “sound” like him, but there never seems to be more evidence than that. I am a bit curious to see what Casson thinks he has found that is new. But I’m deeply suspicious that he does not seem to be an English scholar but a psychotherapist. I have a feeling his evidence will based on pschological grounds and therefore, in my eyes anyway, worthless.
Also keep in mind that the plays generally accepted as being written by Shakespeare are those found in the First Folio of 1623. This was compiled by men who knew William Shakespeare well and who would be in a position to know what he wrote and what he didn’t. They would have no reason to exclude any works. I trust their knowledge before I trust Casson’s.
pschological = psychological. I’ve never been able to type well.