The Bard’s Very Present Wife

A fragment of a 17th-century letter has sparked fresh debate over one of literary history’s most elusive romances: The marriage of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway.  

Scholars have long believed the English couple lived largely apart, with Shakespeare in London and Anne left behind in Stratford. 

But new research has found evidence that the famous poet and playwright was not an absent husband and even shared a London address with his wife of 34 years. 

The evidence comes from a letter addressed to “Good Mrs Shakspaire,” first found in 1978 inside the binding of a 1608 book at Hereford Cathedral Library. 

In his analysis, Matthew Steggle, a professor of early modern English literature at the University of Bristol in the UK, told the Washington Post that the letter dates from between 1590 and 1620, and concerns an unpaid debt related to a fatherless apprentice named John Butts. 

“Your husband owes us some money, and if he doesn’t pay, you should,” the letter warned Anne.  

The correspondence also mentions that she and her famous husband “dwelt in trinitie lane” – or Little Trinity Lane, a street that still exists in London across the river Thames from Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, where his plays are still performed, almost five centuries later.

For centuries, Anne has been cast as the renowned bard’s estranged wife, who was believed to be uncultured and illiterate. In Shakespeare’s will, she was given “second-best bed,” which some historians suggest was not a slight against her because beds were luxury items at the time. 

While not all scholars are convinced, many are intrigued, with some telling the Post that the “implications are huge.”  

Steggle agreed that it “is not a complete slam dunk,” but the evidence is not something easily dismissed. 

He told the BBC that the document also offers a tantalizing glimpse into Shakespeare’s domestic life and his endeavors in London. 

“It at least doubles the number of letters known to be addressed to or sent from Shakespeare and his family,” he added. “Currently, there’s only one known. It also shows a side of Shakespeare’s London life that’s not been known before, giving him … a whole new sphere of activity for him.”