From his funerary monument in Stratford-upon-Avon to the engraving by Droeshout in the First Folio, the depictions of William Shakespeare (1564 1616) have long been the subject of scrutiny. Equally, the mystery surrounding the identity of 'W. H.', the dedicatee of Shakespeare's sonnets, continues to capture the imagination. This volume brings together three works that were originally published separately: two pieces on the portraits and one on the sonnets. A playwright turned theatrical biographer, James Boaden (1762 1839) cultivated a lifelong interest in Shakespeare. His illustrated 1824...