Books
Francis Bacon’s Hidden Hand in Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice’: A Study of Law, Rhetoric, and Authorship (FBHH). New York: Algora Publishing, 2018.
- Published for the first time in FBHH (in appendix 4) is leading British forensic expert, the late Maureen Ward Gandy,’s report, “Elizabethan Era Writing Comparison for Identification of ‘Common Authorship.'” “Originally examined July 24, 1992 [for Francis Carr]; Reviewed for Mr. Lawrence Gerald July 2, 1994” (pp. 249-274, 249). After analyzing a good number of Elizabethan handwriting samples, Ward-Gandy concluded there was a “high probability” that a play fragment “analogous” to the “Gad’s Hill” scene in Shakespeare’s play, The First Part of Henry the Fourth–which was found in binder’s waste in a 1586 copy of Homer’s Odyssey in 1588–was written in Francis Bacon’s own handwriting! In other words: the handwriting in the Bacon sample (a letter known to be in his handwriting) matches the handwriting used in the play fragment. This is further discussed in FBHH, 236-246 which includes a printed copy of “Hand D” from the Play of Sir Thomas More with transcription, for comparison (244-246).
- For the preface and ch 1 of FBHH, see SirBacon.org, May 1, 2021, http://sirbacon.org/francis-bacons-hidden-hand.html.
- Maureen Ward-Gandy’s report may also be viewed, in high-resolution pdf, at the “What’s New” page of SirBacon.org, Oct. 11, 2022, https://sirbacon.org/whats-new-on-sirbacon-org/.
- For “Shakespeare Play Fragment Found–Said to be in Francis Bacon’s Own Handwriting,” as revised Sept. 25, 2020, see my blogpost, https://christinagwaldman.com/2020/05/14/fragment-of-i-henry-iv-found-in-binders-waste/.
Essays/Articles
“Challenging the Lie in a Free Society: Even in Shakespeare Authorship Studies?” SirBacon.org, Nov. 14, 2023. PDF.
“What Francis Bacon Means to Me.” SirBacon.org, Oct. 14, 2022, https://sirbacon.org/christina-waldman/ (for SirBacon.org’s 25th anniversary).
“The Oxfraudian ‘Prima Facie Case for Shakespeare’–Hoist With Its Own Petard?” SirBacon.org, Oct. 13, 2022, https://sirbacon.org/christina-waldman/. First published at https://christinagwaldman.com/blog/ (slightly revised, Oct. 20, 2022).
“Reports of the Death of the Case for Francis Bacon’s Authorship of Shakespeare Have Been Greatly Exaggerated.” SirBacon.org, posted August 3, 2022. https://sirbacon.org/christina-waldman/.
“Francis Bacon, Shakespeare, and Tortured Secrets: Violence, Violins, and–One Day–Vindication?” SirBacon.org, May 21, 2021 (revised from May 2, 2021), http://sirbacon.org/waldman/Waldman Violence Violins Vindication final 5-21-21.pdf.
“If Bacon is Shakespeare, What Questions Does that Answer?” SirBacon.org, November 27, 2020 (revised from March 8, 2019). http://www.sirbacon.org/If%20Bacon%20is%20Shakespeare%20revised%20final%2011-27-2020%20fr%203-8-19.pdf.
“Bacon’s Maiden Speech to Parliament and His Royal Birth.” SirBacon.org. June 15, 2020. http://sirbacon.org/archives/Bacons%20Maiden%20Speech%20to%20Parliament%20&%20His%20Royal%20Birth%20June%2015%202020-1.pdf.
“Francis Bacon/Bellario: Incorporated by Reference.” Baconiana, the Journal of the Francis Bacon Society, vol. 1, no. 7 (July, 2019). The Francis Bacon Society, https://francisbaconsociety.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Francis-Bacon-Bellario-Incorporated-by-Reference.pdf.
Book Reviews and Comments
Modern Language Review
“Review of Innocent Gentillet [attributed]. Anti-Machiavel: A Discourse Upon the Means of Well Governing [London, 1602; first pub. anon., Geneva, 1576]. Edited by Ryan Murtha, translated by Simon Paterick.” Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2018. In Modern Language Review, vol. 115, no. 3 (July, 2020): 682-684. Project Muse, https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/427/article/822706
SirBacon.org (in date order, newest first)
“Why Did Elizabeth Winkler Not Interview Any Baconians?” SirBacon.org. July 9, 2023. First posted at my blog, ChristinaGWaldman.com, July 5, 2023.
“Review of N. B. Cockburn, The Bacon Shakespeare Question: The Baconian Theory Made Sane (1998): A Classic Worth Reprinting.” May 15, 2023. https://sirbacon.org/review-of-n-b-cockburn-the-bacon-shakespeare-question-the-baconian-theory-made-sane-1998-a-classic-worth-reprinting/
“A Dedicated Sleuth Finds Picture-Puzzles Long Buried.” Review of Bacon Shakespeare Conundrum: Direct Evidence of Francis Bacon’s Shakespeare Authorship” by Russell Storrs Hall (published posthumously by his daughter, 2012).” SirBacon.org, Sept. 29, 2021, http://sirbacon.org/waldman/Review Russell Storrs Hall by CGW 9-29-2021.pdf.
“Review of The Martyrdom of Francis Bacon by Alfred Dodd. London: Rider, 1946.” SirBacon.org, August 24, 2021, http://www.sirbacon.org/Review_The%20Martyrdom%20of%20Francis%20Bacon%20by%20Alfred%20Dodd_Christina%20G%20Waldman%208-24-21.pdf.
“Points of note. Comments on Francis Bacon’s Cryptic Rhymes and the Truth They Reveal, by Edward Bormann.” Translated by Harry Brett. London: Siegle, Hill, 1906. SirBacon.org. October 22, 2020. http://www.sirbacon.org/Edwin-Bormann-Francis-Bacons-Cryptic-Rymes-CGW-for-SirBacon10-22-2020.pdf.
“Brief Review. Basil Brown [Mrs. Isabel Kittson Brown], Law Sports at Gray’s Inn (1594) (1921 [1913]) ….” SirBacon.org, Sept. 29, 2020, https://sirbacon.org/christina-waldman/.. [Also may be of interest: Basil Brown, Supposed Caricature of the Droeshout Portrait of Shakespeare (1911), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t1rf6ng94&view=1up&seq=5)].
“Review of Second-Seeing Shakespeare: “Stay Passenger, why goest thou by so fast? by Peter Dawkins.” Francis Bacon Research Trust, e-book, April 6, 2020. SirBacon.org, April 24, 2020. https://sirbacon.org/Review%20of%20Peter%20Dawkins%20Second-Seeing%20Shakespeare%20by%20CGW%204-24-20.pdf.
Amazon (in date order)
“A Sweet, Sensitively-Told Story.” Review of Andrea Cox Christen, Willomere (Bozeman, MT: Chicken Scratch Books, 2023). Sept. 5, 2023. A “new traditional” children’s middle-grade fantasy.
“A Book for Leaders, by a Leader.” Review of Shawn J. Ginwright, The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves (Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 2022). August 31, 2023.
“Short Shrift of the Case for Bacon?” Review of Elizabeth Winkler, Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies: How Doubting the Bard Became the Biggest Taboo in Literature, July 9, 2023; revised Sept. 5, 2023 (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2023). (Separate reviews are at Goodreads, July 17, 2023 and SirBacon.org, July 9, 2023, reprinted from this author’s blogpost, this website, July 5, 2023).
“An Author’s Literary Quest.” Review of Simon M. Miles, The Map and the Manuscript: Journeys in the Mysteries of the Two Rennes. Mossley: Greater Manchester, UK: Ignotum Press, 2022. Amazon.co.uk, Nov. 2, 2022, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Map-Manuscript-Simon-M-Miles-ebook/dp/B0B6D4TTW1.
“A Bittersweet Tale Well-Told.” Review of Bittersweet: The Story of the Heath Candy Company, by Richard J. Heath (with Ray Elliott). Urbana, IL: Tales Press, 2003. Amazon. October 7, 2021, https://www.amazon.com/BittersweetThe-Story-Heath-Candy-Co/dp/0964142317.
“Who Really Wrote Anti-Machiavel?” Review of Innocent Gentillet [attributed], Anti-Machiavel: A Discourse Upon the Means of Well Governing [London, 1602; first pub. Geneva, 1576]. Edited by Ryan Murtha, translated by Simon Paterick. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2018. Amazon. Sept. 26, 2021 (revised from Oct. 28, 2019), https://www.amazon.com/Anti-Machiavel-Innocent-Gentillet/dp/1532659733).
“Alvin Decker’s Stories Bring Illinois Depression-Era Farm History Back to Life.” Review of Born in the Illinois Cornfields by Alvin Decker. Urbana, IL: Tales Press, 2000. Amazon. June 22, 2021, https://www.amazon.com/Born-Illinois-Cornfields-Alvin-Decker/dp/0964142333.
“An Overlooked Gem on Bacon-Shakespeare Authorship,” Review of The Shakespeare Conspiracies: A 400-Year Web of Myth and Deceit, 2d ed., by Brian McClinton. Belfast: Shanway Press, 2008. Amazon. January 5, 2021, https://www.amazon.com/dp/0954390679/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=).
“What Did Francis Bacon Say?” Review of Shakespeare’s Legal Ecologies: Law and Distributed Selfhood (Rethinking the Early Modern), by Kevin Curran. Evanston: Northwestern University, 2017. Amazon. November 13, 2020, https://www.amazon.com/Shakespeares-Legal-Ecologies-Distributed-Rethinking/dp/0810135167.
“What Does the Evidence Show?” Review of Francis Bacon’s Contribution to Shakespeare: A New Attribution Method, by Barry R. Clarke. New York: Routledge, 2019. Amazon. October 29, 2019. https://www.amazon.com/Francis-Bacons-Contribution-Shakespeare-Attribution/dp/0367137828.
“Revisiting a Solid Work of Scholarship From the Past.” Review of Mark Edwin Andrews, Law versus Equity in The Merchant of Venice: A Legalization of Act IV, Scene 1. Boulder: University of Colorado Press, 1965. Amazon. Jan. 24, 2019, https://www.amazon.com/Law-versus-equity-merchant-Venice/product-reviews/B0007DFE7O.
Stories, Articles, and Poems (some as “Christie Waldman”)
Story, “The King of Maragor,” an original retelling of a Jataka tale, Skipping Stones magazine, Sept. 5, 2023. https://www.skippingstones.org/wp/. A story with a simple, timeless insight into dealing with fear.
Story, “Something to Look Forward To,” Ember: A Journal of Luminous Things, October 27, 2021 (a print anthology is said to be forthcoming), https://read.emberjournal.org/.
Poem, “Bard of the Yard,” Westward Quarterly: The Magazine of Family Reading. Summer, 2021. Page 10.
Story, “Slippers for Molly,” with “Pink Bunny Slippers,” a song written and performed by Eliza Waldman.'” April 30, 2021 (first posted April 20, 2020). https://christinagwaldman.com/pink-bunny-slippers-by-eliza-waldman/. A collaborative pandemic project.
“Hand Me Downs,” poem. Illustrations by Shannon Comins. First published in Hopscotch for Girls, June/July, 1999. Reprinted with permission at “Children’s Corner,” this website. June 7, 2019, https://christinagwaldman.com/childrens-corner/.
“Iris Foils Them All” (profile of Iris Zimmerman, of Rochester, New York who, at age 14, became the first United States fencer ever to win a world championship). Guideposts for Kids, Sept./Oct., 1996.
Comments
My response, May 11, 2023, to Brian Overland, “What are some reasons why The Merchant of Venice is considered one of Shakespeare’s best plays?” Quora. Nov. 27, 2022.
Last updated November 14, 2023.