Bad Reputation

and literature, finding new audiences through each retelling. With a body of work spanning thirty nine plays and four sonnets, William Shakespeare's contributions to English literature as well as the English language cannot be overstated. Phrases such as short shrift and with bated breath or all of a sudden can trace their roots back to the Bard, and even if he didn't originate them, he certainly popularized them enough to

cement them as mainstays of our modern lexicon. Shakespeare and his bibliography have been studied to death since his own passing in sixteen sixteen. Throughout that time, he's been accused of plagiarizing and stealing the work of others, with Francis Bacon and Christopher Marlowe being named among his many victims, but not many academics believe the claims. In fact, somethink more of his plays and poems are still out there

waiting to be discovered. In seventeen ninety four, it was twenty year old William Henry, Ireland, who had stumbled across several items allegedly written and signed by Shakespeare himself. A friend of Ireland's who wanted to stay anonymous, had given him a collection of old papers in his possession. Among them were a letter written by Shakespeare, as well as a deed bearing his signature. He presented everything to his father, Samuel,

a collector of Shakespearean memorabilia. Samuel was a static and the more William dug around, the more he found. He discovered letters Shakespeare had written to his wife Anne Hathaway, as well as some to Queen Elizabeth. There were even original manuscripts of Hamlets and King Lear, their author had scribbled notes in their margins. Samuel consulted with Shakespearean scholars on what his son had given him. They confirmed everything was real. Samuel saw an opportunity to capitalize on his

newly acquired historical artifacts. One year later, he compiled copies of the letters and notes into a book, which went on to be a big hit with readers. That same year, his son William made another incredible discovery. There was a new play well in old play, but one that had never been seen by a single soul other than its

author Shakespeare. It was called Vortigern and Rowena. Naturally, he gave that to his father, and in no time another playwright named Richard Sheridan offered Samuel three pounds to be the first to produce it for the stage. Sheridan, however, quickly saw a problem with his purchase. For one, the plot was far simpler than any of Shakespeare's other works. He passed the play along to a colleague, who also

thought something was off about it. Doubts about the script went public, and academics from all over started to pick through Ireland's compendium of documents looking for inconsistencies. The show did go on, though Sheridan's production survived a single performance before critics toured apart. One of those critics was Edmund Malone, a lawyer by trade. Malone had spent almost a decade publishing volumes of Shakespeare's works, complete with analytical essays and

copious research to back up his arguments. He put out a rebuttal against Samuel Ireland's Shakespearean collection in sevente In his opinion, the letters, promissory notes, Marginalia, and especially the New Play had all been forged. His accusations inspired others to come forward. They went after Samuel, as he had been the one to assemble everything from his son. But William couldn't bear to see his father attacked in such a hideous fashion, and so he took matters into his

own hands. He published a confession titled an Authentic Account of the Shakespearean Manuscripts. William confessed everything he had forged, the signatures, the documents, and the play, and nobody believed him. They said there was no way that someone so young could have pulled off such convincing fakes by himself. It just wasn't possible. So Samuel continued to bear the brunt of the criticism from his peers even after his passing

in eighteen hundred. William published another confession five years later and tried to find work as a writer of original stories. Success though eluded him for years. His reputation had been too greatly tarnished, and he often found himself borrowing money from anyone kind enough to lend it. William Ireland did eventually marry and have a family, but he died poor,

leaving his wife and daughters with almost nothing. His play Vortigern and Rowena remained relatively obscure for over two hundred years. Then in two thousand and eight, Pembroke College and in And produced a version for the stage. Several years later, the American Shakespeare Center in Virginia put on its own performance, giving the late Mr Ireland one last chance to have his work appraised by the theater going public. Apparently, opinions haven't changed all that much, as the play hasn't been

produced since. Everyone has a bad day now and then, the kind of day when no matter what you do, everything seems to go wrong. You burn the dinner, you pour too much detergent into the washing machine, or you suddenly hear a drip, drip drip under the kitchen sink. It becomes a twenty four hour embodiment of Murphy's law, the idea that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. In eighteen o nine, Mrs Tottenham of London experienced the worst day of her life when her modest home on

burn N Street caused a citywide panic. It all started on the morning of November. A chimney sweep had arrived at dawn to clean Mrs Tottenham's chimneys. There was just one problem. She had never asked for such a thing. The maid who answered the door sent him on his way. Almost as soon as he left, though, there was another knock at the door. Another sweep had come to clean the chimneys as well. The maid dismissed him, then answered the door one more time for yet another chimney sweep.

Throughout the early morning hours, she wound up sending a dozen soot covered men away from the premises. And then things got even stranger. The chimney sweeps were replaced by a caravan of coal carts. They'd all had orders placed for fifty four burners streets Mrs Tottenham's address. She herself came out to address them, and it formed the delivery drivers that they all had the wrong address. She never

ordered any coal. The carts soon left their drivers confused and frustrated, but the peace and quiet didn't last too long. Next to arrive was a line of bakers armed with tall and expensive wedding cakes, at which point Mrs Tottenham couldn't get rid of them fast enough. Almost as soon as one order arrived, another of a different kind quickly followed.

Suit Lawyers, doctors and apothecaries swarmed Burners Street. Clergymen who had been told of a dying man inside came to give last rites, and right behind them were the undertakers, toting brand new coffins for the soon to be deceased, despite no such person being present in the house. Cobblers, habit dashers, butchers and fishmongers only added to the spectacle. But perhaps the pinnacle of the day came when twelve

pianos arrived, accompanied by six men carrying an organ. Soon heads of states and business got wind of what was going on at the Tottenham residence. The Governor of the Bank of England, the chairman of the East India Company, and the Lord Mayor of London came to Burner's Street to see it for themselves, as did Mrs Tottenham's neighbors, who poured out from their homes to witness the growing

crowd of tradesmen eathered at her door. They'd all come to deliver goods and services, none of which she had ever ordered in the first place. One of Mrs Tottenham's neighbors was a Mr Samuel Beasley, who lived across the street from her. He watched the calamity unfold along with his friend Theodore Edward Hook. At one point, Beasley begrudgingly slipped Hook a guinea and the plan had worked. Hook had made a bet with Mr Beasley in which he claimed that he could turn any house in London into

the talk of town. He did it by putting in over four thousand orders with businesses, politicians, clergy and anyone else who would show up at fifty four Burners Street on the morning of November and show up they did. His stunt forced the police to come and break up the crowds of both tradespeople and neighbors. Once peace was finally restored to London, a bounty was put out, offering a reward for the capture of whoever had played such a disruptive, practical joke. Hook, of course, played it cool

and hit out for a few weeks, claiming illness. When officers and onlookers discussed who might have caused the rucus, Hook inevitably came up as the prime suspect. Apparently his reputation preceded him. Once the fervor died down, though, Hook retreated to the country and was never caught, but he did get the last laugh. Hook didn't just plan elaborate hoaxes.

He was also a playwright. The protagonist of his play titled Gilbert Gurney at a small speech beginning with this line what else made the effect in Berner Street, I am the man. It was about as close to a confession as anyone was going to get. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works.

I make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can learn all about it over at the World of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious. Yeah,