William Henry Ireland forges Shakespeare

JUN 1794

In December 1794 the teenage William Henry Ireland presented his father with a deed bearing a forged Shakespeare signature, then produced a stream of letters, documents and finally an entire 'lost' play, Vortigern and Rowena. Edmond Malone's 'An Inquiry into the Authenticity of Certain Miscellaneous Papers' demolished the papers on 31 March 1796, one day before the play opened at Drury Lane on 2 April 1796. The play closed after a single performance, and Ireland confessed publicly later that year.