1 f A WANDERER WITH SHAKESPEARE THE SPIRIT OF SHAKESPEARE'S ENGLAND. RICHARD COEUR DE LION AT WESTMINSTER A WANDERER WITH SHAKESPEARE LONDON RICH & COWAN, LTD. 37 Bedford Square, W.C.i To LOUISE and JOHN BUSUTTIL in gratitude for all their help. URL CONTENTS List of Illustrations page 7 Index of Scenes 9 I. Shakespeare's early Years at Stratford-on- 17 Avon II. Shakespeare in London 36 III. London Scenes in his Plays 53 IV. The Scenes that are laid in Kent 141 V. The Scenes that are laid in Hertfordshire 159 VI. The Scenes that are laid in Windsor 176 VII. The Scenes that are laid in Scotland 210 VIII. The Scenes that are laid in Northumberland 278 IX. Lancaster and the Scenes that are laid in 284 Yorkshire X. The Scenes that are laid in Staffordshire 301 and Leicestershire XI. The Scenes that are laid in Shropshire 310 and Hereford XII. The Scenes that are laid in Warwickshire 317 XIII. The Scenes that are laid in Northampton 326 and Huntingdon XIV. The Scenes that are laid in Suffolk and 332 Lincolnshire XV. The Scenes that are laid in Wiltshire and 342 Hampshire XVI. The Scenes that are laid in Gloucestershire 347 XVII. The Scenes that are laid in Wales 352 XVIII. Shakespeare's Last Years 361 General Index 365 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS The Spirit of Shakespeare's England. Richard Goeur de Lion at Westminster frontispiece Shakespeare's Birthplace, Stratford-on-Avon facing page 22 Southwark Cathedral, which was Shakespeare's parish church when he worked in London 40 Westminster Hall 66 George Inn, Southwark. Here are balconies from which people watched Shakespeare's plays in the court- yard 76 The Spirit of England's Chivalry. The sword of King Edward III, Founder of the Order of the Garter 114 The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, overlooking the Field of Barnet 160 Warwick's Memorial at Barnet, here the Kingmaker fell 164 Old Gateway. St. Albans Abbey 172 St. George's Chapel. The Stalls of the Garter Knights of Windsor 1 80 St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, before Restora- tion 1 96 The Curfew Tower Dungeon, Windsor Castle 206 Holyrood Palace . 210 Inverness. Flora Macdonald. (The Castle rebuilt where Macbeth killed Duncan) 236 7 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS contd. First and Last Glen of Scotland, showing Bruce's Cave facing page 276 The Percy Stronghold, Warkworth 278 Warkworth. The Grim Fortress of Northumberland 282 Lancaster The Castle Gateway 284 York The Castle, Clifford's Tower 300 King Richard's Well, Bosworth Field 302 The Author at Bosworth 304 The Church at Bosworth 308 Victims of the Wash 338 Ann Hathaway's Cottage, Shottery, near Stratford- on-Avon 362 8 INDEX OF SCENES DESCRIBED Chapter Three LONDON Richard II. Act I, Scenes i, 2, 4. Act II, Scenes i, 2. Act IV, Scene i. ActV, Scenes i, 2. Henry IV. Pt. I, Act I, Scenes i, 2, 3. Act II, Scene 4. Act III, Scene 23. Henry IV. Part II, Act I, Scene 2. Act II, Scenes i, 2, 4. Act III, Scene i. Act IV, Scene 4. Act V, Scenes 2, 4, 5. Henry V. Act I, Scenes i, 2. Act II, Scenes i, 3. Henry VI. Part I, Act I, Scenes i, 3. Act II, Scenes 4, 5. Act III, Scene i. Act V, Scenes i, 5. Henry VI. Part II, Act I, Scenes i, 2, 3, 4. Act II, Scenes 2, 3, 4. Act III, Scene 3. Act IV, Scenes 2, 3> 4> 5> 6, 7, 8. Henry VI. Part III, Act I, Scene i. Act III, Scene 2. Act IV, Scenes i, 4, 6, 8. Act V, Scenes 6, 7. Richard III. Act I, Scenes i, 2, 3, 4. Act II, Scenes i, 2, 3, 4. Act III, Scenes i, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7. Act IV, Scenes i, 2, 3, 4, 5. Henry VIII. Act I, Scenes i, 2, 3, 4. Act II, Scenes i, 2, 3, 4. Act III, Scenes i, 2, 3. Act V, Scenes i, 2, 3, 4, 5. Chapter Four KENT Henry IV. Part I, Act II, Scenes i, 2. Henry VI, Part II, Act IV, Scene i. Lear. Act IV, Scenes 3, 4, 6, 7. Act V, Scenes i, 2, 3. Henry VI. Part II, Act IV, Scenes i, 10. Act V, Scene i . Chapter Five HERTFORDSHIRE Henry VI. Part III, Act V, Scenes 2, 3. Henry VI, Part II, Act II, Scene i. Act V, Scenes 3, 4. Richard II. Act III, Scene 4. Chapter Six WINDSOR Richard II. Act II, Scene 2. Act V, Scenes 3, 4, 6. Merry 9 INDEX OF SCENES DESCRIBED contd. Wives of Windsor. Act I, Scenes i, 2, 3, 4. Act II, Scenes i, 2, 3. Act III, Scenes I, 2, 3, 4, 5. Act IV, Scenes i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Act V, Scenes i, 2, 3, 4, 5. Chapter Seven SCOTLAND Macbeth. Act I, Scenes i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Act II, Scenes i, 2, 3, 4. Act III, Scenes i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Act IV, Scenes i, 2, 3. Act V, Scenes i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Chapter Eight NORTHUMBERLAND Henry IV. Part I, Act II, Scene 3. Henry IV. Part II, Act I, Induction, Scene I. Act II, Scene 3. Chapter Nine YORKSHIRE Richard II. Act V, Scene 5. Richard III. Act III, Scene 3. Henry IV. Part I, Act IV, Scene 4. Henry IV. Part II, Act I, Scene 3. Act IV, Scenes i, 2, 3. Henry VI. Part III, Act I, Scene 3. Act II, Scenes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Act III, Scene i. Act IV, Scenes 5, 7. Chapter Ten STAFFORDSHIRE AND LEICESTERSHIRE Richard III. Act V, Scenes 2, 3, 4. Lear. Act I, Scene i. Henry VIII. Act IV, Scene 2. Chapter Eleven SHROPSHIRE AND HEREFORD Henry IV. Part I, Act IV, Scenes 1,3. Act V, Scenes i, 2? 3> 4> 5- Henry VI. Part III, Act II, Scene i. Chapter Twelve WARWICKSHIRE Richard II. Act I, Scene 3. Henry IV. Part I, Act IV, Scene 2. Henry VI. Part II, Act IV, Scene 9. Henry VI. Part III, Act IV, Scenes 2, 3. Act V, Scene i. Chapter Thirteen NORTHAMPTON AND HUNTINGDON King John. Act I, Scene i. Act IV, Scenes i, 2, 3. Act V, Scene i. Henry VIII. Act IV, Scene 2. 10 INDEX OF SCENES DESCRIBED contd. Chapter Fourteen SUFFOLK AND LINCOLNSHIRE King John. Act V, Scenes 2, 3, 4, 5. Henry VI. Part II, Act III, Scenes i, 2. King John. Act V, Scenes 6, 7. Chapter Fifteen WILTSHIRE AND HAMPSHIRE Richard III. Act V, Scene I. Henry V. Act II, Chorus, Scene 2. Chapter Sixteen GLOUCESTERSHIRE Richard II. Act II, Scene 3. Act III, Scene i. Henry IV. Part II, Act III, Scene 2. Act V, Scenes i, 2. Henry VI. Part III, Act V, Scenes 4, 5. Chapter Seventeen WALES Richard II. Act II, Scene 4. Act III, Scenes 2, 3. Henry IV. Part I, Scene i. Cymbeline. Act III, Scenes 3, 4, 6. Act IV, Scenes i, 2, 4. ii PREFACE WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE is without question the most mysterious star in the heavens of the great. The private and public lives of the few god-like beings who approach his magnitude are recorded in full detail, and are therefore not mysterious, whereas very little is known actu- ally about our National Poet. A few legal statements con- cerning him are all that can be vouched for by the ultra- critical. We actually know more of the father's history than the son's. But how shall a man be known? By their fruits ye shall know them, and it must be by his works that we know Shakespeare as great. It is the mystery about his master-mind that in latter days has called forth so many surmises, some of which have developed into cult. To mention two of these the theories about Bacon and the Earl of Oxford. How many books have been written which prove to some conclusively that Shake- speare was but the pen-name of one of these scholarly gentle- men. But so long as Shakespeare exists between covers, and is seen upon the stage, does it matter very much who he was? For the chief thing we are concerned about is what he did, whoever "he" may have been. As far as his plots went, we know that he just sat down and improved the plots of others beyond all recognition. Certainly one part of this Shake- speare was an actor and producer of plays. One has only to play in them to know that he knew his job, by knowing exactly what the actor could do or could not do, and such knowledge made him the good friend of good actors for all time, by giving them the best medium for their art in the 13 PREFACE shape of good actable parts in good actable plays, while to the student of human nature, whether actor, reader, or audience, he bequeathed a great family of characters in whom all the qualities of humanity, good and bad, can be found. Did I have to subscribe to any of the cults which seek to rob the actor, Will Shakespeare of his authorship, I should incline towards the theory that he was a Rosicrucian, which seems to have been a forerunner of Rotarians, a club where the best people of various professions congregated and ex- changed views. In any case, even if Shakespeare is Shake- speare the actor from Stratford, he must have added to his Grammar School scholarship by picking the brains of the cleverest men, which makes him all the cleverer.