FACT, FICTION, OR SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN?

1 SHAKESPEARE WAS FORCED TO LEAVE STRATFORD-UPONAVON IN A HURRY AFTER HE WAS CAUGHT POACHING DEER AT NEARBY CHARLECOTE

According to legend, young William Shakespeare was hauled up before local magistrate and owner of Charlecote Park, Sir Thomas Lucy, after he was caught poaching deer on the estate. It’s a popular tale, but is there any truth to it?

“The deer-poaching story is a nice anecdote, but we don’t know if it actually happened,” says Paul Edmondson. “There is no documentary evidence of any local prosecutions for poaching during Shakespeare’s younger years, and there wasn’t even a deer park at Charlecote at this time. That doesn’t prove that Shakespeare wasn’t found poaching somewhere on the estate, though. The story dates back to at least the 1680s – within the lifetime of Sir Thomas Lucy’s great-nephews and great-nieces – so there could be a ring of truth to it somewhere.”

2 ANNE HATHAWAY WAS AN ‘OLD MAID’ WHEN SHE MARRIED SHAKESPEARE

Anne Hathaway was 26 when she wed the 18-year-old William Shakespeare, but she was far from being left on the shelf, says Paul Edmondson. “Men were definitely marrying women of Anne’s age during this period – she was certainly still considered to be of marriageable age. What is unusual about their union, though, is Shakespeare’s youth. He was technically underage when they married (men came of age at 21) and had to ask his father’s permission to wed, so it was a pretty unusual set of circumstances.

“Historian Jeanne Jones has identified that between 1570 and 1630, the average age