It is long overdue that someone took a closer look at the brilliant Mary Sidney. I have a suspicion that Mary Sidney’s life, and especially her dedication to the English language after her brother’s death, may throw important light on the mysterious authorship of the Shakespeare plays and poems. —Mark Rylance Actor; Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, 1996–2006; Chairman of the Shakespearean Authorship Trust For more than two hundred years, a growing number of researchers have questioned whether the man named William Shakespeare actually wrote the works attributed to him. There is no paper trail for William Shakespeare—no record that he was ever paid for writing, nothing in his handwriting but a few signatures on legal documents, no evidence of his presence in the royal court except as an actor in his later years, no confirmation of his involvement in the literary circles of the time. With so little information about this man—and even less evidence connecting him to the plays and sonnets—what can and what can’t we assume about the author of the greatest works of the English language? For the first time, Robin P. Williams presents an in-depth inquiry into the possibility that Mary Sidney Herbert, the Countess of Pembroke, wrote the works attributed to the man named William Shakespeare. As well educated as Queen Elizabeth I, this woman was at the forefront of the literary movement in England, yet not allowed to write for the public stage. But that’s just the beginning . . . The first question I am asked by curious freshmen in my Shakespeare course is always, “Who wrote these plays anyway?” Now, because of Robin Williams’ rigorous scholarship and artful sleuthing, Mary Sidney Herbert will forever have to be mentioned as a possible author of the Shakespeare canon. Sweet Swan of Avon doesn’t pretend to put the matter to rest, but simply shows how completely reasonable the authorship controversy is, and how the idea of a female playwright surprisingly answers more Shakespearean conundrums than it creates... —Cynthia Lee Katona Professor of Shakespeare and Women’s Studies, Ohlone College; Author of Book Savvy

本作は、世界で最も神聖視されるシェイクスピアという偶像に対し、メアリ・シドニーという知性の極致にいた貴婦人の影を投じる、あまりに大胆で知的な挑戦状です。著者のロビン・ウィリアムズは、緻密な考証により、エリザベス朝の文学的中心にいた彼女の情熱と、当時の女性が直面した社会的制約の葛藤を見事に浮き彫りにしています。 読者は歴史の断片からメアリの魂に触れることで、傑作群の背後に潜む真の声を探し当てるスリルを味わうでしょう。これは単なる著者探しの枠を超え、埋もれた天才への敬意が溢れる、文学史への愛に満ちた鎮魂歌です。真実の扉を開ける高揚感は、あなたの既存のシェイクスピア観を根底から揺さぶるに違いありません。