Mystery Identities
William D. Rubinstein, co-author of a radical new book on Shakespeare’s true identity, reflects on some riddles of history in the light of his own discoveries.
History does not always tell us what we want to know; sometimes it does not even tell us the names of those persons whose actions, words, and achievements comprise its substance. Much of ancient history is utterly anonymous. No one knows how the pyramids were built or the names of the architects of Stonehenge, or whether Homer actually lived or not. The lifestory of Jesus of Nazareth, although spelled out in four Gospel accounts, is shrouded in considerable mystery and speculation, as shown by the phenomenal success of Dan Brown’s thriller The Da Vinci Code.
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