The Emilia Lanier theory about Shakespeare's authorship suggests that Emilia Lanier, an English poet born Aemilia Bassano in 1569 and who lived until 1645, may have written some of the plays and poems credited to William Shakespeare. Like many other people who have been proposed as the hidden writer of Shakespeare's works, this idea is not widely accepted by most scholars who study Shakespeare.
John Hudson
In 2007, John Hudson, a theatre producer and scholar, proposed that Amelia Lanier wrote the works of Shakespeare. He noticed similarities between Shakespeare’s writings and Lanier’s poetry book, Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum (Latin: Hail, God, King of the Jews). Hudson also pointed to Lanier’s educated background and upbringing that included exposure to different cultures as evidence. Her family included several musicians, and Hudson noted that Shakespeare’s plays mention music three times more often than similar works. He also linked references to falconry in Shakespeare’s plays to Lanier’s lover, Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon. Additionally, Hudson observed that names connected to Lanier appear in The Taming of the Shrew. He also stated that Shakespeare’s texts include words written in Hebrew.
Hudson published a book about this idea in 2014 titled Shakespeare’s Dark Lady: Amelia Bassano Lanier, The Woman Behind Shakespeare’s Plays? In 2010, Renaissance literature scholar Kate Chedgzoy said, “The myth of Aemilia Lanyer as Shakespeare’s Dark Lady shows our ongoing interest in imagining a female Shakespeare and highlights concerns about differences in Renaissance literature.” By 2020, several novels featuring Lanier as a character included Hudson’s theories. David McInnis, a professor of English and Theatre Studies, said, “The idea that Lanier was known to many people and that a large group of important London figures in the 17th century would hide her authorship of Shakespeare’s plays is unreasonable.” Biographer Jonathan Bate stated that Lanier’s works do not resemble Shakespeare’s.
Other proponents
In 2019, reporter Elizabeth Winkler wrote an essay for The Atlantic that suggested Shakespeare might have been a woman. She proposed that Emilia Lanier could have been the author, referencing the work of scholar Hudson. Winkler also suggested that Lanier and poet Mary Sidney, along with others, might have written Shakespeare’s plays together. The essay increased interest in Lanier’s life and the contributions of women in literature. However, it also caused debate, with some critics arguing that the essay did not fully consider the widely accepted view that Shakespeare himself wrote his works. Author Jug Suraiya described the reactions to the essay as "strong opposition from people who believed the idea was unfair." Winkler later wrote a book titled Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies (2023) after facing criticism for the essay.
The Atlantic also published responses to Winkler’s essay. James S. Shapiro, a Shakespeare expert, said that suggesting Lanier wrote Shakespeare’s plays was one of many similar ideas and that it does not mean Shakespeare was a woman, just as seeing a character in a play does not mean the writer was like that character. Phyllis Rackin, an academic, agreed that women likely contributed to plays performed in Shakespeare’s time but was not convinced that Lanier was the main author of his works. David Ellis, a biographer, noted that while Lanier is not the most likely candidate among those who have been suggested as Shakespeare’s author, she had an advantage over others like Christopher Marlowe and Edward de Vere because she lived until after Shakespeare’s death.
Noah Millman, a critic, compared Winkler’s argument to that of Mary Preston, a Confederate supporter who claimed Shakespeare’s character Othello was white. In a review of Winkler’s book, Bate wrote that people often find names like Francis Bacon, Edward de Vere, and Emilia Bassano in Shakespeare’s works not because they wrote them, but because Shakespeare was known as the "Soul of the Age" by his friend Ben Jonson.
Mark Bradbeer, in his 2022 book Aemilia Lanyer As Shakespeare's Co-Author, argued that Lanier co-wrote some of Shakespeare’s plays. He also suggested that Lanier used other names, such as Henry Willobie and George Wilkins, and that her life inspired stories in Shakespeare’s plays.
Jodi Picoult, an author, said Lanier is a good candidate because Shakespeare could not have written characters who supported women’s rights, and because in his time, "William Shakespeare" was a name used for many different writers. Picoult was inspired by Winkler’s essay and wrote a novel titled By Any Other Name (2024) based on the idea that Lanier was Shakespeare. She also pointed out that Lanier became the mistress of Henry Carey at age 13, the same age as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. Gareth Roberts, a novelist, said the idea could be a creative story but questioned whether actors and writers would keep such a secret.
In 2026, feminist historian Irene Coslet wrote a book titled The Real Shakespeare: Emilia Bassano Willoughby, arguing that Lanier was the real author of Shakespeare’s works. Coslet claimed Lanier was a Black Jewish woman and said her authorship was hidden by "Western and European-focused ideas." She also noted that the name "A-She-Speaker" can be rearranged to form "Shakespeare" and that folding the Droeshout portrait (a famous painting of Shakespeare) in a certain way makes it look like a portrait of Lanier. Matthias Heine, an editor, called Coslet’s ideas a "left-wing conspiracy theory" and accused her of falsely attributing Black identity to Lanier.
Other women candidates
Other women who have been proposed as possible authors of Shakespeare's works include Queen Elizabeth I, Shakespeare's wife Anne Hathaway, a woman Shakespeare may have wanted to marry named Anne Whateley, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Mary Sidney.