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The
17th-century approach
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The
17th-century approach
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| Tour the House | |
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| For a detailed discussion of this lost letter, see Margaret P. Hannay, Philip's Phoenix: Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke (Oxford University Press, 1990), pages 122-123. |
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Wilton
House We
have the man Shakespeare with us. Wilton House the earl of Pembroke's home, is one of the few surviving buildings which Shakespeare visited - his presence there is arguably more certain than in any of the Stratford buildings save the church where he is buried. The letter from the Countess of Pembroke to her son was documented in 1865, when Lady Herbert of Lea described it to William Cory, then tutor to her son, the young 13th Earl of Pembroke. According to Lady Herbert, the countess wanted King James to come to Wilton to see As You Like It. The letter has not been seen by scholars, though the few details Cory jotted down dovetail with known history. The Countess's son Philip later became the Earl of Montgomery and one of the "Incomparable Brethren" to whom Shakespeare's First Folio was dedicated (along with his elder brother William, third Earl of Pembroke). |