Every year I think about my two heroes of the past few centuries - Dickens and Shakespeare. Both responsible for all that is best in Britain.

Shakespeare was the source of so much work that many think a number of people were involved in the writing of his work: WS was also an actor, producer and property landlord/investor.

But then some also have concerns about Shelley and Wordsworth - suggesting that their sisters were the real authors, in eras when the work of women wasn't appreciated.

JK2006 wrote:
Every year I think about my two heroes of the past few centuries - Dickens and Shakespeare. Both responsible for all that is best in Britain.

So when is twelfth night? January 5th or January 6th. I always consider it the 6th, Epiphany, as the day I remove the decorations.

Al Gershwin wrote:


But then some also have concerns about Shelley and Wordsworth - suggesting that their sisters were the real authors, in eras when the work of women wasn't appreciated.

And much later Dick Francis came under suspicion that his wife was the author!

Using their own initials, the Bronte sisters - in their early years - wrote under the male pseudonym of Bell. Whilst George Eliot was, in real life, Mary Ann Evans.

Wyot wrote:
Al Gershwin wrote:


But then some also have concerns about Shelley and Wordsworth - suggesting that their sisters were the real authors, in eras when the work of women wasn't appreciated.

And much later Dick Francis came under suspicion that his wife was the author!


My mother loved his books, she knew the wife wrote them fairly early on when the flow of text read like a lady writer. Particularly the way how jockeys are described or love interest's.

A few year's later the rumours were floating around. The publisher downplayed it, saying that they both write bits each.


He was jockey before my time but did hear he was very average horse racer.

Al Gershwin wrote:
Using their own initials, the Bronte sisters - in their early years - wrote under the male pseudonym of Bell. Whilst George Eliot was, in real life, Mary Ann Evans.


If anyone remembers the old Tory MP Rupert Allason who lost his seat many years ago but was quite prominent, he had an espionage background and a few weeks ago he popped up on Talk TV chatting about that subject, I recognised him immediately but he was introduced and captioned as Nigel West instead, the name he uses for his books on the subject. Presumably if they have him back to talk politics another time he will revert to being Rupert Allason for that subject.