Bacon and Shakspere

This sensationalist essay proposes that William Shakespeare is a pseudonym, and the actual person behind all of his works was actually Francis Bacon. Various explanations are offered for this alleged subterfuge, most commonly that Bacon's rise to high office might have been hindered were it to become known that he wrote plays for the public stage. Thus the plays were credited to Shakespeare, who was merely a front to shield the identity of Bacon.