Let's continue our journey through Shakespeare's Apocrypha, with a play that SOUNDS like it should be a rogue Jane Austen novel, but absolutely isn't.
Arden of Faversham was actually based upon the real-life murder of Thomas Arden, which caused quite a stir at the time. I haven't read it, but the synopsis makes it sound unintentionally hilarious, with Alice reruiting what seem to be a dozen different people to murder her husband, none of whom actually manage to do so until the very end.
The author or authors of Arden remain unknown. The play was published anonymously, and subsequent generations of scholars have cycled through all the likely suspects: Shakespeare, Marlowe, Kyd, and others. It's possible Shakespeare contributed some material to it, but there doesn't seem to be any overriding consensus on the matter.
WHAT: Opening address at USF's cross-disciplinary Shakespeare conference! I'll be talking about Good Tickle Brain, comics, and Shakespeare!
WHY: Because they asked me!
HOW: My talk is free and open to the public! Just show up!