Here's the thing: I used to believe that he couldn't possibly be so smart as to write all that. And then, you know... now I see them say he couldn't because he describes places. You know what I'd do if I wanted to write about S___? I'd ask you for tips on it. I'd ask you where my characters would eat, the names of local places. OH MY GOD I MUST BE AMERICAN.

Why would a man working with a company of actors from around the country not think to do that?

The more I read about it, the more I think he just was himself. saffronlie and I (I bet unlike Anne Rice) visited Stratford and he's just so ingrained into the culture there, his history literally in the buildings and churches of that area. He was a rich man living off his writing when he was alive. As even a cursory glance at Wiki will tell us, nobody even questioned his authorship until the 19th century, when the man was long dead.

As for Anne, she's just so ridiculous I cannot. She's absurd. She actually has some really vile opinions and acts like your embarrassing aunt. But unlike the aunt, she has an audience of clowns hanging on her every word.

I need to stop reading her craziness! It's like crack!