Have you ever heard of Emilia Lanier? Well, Emilia is believed by some to actually be the author of all of Shakespeare’s works!

Emilia was a very important woman for many reasons.

First off she was said to be of dark complexion, she was of Venetian / Moroccan / Jewish descent.

Her father was appointed to King Henry VIII’s court as a musician and although she illegitimate she was educated and became the first professional poet through her single volume of poems, Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum (1611).

Emilia lived opposite the theatre district in London, she hung around in Shakespeare’s social circles. She was an accomplished poet and there are signs she may have been the author or at lest contributor of Shakespeare’s works. Watch the evidence presented below:

Of course, it’s not conclusive by any means. Snopes said the original meme was false (http://bit.ly/202fBvf) but there is a lot of evidence that says that although the grand claims were not 100% right there could be a lot more to this story.

Emilia was likely mentioned in the Merchant of Venice and is very possibly the Dark Lady!

Read more about her here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilia_Lanier
http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/players/player34.html

Very interesting!!!!