Эта прекрасная картина прославленного художника-миниатюриста шекспировской эпохи Исаака Оливера принадлежит английской королеве, и хранится в специальном помещении, в несгораемом сейфе, в замке Виндзор. Картина считается жемчужиной королевской коллекции портретной живописи, и в репродукциях и альбомах по искусству воспроизводится бесконечно. Однако, ни Ее Величество, ни британские эксперты не знают, кого изобразил Оливер на фоне итальянской галереи. Поэтому картина официально называется "Портрет неизвестного молодого лорда". Российский шекспировед Илья Гилилов , изучавший творчество художника, установил, что на портрете Оливер запечатлел Роджера Мэннерса, графа Рэтленда, находившегося в 1596 году в Венеции одновременно с Исааком Оливером.
  Претендентов на шекспировскую корону насчитывается около шести десятков. У многих серьезных исследователей и их сторонников, отрицающих кандидатуру "официального" Шекспира из Стратфорда, есть свой, любимый герой. На этих кандидатурах Гилилов подробно останавливается в своей книге, последовательно и доказательно, отметая одну за другой. Граф Рэтленд, по его гипотезе - ключевая фигура в "шекспировском вопросе". Автор не ставит точку, но весомость его научных открытий, глубочайшие познания в исследуемом вопросе и широта мышления таковы, что и далекий от страстей Англии XVII века читатель, невольно заражается масштабностью замысла "игры в Шекспира", становясь, либо горячим сторонником Гилилова, либо его ярым оппонентом .

"Претенденты на шекспировскую корону":

Гилилов И.М. Игра об Уильяме Шекспире, или Тайна Великого Феникса.- 2007. - 536 с., ил.; 60х84/16. - ISBN 978-5-7133-1284-8. - 300р. за комплект
  Эта книга - результат новаторских исследований литературных и исторических фактов, связанных с феноменом Шекспира. Читатель узнает об истории знаменитого "шекспировского вопроса", об открытиях автора, начавшихся с самого загадочного произведения - поэмы "Феникс и Голубь", до этого всегда переводившейся на русский язык неправильно. Эти открытия дают ключ к постижению потрясающей и прекрасной тайны в истории человеческой культуры - тайны Великого имени - Shakespeare. Книга И.М. Гилилова не имеет аналогов на русском языке, о ряде установленных им фактов впервые узнали и западные ученые. Строгая научность, насыщенность информацией сочетаются в книге с увлекательным стилем изложения.
Книга переведена на английский, болгарский и польский языки.

Гилилов И.М. Игра об Уильяме Шекспире продолжается, или Слова, слова, слова... - 2007. - 78 с., ил.; 60х84/16. - ISBN 978-5-7133-1284-8.
  Эта брошюра является приложением к книге "Игра об Уильяме Шекспире, или Тайна Великого Феникса" и содержит рассказ о полемике, развернувшейся после выхода в свет ее первого издания. Мировая дискуссия о знаменитом "шекспировском вопросе" наконец пришла в Россию, обретя при этом некоторые специфические, вызванные многолетним запретом черты.
  Замок Бельвуар, родовое поместье Рэтлендов.

А. Липков КНИГА О НЕИЗВЕСТНОМ ШЕКСПИРЕ … 7
ОТ АВТОРА … 12
• Глава первая

ТАИНСТВЕННЫЕ ПТИЦЫ РОБЕРТА ЧЕСТЕРА …15
• Глава вторая

ДОЛГИЙ СПОР ВОКРУГ ГОРОДА СТРАТФОРДА-НА-ЭЙВОНЕ …102
• Глава третья

ЦЕЛОМУДРЕННЫЕ ХОЗЯЕВА ШЕРВУДСКОГО ЛЕСА …254
• Глава четвертая

ВЕЛИЧАЙШИЙ ПЕШЕХОД МИРА, ОН ЖЕ КНЯЗЬ ПОЭТОВ ТОМАС КОРИЭТ ИЗ ОДКОМБА …350
• Интерлюдия

ФРАГМЕНТЫ ИЗ КНИГИ "КОРИЭТОВЫ НЕЛЕПОСТИ" … 390
• Глава пятая

СМЕРТЬ И КАНОНИЗАЦИЯ ЗА ЗАНАВЕСОМ …404
• Глава шестая

ПО КОМ ЖЕ ЗВОНИЛ КОЛОКОЛ …462

ПРИМЕЧАНИЯ …492
УКАЗАТЕЛЬ ИМЕН … 496
СПИСОК ИЛЛЮСТРАЦИЙ … 506

THE SHAKESPEARE GAME. The Mystery of the Great Phoenix Ilya Gililov - Algora Publishing New York.
  The Shakespeare Game was translated from Russian into English according to the text of the second Russian edition, published by the publishing house "International Relations," Moscow, 2001. (The first edition, printed in 1997 and 1998, was published by "Artist.Rezhisser.Teatr.") During the process of translation, the author took the opportunity to make some editorial enhancements and to add a few important facts.
The quotation of original English sources from the и111-!/111 centuries is known to be problematical. The original spelling is given whenever possible, that is, when the meaning of the words quoted is clear. In other cases, the modern spelling is used. The older form of a letter (v for u, and i for j) has generally been changed. Titles of books are italicized, and when first cited are given in the original spelling (e.g.. Loves Martyr); after that, they are modernized (e.g.. Love's Martyr). When original sources are cited, proper names are given in the old spelling; subsequently, in the author's words, it seems reasonable to use the modern spelling (e.g., the original Salisburie or Willobie are now spelled "Salisbury" and "Willoughby").
Algora Publishing wishes to acknowledge Evelina Melenevskaia for her contribution and effort in finalizing this translation.

PREFACE: THE UNKNOWN SHAKESPEARE . . . 1
FOREWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . 5
CHAPTER 1. ROBERT CHESTER'S MYSTERIOUS BIRDS . . . 7
A Poetic Requiem - for Whom? . . . 7
The Phoenix and the Turtle . . . 9
Threnos . . . 10
The Legend of the Wonderful Bird, the Phoenix . . . 13
Only Three Copies of the Book Extant, and Each One Different . . . 15
Love's Martyr - The Story of the Life and Death of the Turtle and the Phoenix . . . 20
The Turtle's Cantoes and Shakespeare's Sonnets . . . 29
Mourned by a Chorus of Poets . . . 35
John Marston Sees the Wonder of Perfection . . . 43
Ben Jonson Knew Them Well . . . 47
Ode Enthusiastic . . . 51
Behind the Shroud of Mystery . . . 52
Awakening - First Conjectures and Hypotheses . . . 53
"Enjoy the Music of the Verses ..." . . . 60
Take Another Look At Those Dates! . . . 65
A Strange "Misprint" in the British Library's Copy . . . 70
The Most Famous Publisher . . . 74
Dead Salusbury Helps to Open the Curtain . . . 76
No Other Couple Like Them In All England . . . 80
A Platonic Marriage . . . 84
Hamlet's Schoolfellow . . . 86

CHAPTER 2. A LONG-STANDING CONTROVERSY ABOUT STRATFORD-ON-AVON . . . 89
"Shakespeare Without End" . . . 89
Who Invented "The Shakespeare Authorship Problem" - And Why? The Traces of Genius . . . 92
William Shakspere from Stratford, his Family and Occupation . . . 96
The Last Will of the Lord of Language? The Riddle of the Signatures . . . 104
A Close Friend of the Earl of Southampton . . . 112
A Crow In Someone Else's Feathers . . . 117
Cambridge and Oxford knew the Spear-shaker . . . 122
A Self-Satisfied Pork-Butcher or a Melancholy Tailor? . . . 136
A Portrait Ben Jonson Recommended Not Looking At . . . 149
The Great Bard Acquires a Biography . . . 162
The Anniversary . . . 169
Chests of Manuscripts . . . 171
The First Doubts; Baconian Heresy . . . 183
Formation Of The Scholarly History. Rutland Appears - Coincidences, Coincidences... . . . 191
An Ideological Taboo . . . 198
The Discussion Becomes More Involved. New Candidates, New Evolutions of the Elusive Image . . . 203
In Academic Circles - The Facts Keep Piling Up . . . 213
The Hour Has Struck For the Turtle and the Phoenix . . . 219

CHAPTER 3. THE CHASTE LORDS OF SHERWOOD FOREST
The Trail Leads to Belvoir . . . 225
A Child of State . . . 232
Oh, Padua, Padua ... The Portrait Decoded . . . 238
Phoenix, Daughter of Phoenix: Rosalind . . . 247
Jaques-the-Melancholic Craves to Play a Fool . . . 247
Cambridge Games on the Muses' Home Turf . . . 259
A Favorite on the Scaffold. Downfall. . . . 275
The Ship is Bound for Elsinore: Two "Hamlet" Quartos . . . 280
The Poets of Belvoir Vale . . . 287
The Countess of Pembroke - Mistress of Poetic Arcadia in Foggy Albion . . . 296
The Transfiguration of Captain Lanyer's Wife . . . 306

CHAPTER 4. THOMAS CORYATE OF ODCOMBE, THE WORLD'S GREATEST LEG-STRETCHER, ALIAS THE PRINCE OF POETS . . . 317
All the Poets of England Sing the praises to the Giant of Mind and his Crudities . . . 317
Across Europe at a Gallop . . . 330
"Cabbage" As a Dessert For The Idiots Readers . . . 334
To India, On Foot, with His Majesty's Water Poet Laughing All the Way . . . 344
The Rabelaisian Carnival . . . 352
Interlude: Excerpts from the book "Coryate's Crudities" . . . 57
Some "Panegyric" Introductory Material Honoring the Unordinary Legstretcher and Writer . . . 357

CHAPTER 5. DEATH AND CANONIZATION BEHIND THE CURTAIN . . . 387
The Enchanted Island of Master Magician Prospero and His Bequest . . . 387
The Faces of the Dead Were Covered and Everybody Was Silent . . . 397
Covert Elegies . . . 408
And Manners Brightly Shines . . . 413
My Tongue-tied Muse in Manners Holds Her Still... . . . 418
When Did the Shakespeare Plays About the War of the Roses Appear? . . . 431

CHAPTER 6. FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLED . . . 445
Coming Back To Chester . . . 445
The Bell Tolled For Shakespeare . . . 465

1. The tide page of the Folger copy of Love's Martyr . . . 17
2. The title page of the Huntington copy. The date is missing. . . . 18
3. The title page of the London copy. Quite different: strange title, different date and publisher, and the emblem of another printer. . . . 19
4. Some pages from the Chester collection. The Turtle-Dove Cantoes. One of the most virtuoso acrostics, surprisingly similar to Shakespeare's sonnets. . . . 32 & 33
5. The first two pages of the Shakespeare poem about the Turtle and Phoenix. There is no heading. . . . 37& 38
6. The Threnos from the poem about the Turtle and Phoenix. Signed Shake-speare. . . . 41
7. John Marston talks about the unusual Perfection left behind by the Turtle and Phoenix . . . 44
8. The last page of the Chester book - the ending of the "Ode Enthusiastic" by Ben Jonson. Speaking of the Phoenix, he calls her "Lady" and regrets that he may not openly tell the truth about her. . . . 49
9. A Renaissance print shop . . . 67
10. The unique watermark we discovered in the Chester book - the unicorn with crooked hind legs. Bottom - my tracing of the outline of the watermark. . . . 73
11.Such was Shakespeare at work in his study, as conceptualized by the 19th century artist John Fad, with books everywhere... . . . 96
12. Six signatures by Shakespeare:
(1) As a witness testifying in Belott's suit. 1612. - (2) On the deed for the purchase of the house. 1613. - (3) On the mortgage paper for the same house 1613. - (4) On the first page of his will. - (5) On the second page of the will. - (6) On the third page of the will. . . . 111
13. The title page of Shake-speares Sonnets," issued by T. Thorpe in 1609 . . . 129
14. The Ashburn "Shakespeare" portrait. A fraud. . . . 134
15. The Janssen "Shakespeare" portrait. A fraud. . . . 135
16. The Flower "Shakespeare" portrait. A fraud. . . . 136
17. The Chandos "Shakespeare" portrait. Actually a portrait of an unknown man. . . . 137
18. The Grafton "Shakespeare" portrait. In reality a portrait of an unknown man. . . . 139
19. Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon . . . 141
20. The wall monument to Shakespeare in the Stratford church. Present-day view. . . . 144
21. The Stratford bust of Shakespeare according to W. Dugdale's engraving. 1656. There is neither a pen nor paper, but there are leopards' heads at the top of the pillars . . . 147
22. The Stratford bust of Shakespeare according to N. Rowe. 1709. No pen nor paper, but leopards' heads are present, here, too! . . . 149
23. Shakespeare. The engraving by M. Droeshout in the First Folio. 1623. . . . 157
24. Richard Sackville, Earl of Dorset. Portrait by I. Oliver. The Earl's garment resembles the one shown in M. Droeshout's engraving. . . . 160
25. Shakespeare. The engraving in John Benson's edition of Shakespeare's poems and sonnets. 1640. What do the three interrogation marks mean? . . . 162
26. A mock picture from the late 18th century on the Irelands' fraud (after it was disclosed). . . . 177
27. Francis Bacon . . . 190
28. William Stanley, Earl of Derby . . . 207
29. Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford . . . 209
30. Christopher Marlowe . . . 212
31. A jester effigy erected in recent times in Stratford-upon-Avon. . . . 223
32. Roger Manners, Earl of Rutland (from Demblon's book) . . . 229
33. Belvoir Castle. From a 19th-century drawing. . . . 230
34. Roger Manners as a child. The sculpture on the tomb of bis father, the 4th Earl of Rutland (about 1591). . . . 236
35. William Cecil Buighley . . . 237
36 Henry Wriothesley, Earl ot Southampton . . . 237
37 A portrait long deemed to be of Philip Sidney. In fact, it is the image of the young Rutland against the background of an Italian street gallery. . . . 246
38 Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex . . . 248
39. Queen Elizabeth I . . . 251
40. Philip Sidney . . . 254
41 A procession with Queen Elizabeth on the occasion of a high society wedding. The fifth from the left is the Earl of Rutland. From the painting by R. Peake. . . . 257
42. The poet John Weever, one of Rutland's Cambridge fellows, and one of the first to highly praise Shakespeare's poetry. . . . 270
43. Pages from Weever's Epigrams (1599) with the names of Rutland, Gullio, Shakespeare, Marston Jonson. . . . 271
44. William Kempe - the comic actor, dancer, clown. . . . 274
45. Robert Cecil (first from the right) . . . 278
46. King James I . . . 284
47. Lucy Harington, Countess of Bedford - Elizabeth Sidney Rutland's closest friend, attired as a participant of the play-masque "Hymenai" . . . 299
48. Elizabeth Sidney, Countess of Rutland, in a costume for the play-masque "Hymenai" . . . 300
49. Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke. . . . 302
50. Title page from the book Salve Dens Rex udaeorum . . . 311
51. Henry, Prince of Wales. . . . 321
52. Title page of Coryate's Crudities. . . . 324
53. A page from Coryate's Crudities. "Roger, was the word..." . . . 325
54. A page from Coryate's Crudities. "The Character of the famous Odcombian, done by a charitable friend." . . . 326
55. A page from Coryate's Crudities. Panegyrics to the author in various languages . . . 327
56. Additional panegyrics to the author of Coryate's Crudities, in various languages . . . 328
57. The title page of Coryat's Crambe. . . . 338
58. Coryate on the Heidelberg Barrel. Engraving byW. Hole . . . 339
59. Hugh Holland's address "To the Idiots Readers." . . . 341
60. This panegyric to Coryate is even supplied with music, so that readers could sing it to the oboe . . . 342
61. The title page from The Odcombian Banquet . . . 344
62. The title page of the book Thomas Coriate, Traveller for the English Wits: Greeting. From the Court ofthe Great Mogul... . . . 349
63. The portrait of Coryate with a hat covering the face. . . . 351
64. The title page of All the work o/Jolin Tffylor, the Water Poet . . . 352
65. The Earl of Rutland (circa 1610) . . . 390
66. William Herbert, the 3d Earl of Pembroke . . . 391
67. John Fletcher . . . 397
68. Tomb for Roger and Elizabeth Rutland in St. Mary the Virgin Church in Bottesford (one cannot see, here, the cherubs on the rear columns) . . . 402
69. Wall monument to Shakespeare (Shakspere) in the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford (full view). The top part (coat of arms, skull) resembles that of the Rutlands' tomb. . . . 403
70. The cherub sculptures on the Rutland (left) and Shakspere (right) tombs are identical in conception . . . 406
71. Francis Beaumont . . . 409
72. BenJonson . . . 416
73. John Donne . . . 427
74. }ohn Donne's tomb - the only statue in St. Paul's Cathedral surviving the Great Fire of 1666 . . . 428
75. The Rutlands' monument, crowned with an image of wings in flight - a symbol of Spirit overcoming Death, symbol of the Phoenix arising from the ashes . . . 434
76. The title page of The Works of Kingjames. . . . 443
77. Text of the song from "Twelfth Night," in Rutland's handwriting . . . 452
78. Title page from "Much Ado about Nothing" by Shakespeare, 1600. In place of the printer's emblem is a tragic mask with rings. . . . 455
79. The enigmatic mask also appears in Coryates Crudities, under the signature of the Odcombian Leggestretcher and his Address to the reader. . . . 456
80. The half-title of Chester's collection as it is presented in all the three extant copies . . . 457
81. The half-title of Chester's collection in Grosart's reissue of 1878. How is it that the tragic mask, familiar to us, appears here? . . . 458
82. "The Muses Sacrifice." Hole's engraving of 1612. Scene on Parnassus: surrounded by all the nine Muses, Apollo and the Angel of Pure Love (treading upon Cupid) keep the fire going, in which burn the hearts of the chaste couple who had secretly served poesy. . . . 460