UPDATE: The contest's two winners have been notified. Congratulations to both! And thank you to all who entered the contest. See the Facebook page ShakesVere for more.
The first place winner received a free DVD or Blu-Ray copy of the newly released historical thriller Anonymous. (Winner's choice of DVD or Blu-Ray, whatever works for your home video setup.)
Second place is a copy of Anonymous's companion book.
So what is Anonymous? It's a fantastical historical rollercoaster ride based on the epic life and very Shakespearean times of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford. As Rex Reed wrote in the New York Observer
Shakespeare may be the most performed playwright in the history of letters, but in 400 years not one original script has been found in his own handwriting. When he died at 52, survived by an illiterate wife and daughter, he left behind in his will no mention of a single manuscript. In Anonymous, an obvious labor of love for director Roland Emmerich, the culprit is identified as Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, a wealthy aristocrat who could not attach his real name to works of lusty romance, tragedy and political intrigue because they lampooned prominent members of the court. ... I found it a complex cornucopia of ideas and panache. You go away sated.
Or as Morgan Freeman told USA Today, "Have you seen Anonymous? Oh, don't miss that one. Do. Not. Miss. Anonymous. Another well-made movie; very well-done."
Of course, Anonymous is also a glorious piece of Hollywood filmmaking -- which means it sometimes takes some liberties. This blog, while unreservedly recommending the movie, has chronicled a few.
To really delve into de Vere's tremendous depth and epic, page-turning life -- with its rich network of connections between de Vere's life and the "Shakespeare" works -- Edward de Vere's literary biography, "Shakespeare" by Another Name is the book to read.
Just a few months ago "Shakespeare" by Another Name was released as an ebook, and less than the price of a movie ticket will open a whole new world of connections to the greatest plays ever written.
In the words of some prominent journalists and reviewers, SBAN is a gripping and controversial alternative biography of the Bard that "deserves serious attention."[1] The book "makes a compelling argument,"[2] "quite a compelling argument"[3] that is "especially impressive."[4]
[1] The New York Times
[2] USA Today
[3] The Chicago Sun-Times
[4] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
