Fictionalization of Edward de Vere's life, told by himself just before his death. De Vere, the Earl of Oxford, is the principal "other" candidate for Shakespeare. If the book proves nothing else (and it *does* prove nothing else), it 's a classic example that it is very, very dangerous to try making a fictional character sound like Shakespeare.

I love Field's NABOKOV, but, boy golly, this one is a stinker.

Note to LibraryThingers: we need a zero-stars category. ( )