Arthur Acheson

Arthur Acheson (1864–1930) was a British author and Shakespeare scholar whose books focused on biography, authorship, and the literary world around William Shakespeare. Public-domain and library records for his work identify him as the author of Shakespeare and the Rival Poet (1903), Shakespeare's Lost Years in London, 1586-1592 (1920 edition), Mistress Davenant: The Dark Lady of Shakespeare's Sonnets (1913), Shakespeare's Sonnet Story, 1592-1598 (1922), and Shakespeare, Chapman and Sir Thomas More (published in 1931 after his death).

His writing stands out for its confidence and curiosity. Again and again, he tried to solve long-debated Shakespeare mysteries by connecting literary analysis with historical records, especially around the sonnets, Shakespeare’s early London years, and questions of identity and influence.

Acheson’s books are a window into an energetic period of Shakespeare scholarship, when critics often argued their cases like investigators. Even when modern readers may not accept all of his conclusions, his work remains interesting for its ambition, detail, and clear fascination with the Bard’s world.