C. M. (Clement Mansfield) Ingleby

author

C. M. (Clement Mansfield) Ingleby

1823–1886

Privately educated because of fragile health, he became one of the 19th century’s notable Shakespeare scholars and a sharp critic of forged “discoveries” about the playwright. His work ranged from textual study and literary history to logic and metaphysics.

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About the author

Born near Birmingham in 1823, Clement Mansfield Ingleby grew up in poor health and was educated at home before going on to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied mathematics. He later joined his father’s legal practice in Birmingham, but his strongest reputation came from his literary and scholarly work rather than from the law.

Ingleby is best remembered as a Shakespearean scholar. He wrote extensively on Shakespeare, took a prominent role in debates about the authenticity of documents connected with the playwright, and became especially known for challenging questionable claims and forged evidence in the famous Collier controversy. His writings also reached beyond Shakespeare into logic, philosophy, and criticism.

He was active in learned circles, read papers before the Royal Society of Literature, and later served it in leadership roles. Ingleby died in 1886, leaving behind a body of work that reflects both careful scholarship and a lively willingness to question accepted stories.