Le portrait de monsieur W. H.

A quiet evening in a cozy London townhouse sets the stage for a lively debate about art, authenticity and the thin line between homage and deception. Two friends, Erskine and the narrator, sip coffee and trade cigarette smoke while dissecting the motives of a young man who once fabricated a painting to prove a controversial theory about a celebrated poet’s secret identity.

When Erskine produces a mysterious portrait of a strikingly beautiful, almost androgynous youth, the conversation turns from abstract speculation to a palpable intrigue. The image, with its 16th‑century attire and thoughtful gaze, hints at hidden histories and the tantalizing possibility that a long‑lost figure may have been more than a myth. Listeners are invited to follow the narrator’s quest to untangle fact from fancy, exploring the allure of literary conspiracies and the human desire to rewrite the past.