The Ireland Forgeries
Preserved but no longer current.
One of the most famous of literary forgers was William Henry Ireland (1777-1835), the son of a bookseller and amateur antiquarian. When only 17 young Ireland produced a number of seemingly ancient leases and other documents purporting to be in the handwriting of William Shake- speare, among them being a love-letter to Ann Hathaway, enclosing a lock of hair.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “The Ireland Forgeries” mean?
One of the most famous of literary forgers was William Henry Ireland (1777-1835), the son of a bookseller and amateur antiquarian. When only 17 young Ireland produced a number of seemingly ancient leases and other documents purporting to be in the handwriting of William Shake- speare, among them being a love-letter to Ann Hathaway, enclosing a lock of hair.
Is “The Ireland Forgeries” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.