A Little More about George Wilkins, Courtesy of Wikipedia
Gee whiz! Can y’all believe it’s the end of December?
Well, I wanted to sneak in one last post before the new year.
I’ve been thinking a lot about authorship these days. Now, I personally believe that William Shakespeare did in fact write all of the plays attributed to him (partly because of a documentary I saw by Michael Wood called In Search of Shakespeare, which I highly recommend, it’s on Netflix
if you’re curious...no, really, I’ll wait...), I don’t think it was some Earl somewhere or Marlowe or whatever other theories are floating out there...we have a lot of information about him from documents meticulously kept by the Elizabethan government, numerous speculative books
and of course, the plays themselves.
Gee whiz! Can y’all believe it’s the end of December?
Well, I wanted to sneak in one last post before the new year.
I’ve been thinking a lot about authorship these days. Now, I personally believe that William Shakespeare did in fact write all of the plays attributed to him (partly because of a documentary I saw by Michael Wood called In Search of Shakespeare, which I highly recommend, it’s on Netflix
if you’re curious...no, really, I’ll wait...), I don’t think it was some Earl somewhere or Marlowe or whatever other theories are floating out there...we have a lot of information about him from documents meticulously kept by the Elizabethan government, numerous speculative books
and of course, the plays themselves.
But as far as Pericles is concerned, it’s not just Shakespeare that influenced the story,
there is in fact another author to learn about!
I was curious about this fellow, the circumstances surrounding his authorship of Pericles--
did he write just the first two acts, with Shakespeare coming in to clean up the mess?
or did he come back later and tack on the beginning to a fragment Shakespeare had penned?
--and his background, so I decided to do a little investigation into the
mysterious past of George Wilkins, the illustrious co-author of Pericles, Prince of Tyre.
there is in fact another author to learn about!
I was curious about this fellow, the circumstances surrounding his authorship of Pericles--
did he write just the first two acts, with Shakespeare coming in to clean up the mess?
or did he come back later and tack on the beginning to a fragment Shakespeare had penned?
--and his background, so I decided to do a little investigation into the
mysterious past of George Wilkins, the illustrious co-author of Pericles, Prince of Tyre.
Not to be confused with George Hubert Wilkins
the noted Australian Polar explorer:
Though, I prefer to think of him like this anyhow.
Source
George Wilkins (the correct and not quite as dashing one...though we don’t know,
because I couldn’t find any pictures of him to the contrary)
died in 1618, though apparently had no birth date.
He was an innkeeper on Cow-Cross Street, London, in an area now known as Clerkenwell near Smithfield Market and the Farringdon Tube Station. Back in Jacobean times,
this area was considered a “haunt of whores and theives”
and good old George seemed to be in the thick of the action.
Most records of his life stem from his appearances in court for such brutal acts as
kicking a pregnant woman in the belly as well as other instances of thievery and violence.
Perhaps this is why the bawd scenes in Pericles are so viscerally disgusting:
whether Wilkins wrote that part or not, it is thought that Wilkins was in fact
the real-life version of the low down pimp, Pandar.
because I couldn’t find any pictures of him to the contrary)
died in 1618, though apparently had no birth date.
He was an innkeeper on Cow-Cross Street, London, in an area now known as Clerkenwell near Smithfield Market and the Farringdon Tube Station. Back in Jacobean times,
this area was considered a “haunt of whores and theives”
and good old George seemed to be in the thick of the action.
Most records of his life stem from his appearances in court for such brutal acts as
kicking a pregnant woman in the belly as well as other instances of thievery and violence.
Perhaps this is why the bawd scenes in Pericles are so viscerally disgusting:
whether Wilkins wrote that part or not, it is thought that Wilkins was in fact
the real-life version of the low down pimp, Pandar.
Wilkins’ literary history is interesting as well; he co-authored a few plays and was most
known for his work as a pamphleteer. He also published a novel entitled
The Painful Adventures of Pericles, Prince of Tyre, which is not only told by the old storyteller
John Gower (who also appears in the play version of Pericles), but follows the story of the play extremely closely. Here’s the whole text of that novel, if you’re in the least bit curious--
I read the first few paragraphs and my brain started hurting, very dense.
known for his work as a pamphleteer. He also published a novel entitled
The Painful Adventures of Pericles, Prince of Tyre, which is not only told by the old storyteller
John Gower (who also appears in the play version of Pericles), but follows the story of the play extremely closely. Here’s the whole text of that novel, if you’re in the least bit curious--
I read the first few paragraphs and my brain started hurting, very dense.
Any who, that is the extent of information to be found on Mr. Wilkins by my roving eye.
I will admit that I did not search extremely diligently while picking up my kernels of wisdom and
that I credit it all to this article, right here.
At the very least, our George seemed like an interesting fellow,
I’m curious how he came to be associated with the King’s Men in the first place, but,
whatever his actual relationship to Shakespeare was,
he should feel quite proud of himself that his name has found its way onto stages
and into books beyond his misdeeds and unread pamphlets.
I will admit that I did not search extremely diligently while picking up my kernels of wisdom and
that I credit it all to this article, right here.
At the very least, our George seemed like an interesting fellow,
I’m curious how he came to be associated with the King’s Men in the first place, but,
whatever his actual relationship to Shakespeare was,
he should feel quite proud of himself that his name has found its way onto stages
and into books beyond his misdeeds and unread pamphlets.
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