William Shakespeare by S.L. Bensusan — Read

Three hundred and twenty-four years have passed since William Shakespeare set out to prove his fortune in London, and in those far-away days that his genius makes so real for us the journey was long and at times dangerous. Three days would suffice in fine summer weather, while four or five might be required in winter time, when rivers were swollen and fords were dangerous. Not only were roads bad, but bridges were conspicuous by their absence. To send a letter from Stratford to London and receive a reply to it would occupy nearly a fortnight, and if, as some writers believe, Shakespeare had already made a certain name by his skilled handling of other men's work when touring companies came to his town, it is quite clear that his best chance of establishing himself as a playwright would be found in the metropolis. Even if he had not found trouble in his native place, he could not hope to thrive there. It is thought that he travelled to town on foot by way of Oxford and High Wycombe, and that once in the metropolis he sought a friend of the family, one Richard Field of Stratford, who had left Warwickshire seven years before, and after serving his apprenticeship to a printer, had set up an office of his own in Blackfriars.

THE EARL OF SOUTHAMPTON