John Leslie Hotson
Encyclopedia
John Leslie Hotson, also known as J. Leslie Hotson or Leslie Hotson (August 16, 1897 - 16 November 1992) was a scholar of Elizabethan literary puzzles.
, where he obtained a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. He went on to hold a number of academic posts.
Hotson was known for his tenacious archival research and his interest in coded information. He had a number of notable successes, but not all of his "decodings" have been accepted by other scholars. He discovered the identity of Ingram Frizer
, the killer of Christopher Marlowe
, and reconstructed the shape of the original Shakespearean theater. He also unearthed the letters that Percy Bysshe Shelley
wrote to his divorced wife Harriet; produced evidence of Shakespeare's father as a wool dealer; illuminated Shakespeare's early years in Stratford-on-Avon; and identified John Day
as the killer of Henry Porter, a minor Elizabethan dramatist.
Some of his solutions to literary puzzles are still in dispute. He claimed to have identified one Nicholas Colfox
as the murderer of Thomas of Woodstock by "decoding" Chaucer's
The Nun's Priest's Tale. He also claimed to have identitfied Mr W H, the person to whom Shakespeare's sonnets were dedicated, as a William Hatcliffe of Lincolnshire. He later argued that a miniature colour portrait by Nicholas Hilliard
depicted Shakespeare as a young man. As the New York Times stated in his obituary: "it was chiefly as a Shakespearian detective that Dr Hotson remained in the public eye, sometimes to the annoyance of rival scholars who discounted his theories."
His first major work, The Death of Christopher Marlowe — which made his name — is still in print. He stumbled across the evidence while decoding Chaucer's Nun's Priest's Tale in the archives of the English Public Records Office in 1923-1924.
He died on 16 November 1992 in North Branford, Connecticut
.
Biography
He was born at Delhi, Ontario on August 16, 1897. He studied at Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he obtained a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. He went on to hold a number of academic posts.
Hotson was known for his tenacious archival research and his interest in coded information. He had a number of notable successes, but not all of his "decodings" have been accepted by other scholars. He discovered the identity of Ingram Frizer
Ingram Frizer
Ingram Frizer, died August 1627, was an English gentleman and businessman of the late 16th and early 17th centuries who is notable for killing playwright Christopher Marlowe in the home of Eleanor Bull on 30 May 1593...
, the killer of Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
, and reconstructed the shape of the original Shakespearean theater. He also unearthed the letters that Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
wrote to his divorced wife Harriet; produced evidence of Shakespeare's father as a wool dealer; illuminated Shakespeare's early years in Stratford-on-Avon; and identified John Day
John Day (dramatist)
John Day was an English dramatist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods.-Life:He was born at Cawston, Norfolk, and educated at Ely. He became a sizar of Caius College, Cambridge, in 1592, but was expelled in the next year for stealing a book...
as the killer of Henry Porter, a minor Elizabethan dramatist.
Some of his solutions to literary puzzles are still in dispute. He claimed to have identified one Nicholas Colfox
Nicholas Colfox
Sir Nicholas Colfox was a medieval English knight who in 1397 was involved in the murder of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, uncle of King Richard II, apparently on the orders of the king...
as the murderer of Thomas of Woodstock by "decoding" Chaucer's
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
The Nun's Priest's Tale. He also claimed to have identitfied Mr W H, the person to whom Shakespeare's sonnets were dedicated, as a William Hatcliffe of Lincolnshire. He later argued that a miniature colour portrait by Nicholas Hilliard
Nicholas Hilliard
Nicholas Hilliard was an English goldsmith and limner best known for his portrait miniatures of members of the courts of Elizabeth I and James I of England. He mostly painted small oval miniatures, but also some larger cabinet miniatures, up to about ten inches tall, and at least two famous...
depicted Shakespeare as a young man. As the New York Times stated in his obituary: "it was chiefly as a Shakespearian detective that Dr Hotson remained in the public eye, sometimes to the annoyance of rival scholars who discounted his theories."
His first major work, The Death of Christopher Marlowe — which made his name — is still in print. He stumbled across the evidence while decoding Chaucer's Nun's Priest's Tale in the archives of the English Public Records Office in 1923-1924.
He died on 16 November 1992 in North Branford, Connecticut
North Branford, Connecticut
North Branford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 13,906 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 26.6 square miles , of which 24.9 square miles is land and 1.7 square miles is water...
.
Life Summary
- Pacifist - served with Friends (Quaker) Relief Unit in France, 1918-1919
- Educated at Harvard (BA, MA, PhD) and Yale
- Married 1919, Mary May Peabody
- Fulbright Exchange Scholar at Bedford College, London
- Taught at Harvard, Yale (Research Associate) and New York University
- Guggenheim Fellow 1929 and 1930 in 16th and 17th Century English Literature
- Taught at Haverford College (1931-42)
- Second War - Officer in Signal Corps
- Fellow of King's College, Cambridge (England), 1954-60.
- He is the author of many books of literary biography, criticism and detection, such as:
- Colfox vs Chauntecleer 1924 PMLA XXXIX
- The Death of Christopher Marlowe 1925
- The Commonwealth and Restoration Stage 1929
- Shakespeare versus Shallow 1931
- The Adventure of a Single Rapier 1931
- I, William Shakespeare
- Shakespeare's Sonnets Dated
- Shakespeare's Motley
- The First Night of Twelfth Night, 1954
- Shakespeare's Wooden O, 1959
- Mr WH, 1964
- Shakespeare by Hilliard, 1977