We are a group of Oxfordians who live in the Boston area who enjoy meeting to discuss the works of Shakespeare and Edward de Vere, the 17th earl of Oxford. We are very fortunate to have two Oxfordians with us this year who have not presented in the Boston area for some time. They will be joined by four of our outstanding local Oxfordians for this weekend event. Following are biographies of our presenters:
Charles Beauclerk, a first class honors graduate of Oxford University, lectures and writes on 16th and 17th century history. He founded the De Vere Society in 1986 to foster debate and research on the Shakespeare authorship question, and was president of the American-based Shakespeare Oxford Society from 1995-97. He has spoken before some 250 audiences in the US and Canada, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Folger Shakespeare Library. His first book, Nell Gwyn: A Biography, was published by Macmillan in 2005. Shakespeare’s Lost Kingdom: The True History of Shakespeare and Elizabeth, his latest book, published by Grove Atlantic will be released on April 6, 2010.
Charles Berney, Ph.D., (Chuck) Biography is forthcoming
Frank Davis did his undergraduate university work at Emory University and took his M.D. from Tulane University in 1960, joining the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. In 1968, he completed training in neurological surgery at New Orleans in the Tulane University program. Frank spent his entire medical career in the private practice of neurosurgery in Tallahassee, FL. Retiring in 1993, he became an active Oxfordian in 1994, after having become friends with Charlton Ogburn, Jr. Dr. Davis is past president of the Shakespeare Oxford Society and remains on the Board of Trustees. Previous Oxfordian papers and presentations include “Shakespeare’s Knowledge of Medicine,” “Revisiting the Early Dating of Twelfth Night,” “Warbling Sting, Melody Not Malady,” and “The Poem, ‘Grief of Minde’: Who Wrote It and Why Is it Important?” and “Henslowe’s Diary and Its Significance to Oxfordians”.
Alex McNeil received his B.A. from Yale University and his J.D. from Boston College Law School. A non-practicing attorney, he is the Court Administrator of the Massachusetts Appeals Court in Boston. Alex became interested in the Shakespeare Authorship question after seeing the 1989 PBS Frontline program on the subject. He was one of the founding trustees of The Shakespeare Fellowship, and currently serves as its president. He is the author of Total Television, a reference book on TV programming, and can be heard on the radio as the Friday host of "Lost and Found" on WMBR-FM (88.1, Cambridge MA), a program spotlighting lesser-known pop and soul music of the 60s and 70s. Also see a related Boston Globe Chat with Alex.
Marie Merkel’s poems have appeared in The Carolina Quarterly and The New Republic. She is the author of The First Mousetrap: Titus Andronicus and the Tudor Massacre of the Howards, a full-length study of the play’s links with Howard family history, and the dramatic methods used to conceal this politically explosive story. A condensed version of chapter 1, “Tyrant’s Crests and Tombs of Brass” will appear in the 2009 issue of The Oxfordian. Currently, she’s working on an edition of The Tempest that highlights Ben Jonson’s pervasive influence on the play’s conception and execution.
Richard F. Whalen is the author of “Shakespeare, Who Was He? The Oxford Challenge to the Bard of Avon,” published in 1994 by Greenwood-Praeger and still in print. With Dan Wright of Concordia University, he is co-general editor of the first Oxfordian editions of Shakespeare plays and is the editor of “Macbeth” in the series. He and Ren Draya of Blackburn university are co-editors of “Othello.” Whalen is a past president of the Shakespeare Oxford Society. His articles have appeared in “Harper’s Magazine” and “The Tennessee Law Review,” and he is a regular contributor of research articles and book reviews to Oxfordian publications.