We are saddened by the loss of Warren Hope, longtime Oxfordian, former editor of the Shakespeare Oxford Society Newsletter, co-author of The Shakespeare Controversy, and friend to many in the community.
Warren Thomas Hope, the youngest of two sons, was born to John and Emma Hope in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 2, 1944. He died on May 23, 2022 as a result of lung disease. A true scholar and man of letters, his life’s vocation included research, writing, editing, publishing, and teaching.
He was a graduate of Central High School, Community College of Philadelphia, and Temple University. At Community College of Philadelphia, he was taught by Dr. A. Bronson Feldman, who became an influential figure in his life both intellectually and personally, and later became his literary executor. Warren pursued higher education at Temple University, earning a BA, MA and PhD in British Literature there. His dissertation was on the Scottish poet Norman Cameron and Warren traveled to England, where Cameron eventually lived, to conduct primary research for his thesis. He collected Cameron’s work for publication, later partnering with fellow Cameron enthusiast Jonathan Barker on an expanded collection. Warren went on to write the definitive biography of Norman Cameron and recently completed a revised edition, which has just appeared in print: Norman Cameron: His Life, Work and Letters (Greenwich Exchange).
A Shakespearean scholar, he was fascinated by questions surrounding the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays and became a devout Oxfordian, asserting that the 17th Earl of Oxford, Edward de Vere, was the true author of Shakespeare’s work. As a result, he was involved for decades with the Shakespeare Oxford Society, now known as the Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship. To that end, he served as editor of the Shakespeare Oxford Society Newsletter for three years, and later co-wrote The Shakespeare Controversy with Kim Holston, published in 1992 and 2009 by McFarland Publishers, a book which explores and analyzes the authorship question.
In a 2011 online review, scholar Roger Stritmatter wrote, “If you are looking for a serious study of the history of the authorship question, this is the book – along with Ogburn’s The Mysterious William Shakespeare: The Myth & the Reality – to read.”
Warren was also a published poet and several volumes of his poetry have appeared in print, culminating in his collection, Adam’s Thoughts in Winter 1970-2000. He published biographical study guides on Robert Frost, Philip Larkin and Seamus Heaney for the Greenwich Exchange, and wrote countless articles, essays, and reviews for The Elizabethan Review and The Oxfordian, peer reviewed journals that focus on the English Renaissance. A publisher himself, he produced a poetry newsletter entitled “Drastic Measures” and founded Fifth Season Press, publishing work that he felt deserved readership.
A United States Air Force veteran, Warren served from 1963 to 1967, including time as a medic in Vietnam. He was a long-time employee of the Institutes, an insurance education organization in Malvern, Pennsylvania. He retired in 1999 as Vice President of Publications and went on to pursue a second career as a professor. He taught at several Philadelphia area universities, including Temple University, University of the Sciences and Holy Family University.
As a life-long soccer fan, Warren followed international football closely and was a devoted supporter of the British football club Arsenal. A resident for many years of Havertown, Pennsylvania, he enjoyed strolls in Merwood Park and standing on his front porch to watch neighborhood holiday parades.
Warren is survived by his daughter, Jessica Hope of Furlong, Pennsylvania; his stepson, Jason Townsend (Andrea) of Clinton, New York; their two children, Phoenix and Sierra Townsend; his brother, John Hope (Linda) of Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania; and John’s sons. Memorial gifts in Warren’s honor may be made to Delaware County Literacy Council, where he volunteered: Delaware County Literacy Council, 2217 Providence Avenue, Chester, PA 19013 or delcoliteracy.org/donate.
