Oxford’s Metamorphosis into Shakespeare

German publisher Verlag Laugwitz has released Oxford’s Metamorphosis into Shakespeare by Gary Goldstein, former editor of The Oxfordian (2018–2025). In this groundbreaking study, Goldstein explores how Shakespeare—identified as Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford—wove topical allusions to English and European politics into his 37 plays. Drawing on detailed examples from Love’s Labour’s Lost, Twelfth Night, Othello, King Lear, and others, Goldstein reveals how the playwright responded to the political and religious tensions of his day, from Puritan satire to commentary on court intrigue. The book also reexamines the evidence linking Oxford’s life, travels, and writings to the Shakespeare canon, offering new insights for scholars, actors, and directors seeking to recover the dramatist’s original intent. Published in English (165 pages, illustrated), Oxford’s Metamorphosis into Shakespeare continues Verlag Laugwitz’s tradition of scholarship on Renaissance literature and the authorship question. For more, read the brief.

Purchase the hardcover, now available on Amazon.