'Fake' Shakespeare play turns out to be real

Experts conclude that Double Falsehood was indeed written by the bard.
(Image credit: iStock)

If someone says they've rewritten a Shakespeare play from manuscripts "lost in a library fire," there's good reason to be suspicious. But in this case, it was actually true.

Lewis Theobald claimed he adapted the play Double Falsehood in 1728 from the lost Shakespeare texts. Understandably, not many people believed him. But after studying Theobald's work with text analyzing software, researchers from the University of Texas at Austin have concluded that Double Falsehood is indeed an authentic Shakespeare work.

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Meghan DeMaria

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.