4 May 1597

Abstract

In 1597 William Shakespeare bought a house called New Place that had been built by Stratford-upon-Avon’s most illustrious citizen, Hugh Clopton. He would go on to acquire other land and buildings from which he received a steady income in his later years. This chapter takes up the question of how he managed to accumulate his wealth. It tells the story of the only surviving letter to Shakespeare, written by a man named Richard Quiney to ask for Shakespeare’s help securing a loan. Shakespeare’s good credit and ability to borrow were undoubtedly factors in his property purchases (and were especially impressive given his father’s debt history). The chapter also tells the story of Richard Quiney’s wife Elizabeth, who ran a sprawling business enterprise as a mercer, grocer, maltster, vintner, landlady, property manager, and civic hostess. Taking Elizabeth Quiney’s life as cognate to that of Anne Shakespeare, we learn that such scattered local records as survive might be understood to suggest that Anne was a businesswoman in a similar mould. Both William and Anne Shakespeare took big risks—his also involving shareholding in the Lord Chamberlain’s Men and the Globe Theatre—and both achieved big rewards.