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Stratford-On-Avon's Shakespeare Found Exhibition - the True Likeness Revealed?

Has a definitive likeness of Shakespeare been finally revealed in the portrait shortly to be exhibited in Stratford-On-Avon by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust? If so, it overturns the traditional image of the Bard as a bald, chubby-faced man, and we need to start thinking of him as a youthful-looking, bushy-haired, and rather handsome chap. But not everyone is convinced about the claims recently put forward for the portrait of the playwright owned by the Cobbe family which will soon be on display at the Shakespeare Centre.

Until recently, the most accurate depictions of Shakespeare were thought to be a bust of him in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, and an engraving printed on the title page of the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays. But now, a portrait owned by the Cobbe family, which was painted in 1610, six year's before the Bard's death is being claimed as a more accurate likeness. This was kept in Hatchlands, the Cobbe family house in Surrey, run by the National Trust, but will shortly be on display in the Shakespeare Centre next to the playwright's birthplace in Henley Street, Stratford-Upon-Avon.

At one time the Cobbe painting was thought to be of Sir Walter Raleigh, but now some experts, including the world's top expert on Shakespeare, Professor Stanley Wells, emeritus professor of Shakespeare studies at Birmingham University, believe that this could be the most accurate likeness, and was painted when Shakespeare was 46.

But another expert, Dr Tarnya Cooper, the sixteenth-century curator at the National Portrait Gallery in London has disputed the claim of Professor Wells. She believes the portrait is more likely to represent courtier Sir Thomas Ovebury (1581-1613) an English poet and essayist, as it resembles the accredited portrait of him that was bequeathed to the Bodleian Library in Oxford in 1740. Overbury was sent to the Tower of London by James I after refusing to become ambassador to the court of Michael of Russia. After a short period in the Tower he died of poisoning in 1613.

If you would like to see the painting that is the subject of the controversy, the exhibition featuring the Cobbe portrait is being staged by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. It will open on the anniversary of Shakespeare's birthday, 23 April 2009 until 6 September 2009 at the Shakespeare Centre, Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 6QW, UK.

For more about attractions and events in Stratford-Upon-Avon, see the Stratford Directory website: www.stratford-info.co.uk.

About the Author

Paul Hayward is a web author and travel writer. He runs popular online tourist guides, including the Stratford Directory website (http://www.stratford-info.co.uk/) and Hunstanton Directory website (http://www.hunstanton-info.com).

WHERE CAN I FIND THE BOOK "THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH"?

I want the original and this is all the info i got so far
Try ebay. Any version from 1963, and the Avon edition from 1976 (black cover with Bowie) and the 1978 hard cover editions are the original text. The first revised version is the British edition from 1976 (white cover with Bowie).

Please at a cheap or affordable price, thank you!
I've checked at my local libraries and none of them have them. That was the first place I checked.

Library....

and amazon.com

The Man Who Fell to Earth - Criterion Collection (1976)
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