The only portrait painted of William Shakespeare from sight is due to be cleaned for the first time since it was painted over 400 years ago. The portrait—believed to have been painted by John Taylor, ...

Of all the marvels in the works of William Shakespeare, the greatest may be that his plays and poems exist at all. Scholars, literary sleuths and conspiracy theorists have wondered for centuries how ...

THE BEARD OF AVON: Comedy. By Amy Freed. Directed by Mark Rucker. (Through Feb. 10. American Conservatory Theater at the Geary Theater, 415 Geary St., San Francisco. Two hours, 30 minutes. Tickets: ...

So how exactly did this middle-class schlub from a backwater burg in the Warwickshire sticks, the largely unlettered son of an illiterate glove maker, manage to write what are commonly considered to ...