Possibly the most notorious Shakespearean event of the later eighteenth century was the Ireland forgery scandal. William Henry Ireland, son of Samuel Ireland the publisher, writer of travelogues, and avid collector of Shakespeare memorabilia, revealed to his father that he had found a collection of documents in Shakespeare’s own hand in a chest belonging to an anonymous friend. They included a signed deed, letters to Anne Hathaway, the original manuscripts for Hamlet and King Lear, and the script of a hitherto unknown play Vortigern and Rowena. A delighted Samuel Ireland allowed interested members of the public to view the documents, and even received interest from royalty – the Duke of Clarence (later William IV) came with his mistress, the actor Dorothea Jordan, to view the papers, and the Prince of Wales (later George IV) invited Ireland to Carlton House for a private viewing. Many contemporary experts had authenticated the documents, but many more were doubtful, and the forgery was eventually exposed by the Shakespearean scholar Edmond Malone in 1796.

This volume contains the denouncement of the Ireland papers by Edmond Malone, the Shakespearean scholar and editor. He analysed the papers one by one, criticising their content, spelling, handwriting and history (there were several inaccuracies). While the majority of critics approved Malone’s exposure of the documents, some remained convinced that they were genuine, including the antiquarian George Chalmers, who published his own response to Malone’s attack (RCINs 1058932, 1058928-29). This copy was presented by the author to the painter Joseph Farington.