Lord Ferdinando Stanley was the Fifth Earl of Derby, a leading claimant to the throne. He was also the patron of the company of players which included the man now known as William Shakespeare. Lord Stanley was incalculably rich, having married one of the wealthiest heiresses in England. His home in Lancashire was called the "Northern Court" because of its grandness, surpassing any in England but (perhaps) the Queen's own.
On April Fool's Day, 1594, he was reportedly approached by a witch--one of the famous legion of "Lancashire witches"--and they engaged in brief conversation while strolling outside his largest palace, Lathom Hall. Four days later he fell violently ill. For twelve days he lingered, while four of the best doctors in the country, including the famous Dr. John Case of Oxford, labored in vain to save him. Two of his retainers wrote gruesomely detailed accounts of the progress of his "diseases"--accounts that survive in manuscript today. When he died, Dr. Case was heard to murmur: "Flat poisoning. And none other but."
For months after his passing and interment, no one could get close enough to the family crypt to pay his or her respects because of an overwhelming stench that continued to emanate from his body.
Who killed him and why? Historians started debating that question almost as soon as he died, and outraged gossip was to be heard everywhere in England.
The Assassination of Shakespeare's Patron: Investigating the Death of the Fifth Earl of Derby
Author: Leo Daugherty
Hardcover: 374 pages
Publisher: Cambria Press (May 18, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 160497737X
ISBN-13: 978-1604977370
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