DiscoveringShakespeare.com Shakespeare Authorship Controversy Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, is now the only serious alternative claimant to the authorship. He is supported by an active minority of 'heretics': in England by the de Vere Association, and in the United States by the Shakespeare Oxford Society. The English academic Establishment declines to accept a direct challenge from such groups; it regards the match as concluded in its favour. Stratfordians have, in effect, pulled up stumps and gone home. The authorship is a game without umpires. But the issue remains unresolved. On the one hand, no progress has been made in building connections between their man and the text; no 'case' has been made for William Shakespeare as author. Yet, as this book will show, there is a growing body of evidence which demonstrates Edward de Vere's part in the background of a number of the plays. Oxfordian research is an expanding area of understanding and discovery. A stimulating discussion of authorship issues now has its focus on the Internet. Edward Holmes worked in theatre and teaching until poor health brought a premature retirement. He has since devoted half a lifetime to private theatre research.