For 200 years it was believed Shakespeare had an unhappy marriage - then a letter was found - Birmingham Live

For 200 years it was believed Shakespeare had an unhappy marriage - then a letter was found - Birmingham Live

A previously "ignored" 17th century letter has cast doubt on the centuries-old consensus that the bard's relationship with his wife was unhappy and that he abandoned her in Stratford-upon-Avon

Shakespeare and Hathaway, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g

A letter found in a book binding may reveal that Shakespeare didn't abandon his wife. The letter, known since 1978 but only now linked more firmly to the Bard, "at least doubles the number of letters known to be addressed to or sent from Shakespeare and his family."(I was going to use a "-y-n-g-e" ending in the post title, but as Shakespeare was the first English writer to use the participle kissing I couldn't bring myself to.)

Was it an unhappy marriage after all? Or is this a decades-old misconception?