The Man Behind Macbeth

Originally published in 1969. Sir James Fergusson of Kilkerran, Keeper of the Records of Scotland from 1949 to 1969, puts forward the theory, with a wealth of historical evidence to support it, that Shakespeare's characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth had two originals in contemporary life: the notorious Captain James Stewart, briefly Earl of Arran and Chancellor of Scotland, and his flamboyantly wicked wife, two of the best-known and best-hated figures in Scotland during the early years of King James VI and I, that King for whose particular diversion Shakespeare wrote his play. Sir James Fergusson's long familiarity with record sources enabled him to make skilful use of previously unpublished documents and to illuminate the course of history from quite unexpected angles.