ISLEBORO — Left Bank Books, in downtown Belfast, invites the public to a free talk by Melissa Olson, director of the Alice Pendleton Library on Islesboro Island, Wednesday, April 23, at 6:30 p.m. Olson will discuss and read from her historical novel, The Rose by Another Name: Christopher Marlowe, The Real Shakespeare, in which she weaves fictional narrative with historic documents to make a compelling case for attributing the Shakespeare canon to the pen of Christopher Marlowe.

Marlowe, she argues, was “a poet, playwright, government agent, atheist, and exile [who had] “the ability, experience, opportunity, and motive to write. [He] was a brilliant, well-educated playwright who died a tragic death at the age of 29, before many of the ‘Shakespeare’ plays were written. But what if Marlowe didn't die? What if his death was faked?”

In a letter to readers of The Rose by Another Name, Olson asks “Where did Shakespeare obtain his education, with his vast vocabulary, knowledge of the classics and insider’s knowledge of the Queen’s court? Where did Shakespeare get the money to buy an owner’s share of the Globe Theater when playwrights received a pittance for their work? Why didn’t Shakespeare sue those who printed his plays without his consent, when he had a history of going to court over simple legal matters? Why are no books, manuscripts or documents of any kind listed in his very detailed will?”

"Through an intriguing blend of fictional narrative and factual, historical documents, Olson challenges readers to keep an open mind to the possibility that Christopher Marlowe was, indeed, the author of Shakespeare’s plays and poetry," said Left Bank, in a news release.

Olson became interested in the authorship question in 2001 when she saw the PBS Frontline documentary Much Ado About Something by Michael Rubbo. Her "gentle obsession" has lasted ever since.

Olsen has an MA in History Museum Studies from SUNY Oneonta and is the director of the Alice Pendleton Library on Islesboro Island, off the coast of Maine.

Reservations can be made by calling the bookshop (207.338.9009) or emailing: info@leftbankbookshop.com. Ample free parking is available in front of the shop and in an adjacent city lot.