Michael Blanding

Michael Blanding reports and writes narrative nonfiction about disputed histories, hidden markets, and unconventional researchers. North by Shakespeare – Michael Blanding names both writer and work; the book itself is North by Shakespeare, subtitled A Rogue Scholar's Quest for the Truth Behind the Bard's Work. Hachette published it in 2021. The narrative follows Dennis McCarthy, a self-taught researcher who argues that diplomat and translator Thomas North supplied extensive textual foundations for Shakespeare's plays. Blanding alternates McCarthy's contemporary struggle for scholarly attention with North's life in Tudor England and the theatrical culture surrounding Shakespeare. He presents the theory as a contested claim rather than settled authorship history, giving space to both textual parallels and academic resistance. Blanding previously wrote The Map Thief, about rare-map dealer E. Forbes Smiley, and The Coke Machine, an investigation of Coca-Cola's global business. North by Shakespeare continues his focus on obsessive inquiry and the institutions that decide which discoveries gain authority.