Shapiro is particularly interested in what "the authorship question" says about successive generations of readers.
What has come to be known as the "authorship question" dates back more than 150 years.
Students, though, can expect to learn something about the issue: 72 percent of professors said they address the authorship question in their classes.
There is no real evidence to support the authorship question, and yet over 5,000 books have been written on the subject.
Matus then turned to write a comprehensive book on the Shakespearean authorship question.
In 2006 he self-published the results of his investigation into the Shakespearean authorship question.
Speaking for himself, he dismissed the authorship question as a parlor game and a distraction from the plays.
So where does she stand on the authorship question?
Although most scholars sniff at the authorship question, it has a fervent following.
Greenwood is the author of twelve books and numerous articles on the authorship question, all published 1908-1924.