Romanticism and Forgery

Several literary forgers emerged in the later eighteenth century: notably James Macpherson (Ossian), Thomas Chatterton (Thomas Rowley) and William Henry Ireland (the Shakespeare forger). These cases of literary forgery were highly controversial at the time, and had a lasting impact on the Romantic movement, particularly in the understanding of authenticity, inspiration and the figure of the poet, although by this time plagiarism, hoaxing and impersonation had superseded forgery – most clearly in the cases of Princess Caraboo, Joanna Southcott and the seduction of the Maid of Buttermere. Serious critical attention to both forgers and impostors has dramatically increased in recent years, with feminist, post‐colonial and psychoanalytic readings. Cases of writers of ‘fakelit’ also have serious implications for criticism today.