Hathaway, Anne

▪ wife of Shakespeare

also called  Agnes Hathwey  

born c. 1556

died Aug. 6, 1623, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, Eng.

 wife of William Shakespeare.

      She was probably born at Shottery, near Stratford, the daughter of Richard Hathaway, a local landowner. She was married to Shakespeare in November 1582, when he was 18 and when she, according to the sole evidence of an inscription on her gravestone, was 26. Their daughter Susanna was born the following May.

 After the birth (about 1585) of their twins, Hamnet and Judith, Shakespeare moved to London, probably leaving the family at Stratford. About 1596 Anne and the children were installed in New Place, Stratford, where Anne remained until her death in 1623. Shakespeare often visited his family there and lived there from his retirement in 1611 until his death.

Additional Reading

Germaine Greer, Shakespeare's Wife (2007).

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