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A THING CALLED “World Book and Copyright Day” happened yesterday, largely unnoticed in these parts. The Unesco-sponsored event occurs annually on April 23rd: in part because that was the date in 1616 when the world’s greatest playwright – Shakespeare and the first modern novelist – Cervantes – both died.

So poignant is the coincidence, it seems churlish to point out that Cervantes expired on the Gregorian calendar’s version of April 23rd, whereas Shakespeare lingered 10 days longer before departing on the Julian one, still used in England. But then again, this is a minor inconvenience compared with a theory long mooted and now regaining ground: that the man who died in Stratford in 1616 was not a playwright at all.