Shakespeare's Face    by Stephanie Nolen Order:  USA  Can Knopf, 2002 (2002) Hardcover Read an Excerpt      Reviewed by David Pitt In May, 2001, a story by reporter Stephanie Nolen ran in the Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper: a man in an Ottawa suburb had in his possession a painting that was, he claimed, the only portrait of William Shakespeare painted while the playwright was alive. The painting has, predictably, become the center of an enormous controversy: is it genuine? Is it a fake? If it really was painted when its owner says it was, can anybody prove it's a picture of ol' Will? Here, Nolen marshalls an impressive array of experts -- Shakespearean scholars, art authorities, historians -- to examine the painting and to render their opinions: how likely is it that this is a portrait of the Bard of Avon? The writing ranges from the scholarly to the informal, but the subject is spellbinding. This is a splendid piece of detective work: a biography of Shakespeare; a history of art fraud and the profitable Shakespeare-forgery trade; a look at the venerable did-Shakespeare-really-write-Shakespeare controversy (yes, our expert concludes, he did; certainly he did); and a portrait of a man who really, truly believes he owns a remarkable piece of history. Is this, as the author asks in the final chapter, the face of genius? Well, it wouldn't be much fun if there were a definitive answer, would it? Maybe it is; maybe it isn't. Read the book, make up your own mind. It sure is an exciting adventure. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more NonFiction books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews