Our Last Will and Testament may not be as interesting as William Shakespeare’s, but Simon Whaley chats to two experts about why every writer needs one.
Four hundred years ago, on 25th March 1616, William Shakespeare wrote his last will and testament. This turned out to be a wise move, because one month later he was dead. Reading through his will (a copy of which can be viewed on the National Archives website, http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/museum/additional_image_types.asp?item_id=21&image_id=29&extra_image_type_id=2), he made several interesting bequests. He left thirty pounds to his sister Joan, ten pounds to the poor of Stratford, and to his wife, Anne, he left his second best bed … as any decent writer would.