The Life of the Most Noble Arthur, Marquis and Earl of Wellington ...

It reads: БЂњTo the onlie begetter of these ensuing sonnets Mr W.H. all happinesse and that eternitie promised by our ever-living poet, wisheth the well-wishing adventurer in setting forth.БЂ«It is signed БЂњT.TБЂ«.-which is reasonably taken to be Thomas Thorpe-but who is the enigmatic БЂњMr W.H.БЂ«? One candidate, suggested surprisingly often, is Henry Wriothesley, with his initials reversed (for reasons no one has ever remotely made sound convincing). Another is William Herbert, third Earl of Pembroke, whose initials are at least in order and who had a Shakespeare connection: Heminges and Condell would dedicate the First Folio to him and his brother fourteen years later. The problem with either of these candidates is that they were both aristocratic, while the dedicatee is addressed here as БЂњMr.БЂ«It has been suggested that Thorpe may not have known any better, but in fact Thorpe addressed Pembroke directly in a separate volume in the same year and did so with the usual obsequious flourishes: БЂњTo the Right Honourable, William, Earl of Pembroke, Lord Chamberlain to his Majesty, one of his most honourable Privy Council, and Knight of the most noble order of the Garter, etcБЂ¦БЂ«Thorpe knew how to address a noble ...»