The author's purpose in this book is to try to show that Edward De Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was important in Elizabethan literary circles. The scholars chosen to illustrate the trend of modern Shakespearean thought were selected for their importance, their appositeness, or their uniqueness. In his study of Edward De Vere and his contemporaries, the author states the books "Shakespeare Identified," "The 17th Earl of Oxford" and "Spenser and the Bacon Impersonations" were invaluable resources in the formation of this volume.