Text in English & German. Book & CD-ROM. In her book "The True Face of William Shakespeare", critically acclaimed as a ground-breaking work, the renowned Shakespeare scholar Hildegard Hammerschmidt-Hummel in collaboration with forensic experts from the Federal Bureau of Criminal Investigation, medics, physicists and other specialists proved that there are four genuine likenesses of Shakespeare taken during his lifetime or immediately after his death, among them the Flower portrait (1609). When Dr Tarnya Cooper, a curator at the National Portrait Gallery in London, cast doubt on the authenticity of this picture, the author undertook a renewed comprehensive investigation of the Flower portrait, once again involving an array of international experts including a criminologist, an expert on Old Masters, a dermatologist, a radiologist, a conservator, a picture restorer, an expert on inscriptions, and another Shakespeare scholar.
A joint inspection of the painting in the Royal Shakespeare Companys depository in Stratford-upon-Avon, and the analysis of the BBC film "The Flower Portrait", demonstrate strong powers of observation and a thorough multidisciplinary approach, which make for a suspenseful read. A CD-ROM with illustrations included.